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Purple Heart Licence Plates
Purple Heart plates for a recipient of the award: a $3 plate fee, and the annual vehicle registration fee waived. They also carry free metered parking and qualify for the toll programmes.
Verified August 17, 2026
What this benefit is
Purple Heart plates for a recipient of the award: a $3 plate fee, and the annual vehicle registration fee waived. They also carry free metered parking and qualify for the toll programmes.
What it's worth: The annual registration fee, less a $3 plate fee
- §504.3015 waives the Chapter 502 registration fee for plates issued under §504.315 other than subsections (c) and (q). The Purple Heart plate is subsection (g), so the registration fee is waived.
- The same section sets a $3 fee for one set of plates issued under subsection (g).
- Based on the standard Texas passenger registration fee plus typical county add-ons. Your county fee varies.
Who is entitled to it
- You were awarded the Purple Heart.
- You register a vehicle in Texas.
- Your home is in Texas.
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 proof of the award — usually your DD214 — to your county tax assessor-collector with form VTR-421.
- 2Ask whether you also qualify for a disabled veteran plate under §504.202; if you do, work out which plate serves you better before choosing.
- Form
- VTR-421
- File with
- Your county tax assessor-collector
- Documents you will need
- dd214 showing decoration
- Renew annually
- Renews with your registration. No specialty plate fee on additional sets.
CorrectionThe military Purple Heart plate is §504.315(g). It is frequently mis-cited as §504.5115, which is a different plate entirely — that section covers a Purple Heart awarded by the Department of Public Safety or another Texas law enforcement agency to a peace officer wounded in the line of duty. Citing the peace-officer provision for a combat decoration is wrong even though both plates say "Purple Heart".
Worth knowingThe plate is worth more than the fee it waives. §372.053 names §504.315(f) and (g) plates specifically as qualifying for a toll project entity's veteran discount programme, and §681.008 gives them free metered parking statewide. A Purple Heart recipient with no disability rating still gets both.
Sources
- authority · statuteTex. Transp. Code §504.315(g); §504.3015
- operating · published policyTxDMV — Military and Veteran Plates
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.