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Veteran Designation on a Licence or ID — Six Ways to Prove It, One of Them a CVSO Signature

An honorably discharged veteran may have a veteran designation printed on a driver licence, permit or nondriver identification card. The statute lists six acceptable proofs, and the last one matters: a certificate signed by a county veterans service officer on the state veterans department’s own form. Nobody who has lost their discharge papers is shut out.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

An honorably discharged veteran may have a veteran designation printed on a driver licence, permit or nondriver identification card. The statute lists six acceptable proofs, and the last one matters: a certificate signed by a county veterans service officer on the state veterans department’s own form. Nobody who has lost their discharge papers is shut out.

What it's worth: A veteran designation printed on your licence, permit or nondriver ID

  • The statute names six acceptable proofs: DD Form 214, DD Form 2 (Retired), DD Form 2A (Reserve Retired), National Guard Form NGB 22, Uniformed Services ID Card (Retired), or a certificate signed by a county veterans service officer on a form prescribed by the state veterans department.
  • The designation must be requested — it is not added automatically.
  • The statute says the designation "shall be indicated" once the three conditions are met, so it is a duty on the issuing authority rather than a discretion.

Who is entitled to it

  • The designation records your own service.
  • Your discharge was honorable.
  • 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. 1Ask for the designation. The statute makes it conditional on a request, so a renewal done without asking will come back without the mark.
  2. 2Bring any one of the six named proofs. A retired member can use the DD Form 2 or the retired Uniformed Services ID Card; a Guard member can use the NGB 22.
  3. 3If you have none of them, see your county veterans service officer. A certificate signed by that officer on the state veterans department’s prescribed form is an accepted proof in its own right under the statute.
  4. 4The designation goes on a nondriver identification card as well as a licence or permit, which matters if you no longer drive.
Form
Request at the driver licensing counter, or a CVSO certificate on the department form
File with
Driver licensing, Department of Public Safety
Documents you will need
dd214
Periodic
Re-confirmed from time to time.
Worth knowingThe county veterans service officer certificate is the quiet route in. A veteran whose DD214 burned, was lost in a move, or never reached them can still get the designation on an officer’s signature, and the statute names that form as sufficient.
Known gapThe statute is silent on whether a fee attaches to adding the designation at a renewal, or whether an early replacement card costs the ordinary duplicate fee. Ask before you replace a card that is not due.

Sources

Why only one source type: The statute states the eligibility, the request requirement and the full list of accepted proofs in terms; the licensing agency publishes no page that adds to it.

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