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Veteran and Guard Designation Plates

Registration plates carrying a veteran or a serving National Guard member designation — the two that do not have a record of their own elsewhere, and a serving Guard member having a plate is not true in every state. The disabled veteran, prisoner of war and Purple Heart plates, and how their fees are treated, are covered by ri-dv-plate-free-registration; the Gold Star parent plate by ri-31-3-111-gold-star-family-plate.

Verified August 27, 2026

What this benefit is

Registration plates carrying a veteran or a serving National Guard member designation — the two that do not have a record of their own elsewhere, and a serving Guard member having a plate is not true in every state. The disabled veteran, prisoner of war and Purple Heart plates, and how their fees are treated, are covered by ri-dv-plate-free-registration; the Gold Star parent plate by ri-31-3-111-gold-star-family-plate.

What it's worth: Designation plates for disabled veterans, prisoners of war, Purple Heart recipients, veterans, Guard members and Gold Star parents

  • Applied for on the standard registration application at the motor vehicles office.
  • Proof is a DD214 or other proof of military record.
  • A disabled veteran plate additionally requires a letter from the federal regional office describing the injury.
  • A Guard member plate additionally requires a letter from the commanding officer confirming Guard status.
  • The office does not publish the plate fees on this page.

Who is entitled to it

  • Your discharge characterisation is within the usual range for these programmes.
  • You are 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. 1Decide which designation you are applying under before you go, because the supporting document differs. A disabled veteran plate needs the federal letter describing the injury; a Guard plate needs a letter from your commanding officer.
  2. 2A Gold Star parent plate exists here. Bereaved parents frequently do not know that and nobody volunteers it.
  3. 3Serving Guard members have a plate in their own right — you do not need to wait until you are a veteran.
  4. 4Get the commanding officer's letter before the trip, not after. It is the item that turns a single visit into two.
  5. 5Ask what the plate costs and whether the disabled veteran plate carries the registration fee treatment already recorded for this state. They are separate questions and the counter can answer both at once.
  6. 6If you hold more than one qualifying status, ask which plate the office will issue and whether a second vehicle can carry the other.
Form
Application for Registration, taken to the motor vehicles office
File with
The state Division of Motor Vehicles
Documents you will need
dd214 · va rating decision
At each renewal
Claimed again whenever the underlying licence or registration renews.
Worth knowingThe Gold Star parent plate is the one to surface. It is the only benefit in this record aimed at somebody who never served, and it is the one families are least likely to find on their own.
Known gapThe office publishes no fees for any of the six designations and no statute citation. Whether any of them is issued free is exactly what a veteran wants to know before applying, and the counter is the only place it is answered.

Sources

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