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VETERAN on a Vermont Licence — One Form Does the Licence and the Plates
The Vermont Certificate of Veteran Status, form VG-168, is certified by the Office of Veterans Affairs and then does two jobs: it adds the word VETERAN to the front of a Vermont driver’s licence or non-driver identification card under 23 V.S.A. § 610, and it is the form every veteran licence plate on the DMV’s military page requires.
Verified August 23, 2026
What this benefit is
The Vermont Certificate of Veteran Status, form VG-168, is certified by the Office of Veterans Affairs and then does two jobs: it adds the word VETERAN to the front of a Vermont driver’s licence or non-driver identification card under 23 V.S.A. § 610, and it is the form every veteran licence plate on the DMV’s military page requires.
What it's worth: The word VETERAN added to the front of a Vermont licence or non-driver identification card
- The Department of Motor Vehicles states, under the heading "Veteran Designation on Driver's License (23 V.S.A. § 610)", that "Military veterans are now able to request a new credential with the distinguishing mark “VETERAN” added to the front of the card", and that "Veterans may also obtain the required forms by visiting any local Vermont DMV office or the Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs."
- The Department describes form VG-168, the Certificate of Veteran Status, as being used "To apply for a Veterans plate and/or to have a Veterans designator added onto a VT license."
- Form VG-168 covers both a registration section and a licence and non-driver identification card section, and carries the note "Vermont National Guard Members: You must be a Veteran as defined in 38 U.S.C. § 101 to qualify."
- The Department states that all plates on its military plates page require a completed Vermont Certificate of Veteran Status "which must be certified by the Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs".
- The Department also states, on the same page, that "Any veteran may apply for a non-specific Veterans’ Plate with an American flag and “V” designation."
- The Department’s military page separately lists "Exemption from Driver’s License Fee (23 V.S.A. § 609)" with the opening words "No fees shall be charged to an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces". The page truncates the provision and the statute itself was not reachable this session, so no scope, cap or condition for that exemption is published here.
Who is entitled to it
- The designation goes on the veteran’s own credential.
- The Office of Veterans Affairs certifies veteran status, which is the gate.
- Your home is in Vermont.
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
- 1Fill in form VG-168 once and use it twice. The same certificate carries the licence designator and any veteran plate you want, so complete both sections while you have it in front of you.
- 2Get it certified by the Office of Veterans Affairs. The Department says in terms that the certificate must be certified by that Office, and an uncertified form does not work at a DMV counter.
- 3Guard members should read the note on the form: veteran status is measured by 38 U.S.C. § 101, not by Guard membership on its own.
- 4Pick up the form at any local DMV office or at the Office of Veterans Affairs. The Department names both.
- 5Ask about the driver’s licence fee exemption while you are there. The Department’s own military page lists an exemption under 23 V.S.A. § 609 beginning "No fees shall be charged to an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces" — get the Department to state the current terms in writing, because the page does not print them in full.
- 6If you also want a plate, remember the whole military plate range needs the same certificate, and none of those plates can be personalised.
- Form
- Vermont Certificate of Veteran Status (VG-168)
- File with
- Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs for certification, then the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles
- Documents you will need
- dd214
- At each renewal
- Claimed again whenever the underlying licence or registration renews.
Worth knowingOne certification, two credentials. Veterans commonly make the trip twice because nobody tells them the plate form and the licence form are the same piece of paper.
Known gapThe Department lists a driver’s licence fee exemption under 23 V.S.A. § 609 and a vehicle fee exemption under 23 V.S.A. § 378, but prints only the opening words of each. legislature.vermont.gov refused every request this session, so neither provision is published here as a benefit. Both are recorded as candidates.
CorrectionGuard service alone is not enough. The form says so on its face: a Vermont National Guard member must be a veteran as defined in 38 U.S.C. § 101 to qualify.
Sources
- authority · agencyVermont Department of Motor Vehicles, Military Veterans (read 23 August 2026: under "Veteran Designation on Driver's License (23 V.S.A. § 610)" the page states "Military veterans are now able to request a new credential with the distinguishing mark “VETERAN” added to the front of the card" and that "Veterans may also obtain the required forms by visiting any local Vermont DMV office or the Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs"; the related forms table describes form VG-168, Certificate of Veteran Status, as being "To apply for a Veterans plate and/or to have a Veterans designator added onto a VT license"; the page also lists, with statutory citations but truncated text, an extension of licence for members of the U.S. Armed Forces under 23 V.S.A. § 616, a military skills test waiver for CDL under 23 V.S.A. § 4108, an exemption for vehicle under 23 V.S.A. § 378, an exemption from title fee under 23 V.S.A. § 2002, an exemption from tax under 32 V.S.A. § 8911, an exemption from driver's license fee under 23 V.S.A. § 609, and certified inspection mechanics under 23 V.S.A. § 1227)
- operating · agencyVermont Department of Motor Vehicles, Vermont Certificate of Veteran Status, form VG-168 (06/2024 MTC), read 23 August 2026: the form carries an applicant section, a registration section and a "License & Non-Driver Identification cards" section, and the note "Vermont National Guard Members: You must be a Veteran as defined in 38 U.S.C. § 101 to qualify"
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