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The Veteran Indicator on a Virginia Licence or ID — No Extra Fee, and 180 Days in the Guard Counts

Va. Code § 46.2-328.2 requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to print a veteran indicator on a driver’s licence, permit or identification card for an applicant who asks and proves veteran status. There is no additional fee for the indicator, and the definition reaches more than 180 days of honourable service in the Virginia National Guard or the Armed Forces Reserves.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

Va. Code § 46.2-328.2 requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to print a veteran indicator on a driver’s licence, permit or identification card for an applicant who asks and proves veteran status. There is no additional fee for the indicator, and the definition reaches more than 180 days of honourable service in the Virginia National Guard or the Armed Forces Reserves.

What it's worth: No additional fee for the indicator — you pay only the ordinary price of the licence or ID

  • § 46.2-328.2(A) defines "veteran" for this section as (i) a Virginia resident who has served in the active military, naval, or air service and whose final discharge or release therefrom was under honorable conditions, or (ii) a Virginia resident who has served honorably for greater than 180 days in the Virginia National Guard or the United States Armed Forces Reserves.
  • § 46.2-328.2(C): "The Department shall charge the same fee for any document issued pursuant to this section as is charged for the same document issued without the veteran indicator. No additional fee shall be charged for the veteran indicator."
  • § 46.2-328.2(B) has the Department act in cooperation with the Department of Veterans Services and the Department of Military Affairs.
  • § 46.2-328.2(D): "Any veteran’s indicator placed on documentation issued pursuant to this section shall not be used for determination of any federal benefit."
  • The Department of Motor Vehicles asks for "a veteran service proof document, or combination of documents, that includes your branch of service, discharge date and discharge status", and names the DD 214, DD 256, WD AGO and NGB 22, or alternatively a U.S. Military Retiree ID Card (DD Form 2) together with a completed Virginia Veteran Military Service Certification application (form DL 11).
  • The Department states that "Adding a veteran indicator costs nothing. But you will need to pay the standard fee for the license or ID you’re adding the indicator to." Enacted 2018, c. 440.

Who is entitled to it

  • The indicator identifies the holder of the card as a veteran.
  • A final discharge or release under honorable conditions is what the section asks for.
  • Guard and Reserve service is a second, separate route into the definition.
  • Your home is in Virginia.

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. 1Time it with a renewal if you can. The indicator itself is free, but a new card is not, so adding it mid-cycle means paying for a duplicate that a renewal would have covered anyway.
  2. 2Bring a document that shows all three things the Department names: branch of service, discharge date and discharge status. A partial DD 214 that omits the character of service is the commonest reason a request is turned away.
  3. 3If you have no DD 214, the alternatives the Department names are a DD 256, a WD AGO or an NGB 22 — or a Retiree ID Card (DD Form 2) with the DL 11 certification form.
  4. 4Guard and Reserve members should read the definition, not the folklore. More than 180 days of honourable service in the Virginia National Guard or the Armed Forces Reserves is its own route into the section, independent of any active service.
  5. 5Do not carry it into a VA claim. The section says the indicator "shall not be used for determination of any federal benefit" — it is for the restaurant, the hardware store and the state office, not the regional office.
  6. 6A discharge that was not under honorable conditions can sometimes be reclassified for Virginia purposes under Va. Code § 2.2-2001.6, which is recorded separately in this corpus.
Form
Request at application or renewal; DL 11 where a retiree ID card is being used as proof
File with
A Virginia DMV customer service centre
Documents you will need
dd214
At each renewal
Claimed again whenever the underlying licence or registration renews.
Worth knowingFree means free of the indicator surcharge, not free of the card. The Department is explicit about the distinction and it is the thing people are most often surprised by at the counter.
CorrectionThe section is not in § 46.2-342, which is the statute that lists what a Virginia licence must contain. That section was read in full this session and it does not mention veterans anywhere. The veteran indicator lives in its own section, § 46.2-328.2.

Sources

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