Purple Heart, Medal of Honor and Ex-POW Plates — Registration Waived Too
New Mexico charges no plate fee AND waives the registration fee for Purple Heart recipients (up to two vehicles), Medal of Honor recipients and former prisoners of war. None of these routes requires a disability rating: they turn on the award or on the POW status. For a Purple Heart recipient with no VA rating at all — a large group who assume nothing is theirs — this is a whole registration bill removed, on two vehicles.
Verified August 27, 2026
What this benefit is
New Mexico charges no plate fee AND waives the registration fee for Purple Heart recipients (up to two vehicles), Medal of Honor recipients and former prisoners of war. None of these routes requires a disability rating: they turn on the award or on the POW status. For a Purple Heart recipient with no VA rating at all — a large group who assume nothing is theirs — this is a whole registration bill removed, on two vehicles.
What it's worth: No plate fee and no registration fee
- NO PLATE FEE AND THE REGISTRATION FEE WAIVED.
- PURPLE HEART recipients: UP TO TWO VEHICLES.
- MEDAL OF HONOR recipients and FORMER PRISONERS OF WAR also qualify.
- NO DISABILITY RATING IS REQUIRED on any of these routes — they turn on the award or the POW status.
- New Mexico registration is required.
- A veteran who also has a 50% rating should compare with the disabled veteran waiver, which is also two vehicles.
Who is entitled to it
- You served in the U.S. armed forces.
- You meet one of the routes.
- You were awarded the Purple Heart.
- You were held as a prisoner of war.
- New Mexico vehicle registration.
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
- 1Take evidence of the award — the DD-214 or the citation — to an MVD office.
- 2Purple Heart recipients: ask for the waiver on both vehicles.
- 3Former prisoners of war should apply even with no VA disability rating. It is not required.
- 4Ask whether the registration waiver renews automatically or must be claimed each year.
- 5If you also hold a 50% rating, ask which route gives more; both cover two vehicles.
- Form
- Application at a Motor Vehicle Division office
- File with
- New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division
- Documents you will need
- dd214
- Annual
- Claimed once a year.
Sources
- authority · published policyNew Mexico MVD — military and veteran plates
- operating · published policyNew Mexico Department of Veterans Services — benefits
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.