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Veterans Alliance — Veterans Alliance
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"Veteran" Printed on Your Licence — Free, If You Ask at the Right Moment

A veteran with an honorable or general discharge may have the word Veteran printed in red on a Michigan driving licence or state ID. It costs nothing when applying for an original or a renewal — and correction fees apply if you ask in between.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

A veteran with an honorable or general discharge may have the word Veteran printed in red on a Michigan driving licence or state ID. It costs nothing when applying for an original or a renewal — and correction fees apply if you ask in between.

What it's worth: No extra charge at an original or renewal — a correction fee if you add it in between

  • The agency states the designation is available at no additional charge when applying for an original or renewal Michigan licence or ID, and that correction fees apply if it is added at another time.
  • Neither page we read publishes the amount of the correction fee. The weight is a small stand-in for a licence correction, not a figure the State publishes.
  • The practical value is the discounts businesses give on sight of it, which no state page quantifies and we will not guess at.

Who is entitled to it

  • You served in a branch of the U.S. armed forces.
  • The character of service is honorable or under honorable conditions.
  • Your home is in Michigan.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

Deadline: Ask at your next original or renewal application — that is when it is free
  1. 1Time it. The designation is free when you apply for an original or a renewal licence or ID; ask at any other moment and correction fees apply.
  2. 2Check the discharge test: the agency names service in any branch of the U.S. armed forces with an honorable, or under honorable conditions (general), discharge.
  3. 3Submit a veteran designation application at any Secretary of State office, or with your renewal by mail.
  4. 4Know what you are getting. The word "Veteran" is printed in red on the front of the card. It is a convenient proof of status for businesses, not a benefit in itself.
  5. 5Do not use it as your only proof for a benefit that needs a DD 214. Offices administering a statutory benefit generally want the discharge document, whatever is printed on your licence.
  6. 6If you are also entitled to a veteran plate, do both in the same visit — the plate application is a separate form and a separate transaction.
Form
Veteran designation application
File with
A Secretary of State office, or by mail at renewal
Documents you will need
dd214
Automatic until something changes
Once printed, it carries forward on the card; ask again at each renewal if the card is reissued.
CorrectionIt is only free at the right moment. The agency states the designation costs nothing at an original or renewal application, and that correction fees apply if it is added at another time — so walking in mid-cycle to have it added is the expensive way to do it.
Worth knowingThe agency describes the designation as an optional way to prove veteran status to businesses for discounts. It is not a substitute for the discharge document at a government counter.
Known gapNeither page states the correction fee, whether a National Guard or reserve member who was never federally activated qualifies, or what proof is accepted where a DD 214 does not exist. Ask the Secretary of State office before making the trip.

Sources

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.