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Veteran Indicator on Your Licence — Free at Renewal, $8 Any Other Time

A veteran may have an indicator of veteran status placed on the driver licence. It costs nothing if you add it when the licence is due for renewal, and $8 as a duplicate if you ask for it mid-cycle. Eligibility is 180 days of continuous federalised active duty — or the full period you were called for — plus an honorable discharge, and a veteran service officer has to verify it before the licence site will act.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

A veteran may have an indicator of veteran status placed on the driver licence. It costs nothing if you add it when the licence is due for renewal, and $8 as a duplicate if you ask for it mid-cycle. Eligibility is 180 days of continuous federalised active duty — or the full period you were called for — plus an honorable discharge, and a veteran service officer has to verify it before the licence site will act.

What it's worth: No charge when added at renewal; an $8 duplicate fee when added mid-cycle

  • The transport department states the qualifying service as having served on continuous federalized active military duty for one hundred eighty days, or for the full period for which the individual was called or ordered to active military duty.
  • The transport department states that an honorable discharge is required.
  • The application is form SFN 59980, completed with a veteran service officer who verifies eligibility.
  • The applicant brings a copy of the discharge papers, commonly the DD-214, to the veteran service officer.
  • The completed form is then taken to a driver licence site at the time of licence renewal.
  • If the licence is not due for renewal, the department states an $8 duplicate fee applies to add the indicator.
  • The indicator prints veteran status on the driver licence itself.

Who is entitled to it

  • You are the veteran.
  • You hold an honorable discharge.
  • Your home is in this state.

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

  1. 1Time it to your renewal if you can. Added at renewal the indicator costs nothing; asked for in the middle of a licence cycle it becomes a duplicate licence at $8.
  2. 2Check the 180-day rule against your record before you make the trip. Continuous federalized active duty of 180 days qualifies, and so does serving the full period for which you were called or ordered — a shorter call-up that you completed still counts.
  3. 3Start with a veteran service officer, not the licence site. The officer verifies eligibility and completes SFN 59980; the licence site will not do that step for you.
  4. 4Bring a copy of your discharge papers to that appointment. The DD-214 is the usual document.
  5. 5Take the signed form to a driver licence site. Nothing about this is done online.
  6. 6Be clear about what the indicator is for. It is proof of veteran status you can carry in a wallet — it is not itself a discount, and merchants that honour it do so voluntarily.
Form
SFN 59980, certified by a veteran service officer
File with
A driver licence site, after the veteran service officer signs
Documents you will need
dd214
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
CorrectionThe indicator is often described as free. It is free only at renewal. Walk in mid-cycle and you are buying a duplicate licence for $8 — small money, but it is the difference between a free errand and a paid one, and waiting for your renewal date costs nothing.
Worth knowingThe 180-day threshold has an escape hatch that is easy to miss: serving the full period for which you were called or ordered to active duty qualifies even if that period was shorter than 180 days.
Known gapNeither page read this session says whether the indicator can be placed on a non-driver identification card as well as a driver licence. Ask the licence site if you do not drive.

Sources

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