vehiclesstate

Gold Star Family Plate — No Proof Needed, and You Can Ask for the Surcharge to Be Waived

A parent, sibling, spouse or dependent of a person killed in action during an armed conflict may take the Gold Star Family plate. The certification form states that no proof need be submitted — you sign for it. The plate carries a $2.50 per plate per year surcharge, and the same form tells you how to have it waived: ask at the counter, or write "waive surcharge" on a mailed application.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

What it's worth: The $2.50 per plate per year surcharge, waived on request

The surcharge is $2.50 per plate per year, so a two-plate passenger vehicle carries $5 a year — which is the figure shown here.
The waiver is not automatic. At a field office you must ask staff to waive it; by mail you must write "waive surcharge" in the remarks section of the application.
Ordinary registration and plate fees still apply. The waiver reaches the plate surcharge only.
The certification is a self-certification: the form states you do not have to submit proof with your application.
Signing falsely is a crime under ORS 803.385 — a Class A misdemeanour punishable by up to a year in jail, a fine of up to $6,250, or both.

Who is entitled to it

You are family of a person killed in action.
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

1Complete the Gold Star Family Certification. It asks you to certify that you are a parent, sibling, spouse or dependent of a person killed in action during an armed conflict.
2Do not delay applying because you cannot find the paperwork. The form states you do not have to submit proof with the application.
3Ask for the waiver in the same breath as the application. At a field office, ask staff to waive the surcharge; by mail, write "waive surcharge" in the remarks section.
4Read the criminal warning before signing. A false certification is a Class A misdemeanour under ORS 803.385.
5The sibling and dependent routes are on the form. A brother or sister qualifies here, which many family members assume they do not.

Form: Gold Star Family Certification, Form 735-6940
File with: Driver and Motor Vehicle Services — field office or by mail
Periodic: Re-confirmed from time to time.

Worth knowingThe waiver instruction sits at the bottom of a one-page certification form and appears nowhere else. A family that applies without reading to the end pays the surcharge every year for a plate they could have had for the standard fees.

CorrectionThe no-proof rule is real and it is printed on the agency’s own form. If a counter asks for a casualty report or a DD Form 1300, point at the sentence: you do not have to submit proof with your application.

Known gapThe plate’s own statutory section could not be read — the legislature’s site refused every connection this session — so the eligibility wording here is the agency’s. The surcharge figure is from the agency fee chapter dated 1 July 2026.

Sources

authority · formDriver and Motor Vehicle Services — Gold Star Family Certification, Form 735-6940 (rev. 1-24): eligibility wording, no-proof rule, surcharge waiver instructions
operating · published policyDriver and Motor Vehicle Services — Title and Registration Handbook, Chapter M (Fees): Gold Star Family surcharge $2.50 per plate per year
corroboration · published policyDepartment of Veterans’ Affairs — License Plates (the Gold Star Family plate among the specialty plates)

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