Washington veteran benefits
- Verified veteran benefits
- 26
- plus 4 general-law and correction records
- Counties covered
- 39
- every one has its own page
- Veterans in this state
- 0.49M
- Rating thresholds that matter
- 0
- each one opens something different
How to use this, in four steps
You are on step 1. Nothing is locked — browse everything first, then check the ones that look relevant.
See what you may be entitled to
Browse every verified benefit in your state. No questions, no account — everything is open.
Check whether you qualify
Open any benefit and answer a few questions about that one. We stop as soon as we know.
Get the letter that shows the finding
A VA Benefit Summary Letter configured to show service connection and permanence satisfies most offices without disclosing any diagnosis.
File before the deadline
The deadline for the main property tax relief is: Varies by county. File with your county assessor.
Which of these sounds like you?
Pick one and we will narrow the list. You can change or clear it at any point.
Two things sharpen this a lot
Both optional. Your county decides where you file and what a property tax exemption is actually worth; your rating decides which thresholds you cross.
Where do you live?
We use this once to work out your county, because property tax is decided county by county. No benefit is ever matched on a ZIP code alone.
Your VA disability status
What does my rating actually unlock?
Read the record for the test that actually applies in Washington — several reliefs across this corpus turn on the words on your VA letter rather than on the number.
1 likely, 38 possible
What you appear to qualify for — worth checking.
One question checks 25 of them. You can skip it and keep browsing.
Did you serve in the U.S. armed forces?
2 more questions could resolve others. We ask them one at a time.
A Lifetime Pass at 30% — Camping, Moorage and Boat Launch Included
Washington issues a FREE LIFETIME pass to a veteran with a VA award letter showing a service-connected rating of 30% OR MORE. It covers day-use parking, CAMPING, MOORAGE, boat launch and trailer dump at state parks, and carries DISCOVER PASS DAY-USE PRIVILEGES on DNR- and WDFW-managed lands as well. Thirty per cent is a low threshold for a benefit this wide, and moorage is included, which matters on the Sound. Extra-vehicle fees and reservation fees sit outside it.
VeteransApplies statewideFree lifetime pass — day use, camping, moorage, boat launch and trailer dump
Read it and check if you qualifyOperation Recognition — the Diploma From Your School District
Washington school districts issue a high school diploma to a veteran with a qualifying discharge under RCW 73.04.005 who left high school before graduating to serve in WORLD WAR II, THE KOREAN CONFLICT OR THE VIETNAM ERA. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction adopts the application form and the evidence standard, so a district that has never handled one has a state form to follow. WDVA promotes the programme and is the easiest place to start if a district is unsure.
VeteransApplies statewideA high school diploma issued by a school district
Read it and check if you qualifyTransitional Housing at Port Orchard and Orting — With a Women Veterans Wing
WDVA runs transitional housing at PORT ORCHARD AND ORTING for veterans of any branch with an Honorable or General Under Honorable discharge who have experienced homelessness, need case management to obtain and sustain independent housing, and can manage their own activities of daily living. There is a WOMEN VETERANS WING, which matters because mixed transitional housing is a reason women decline it. It includes case management, JOB TRAINING AND CAREER SUPPORT and transport to appointments. The programme fee is 30% OF INCOME, CAPPED AT THE COUNTY FAIR-MARKET RATE.
VeteransApplies statewideTransitional housing with case management; fee is 30% of income, capped at fair market rate
Read it and check if you qualifyA Tuition Waiver for Foreign Service — but the Institution Chooses Whether to Grant It
Washington public institutions MAY waive all or a portion of tuition and fees for an active or reserve member, or a Guard member called to active duty, who served in ACTIVE FEDERAL SERVICE ON FOREIGN SOIL OR IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS. The word to read carefully is MAY. This is PERMISSIVE, not mandatory: the statute authorises the waiver and each institution decides its own policy, so the same veteran can be granted it at one Washington college and refused at another. Ask the specific school before enrolling — and if refused, ask whether another has a different policy.
StudentsApplies statewideAll or part of tuition and fees, at the institution's discretion
Read it and check if you qualifyA Property Tax Grant for the Widow or Widower of a Veteran — Four Ways to Qualify
Washington pays a GRANT toward regular and excess property taxes for the widow or widower of a veteran, measured against the FIRST $100,000, $150,000 OR $200,000 of assessed value depending on your income tier. Four routes qualify the deceased veteran: died of a service-connected disability; rated 100% DISABLED FOR THE 10 YEARS BEFORE DEATH; a FORMER POW rated 100% for at least one year before death; or the further route in the chapter. THE FILING DEADLINE IS WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, NO LATER THAN 30 DAYS BEFORE the tax is due — not with the county, and not on the tax due date.
VeteransApplies statewideA grant measured against the first $100,000 to $200,000 of assessed value, by income tier
Read it and check if you qualifyProperty Tax Exemption at 40% From 2027 — Income Decides How Much
A property tax exemption on the home you own and live in. From taxes collected in 2027 the threshold is a 40% combined service-connected evaluation — down from 80% — and a total service-connected disability rating counts whatever the percentage on it. Income sets how much of the value is exempt, not whether the exemption is open to you. A veteran applying in late 2026 is applying for the 2027 tax year, so the 40% figure is the one that applies now.
VeteransApplies statewideA partial or full exemption, set by your income against your county median
Read it and check if you qualifyNo Sales Tax on Adaptive Driving Equipment — and the Disability Need Not Be Service-Connected
Washington does not charge retail sales tax, or the companion use tax, on PRESCRIBED ADD-ON AUTOMOTIVE ADAPTIVE EQUIPMENT — INCLUDING THE INSTALLATION AND REPAIR LABOUR. Two things widen this well past what people expect. THE DISABILITY NEED NOT BE SERVICE-CONNECTED. And it reaches active-duty service members as well as veterans. MANUFACTURER-INSTALLED EQUIPMENT IS EXCLUDED, so this is about equipment added to a vehicle rather than a vehicle bought already adapted.
VeteransApplies statewideNo sales or use tax on prescribed adaptive equipment, including installation and repair labour
Read it and check if you qualifyA Second Mortgage for the Down Payment — Terms Not Established
The Washington State Housing Finance Commission offers a veterans downpayment assistance loan, paired with a Commission first mortgage. It is a SECOND MORTGAGE rather than a grant, which means it is borrowed money secured on the house. WE COULD NOT ESTABLISH the amount, the rate or the terms from the sources reviewed. Secondary sources indicate up to $10,000, AND WE HAVE NOT TREATED THAT AS VERIFIED. Get the current terms from the Commission or a participating lender before counting on it.
VeteransApplies statewideA downpayment assistance second mortgage, paired with a Commission first mortgage
Read it and check if you qualifySix Months of Case Management to Keep the Housing You Have — Pierce and Kitsap
WDVA's Housing Retention Program gives SIX MONTHS of case management to veterans eligible for VA health care with a qualifying discharge who recently exited homelessness or are AT RISK OF LOSING HOUSING. It runs in PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTIES. It includes personalised support plans, connection to local resources, mental health and medical referrals, employment and benefit assistance, and MINIMAL FINANCIAL RESOURCES for housing. The exclusion to note: you must NOT be concurrently receiving SSVF or HUD-VASH case management.
VeteransApplies statewideSix months of case management, with minimal financial resources for housing
Read it and check if you qualifyThe State Will Manage Your Money — and Protect It From Creditors
The Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs acts as PROTECTIVE PAYEE for veterans incapable of managing their own financial affairs: it manages income to meet housing, food, clothing and medical needs, and PROTECTS INCOME AND ASSETS FROM CREDITOR CLAIMS AND DIVERSION. That last part is the reason this exists. A veteran whose benefits are being taken by a creditor, or by someone close to them, has a state agency that will hold the money instead. No rating threshold is stated; incapacity to manage financial affairs is the test.
VeteransApplies statewideState protective payee and fiduciary services
Read it and check if you qualifyWashington Has No Income Tax — For Anyone
Widely listed as a veteran benefit. It is not one: Washington levies no personal income tax on any resident.
VeteransApplies statewideNot a veteran benefitNo Washington income tax applies — and none would apply to anyone
Read it and check if you qualifyTuition and Fee Waiver for Dependents of Totally Disabled Veterans
Public colleges must waive all tuition and fees for the child or spouse of a veteran who became totally disabled, was taken prisoner, went missing, or died in service — up to 250 quarter credits or the equivalent. A child is eligible between 17 and 26; a spouse or domestic partner has a ten-year window and loses it on remarriage. A $500 annual book stipend comes with it.
VeteransApplies statewideAll tuition and fees waived up to 250 quarter credits, plus a $500 annual book stipend
Read it and check if you qualifyReduced Fee Hunting and Fishing Licences
A 30% service-connected disability — or being 65 or older with a disability of any degree — puts your combination fishing licence at $6.90 and every hunting licence at the youth rate.
VeteransApplies statewideCombination fishing licence at $6.90; every hunting licence at the youth rate
Read it and check if you qualifyVeterans' Scoring Criteria
Ten percent added to a passing examination score — but only five if you draw military retirement, and only until your first appointment.
VeteransApplies statewideTen percent for war or armed-conflict service, five percent otherwise
Read it and check if you qualifyDisabled American Veteran Plates — No Fees, No Excise
One vehicle with no licence fees, no plate fees and no excise taxes — behind one of the narrowest gates in this corpus.
VeteransApplies statewideNo vehicle licence fees, plate fees or excise taxes, on one personal vehicle
Read it and check if you qualifyMilitary Spouse Licensure in 30 Days, Plus a 180-Day Temporary Licence
Every professional licensing authority must run an expedited process for military spouses licensed elsewhere: a licence within 30 days of a completed application, and a temporary licence procedure lasting at least 180 days. Deployed licensees are not charged a renewal fee.
VeteransApplies statewideA licence within 30 days, a temporary licence for at least 180 days, and no renewal fee while deployed
Read it and check if you qualifyState Veterans Homes — No Cost at 70% and Above
Four state homes providing nursing home level care. At a 70% to 100% service-connected rating — or at any rating where the service-connected disability is the reason care is needed — the care is at no cost. Spouses, widows and Gold Star parents can be admitted.
VeteransApplies statewideNursing home care at no cost at a 70% to 100% rating, or where the service-connected condition is the reason for care
Read it and check if you qualifyCertified Veteran-Owned Business — Free, and a 2% Loan Rate Cut
Free certification for a business at least 51% owned and controlled by a veteran, a VA compensation or pension recipient, or a serving member. It puts you on the state vendor list and opens the linked deposit programme, which cuts small business loan interest by 2%.
VeteransApplies statewideFree certification, listing on the state vendor platform, and eligibility for a 2% interest reduction on a small business loan
Read it and check if you qualifyCounty Veterans’ Assistance Fund — Every County Must Run One
Each county is required to levy a tax for a veterans’ assistance fund and to run an assistance programme for indigent veterans and their families out of it. The fund also pays for burial or cremation of an indigent veteran or their family member, at not less than $300.
VeteransApplies statewideAssistance set by your county, funded by a required levy — plus not less than $300 towards disposition of remains
Read it and check if you qualifyState Veterans Cemetery — No Charge for the Veteran, $311 for a Family Member
The cemetery at Medical Lake charges nothing to inter an eligible veteran or service member: burial space, an inscribed government marker, a concrete vault for a casket burial, military honours on request and perpetual maintenance. A family member’s interment is charged at $311.
VeteransApplies statewideNo direct charge for a veteran’s interment; $311 for a family member’s interment or memorialisation
Read it and check if you qualifyFree Recording of Your Discharge — and a Form That Closes It to the Public
Every county auditor must record the discharge of a veteran residing in Washington, on presentation, without expense. A separate form takes the recorded discharge out of public disclosure; that form is the only thing a fee may be charged for, capped at $7 all in.
VeteransApplies statewideNo charge to record the discharge; up to $7 for the public-disclosure exemption form
Read it and check if you qualifyNational Guard Postsecondary Education Grant — With a Year of Service for Every Year of Money
A partial tuition grant for an actively drilling member of the Washington National Guard, and for a spouse or dependant. The award varies by institution type up to $6,500 for 2026-27, with up to $500 once for books — and carries an obligation to serve one year in the Guard for each year funded.
VeteransApplies statewide$2,500 to $6,500 for 2026-27 depending on the institution, plus up to $500 once for books
Read it and check if you qualifyFree Clinical Counselling for War Trauma — Any Discharge, Families Included
No-cost, confidential, outpatient clinical counselling contracted by the veterans affairs department. Discharge status does not gate it. Guard and reserve members deployed in support of war and peacekeeping missions qualify, and family members can be seen where the issue is military-related.
VeteransApplies statewideNo cost — the department pays for the counselling sessions
Read it and check if you qualifyTwenty-One Days of Paid Military Leave for Public Employees, On Top of Vacation and Sick Leave
A Guard or reserve member working for the state, a county, a city or any political subdivision gets 21 paid days of military leave each year running 1 October to 30 September, at normal pay, in addition to any vacation or sick leave and with no loss of job rating or privileges.
VeteransApplies statewide21 paid days a year at normal pay, in addition to vacation and sick leave
Read it and check if you qualifyVeterans Innovations Program — Emergency Money for the Post-9/11 Cohort
Grant assistance for a Washington veteran who served on or after 11 September 2001 and is in financial hardship: eviction and foreclosure prevention, utility shut-off, transportation, and support through a transition into work or education.
VeteransApplies statewideA grant sized to the emergency, within the funding available
Read it and check if you qualifyCounty Burial or Cremation for an Indigent Veteran — a $300 Floor, and It Covers the Family Too
Every county legislative authority must designate an authority responsible, at county expense, for lawfully disposing of the remains of a deceased indigent veteran — or of a deceased family member of an indigent veteran. The sum may not be less than $300, and where relatives or friends take charge of the arrangements the county pays them instead.
VeteransApplies statewideNot less than $300 towards disposition of the remains; the ceiling is whatever your county has set
Read it and check if you qualifyThe State Civil Relief Act — 180-Day Stays, No Quiet Default Judgment, and a Case the Governor’s Call-Up Does Not Break
Chapter 38.42 RCW gives a service member and their dependants protections in every Washington civil or administrative proceeding: a plaintiff must file an affidavit on military status before default, the court appoints counsel, and proceedings can be stayed until 180 days after release. A national guard member called up by the governor is inside it.
Serving membersApplies statewideProtection from the day the orders arrive until 180 days after release, plus costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees on a violation
Read it and check if you qualifyWalk Away From the Phone, Internet, Gym and TV Contracts on Orders — No Fee, No Lost Deposit
On permanent change of station orders, or deployment orders of at least 30 days, a service member may terminate or suspend a telecommunications, internet, health studio or subscription television contract by written notice — email counts — with no penalty, fee, loss of deposit or other additional cost. A separate section lets a spouse leave an employment contract on relocation orders.
Serving membersApplies statewideNo penalty, fee, loss of deposit or other additional cost on the covered contracts
Read it and check if you qualifyEnd the Lease on PCS or Deployment Orders — and the Spouse or Dependant Can Do It Too
Washington’s residential landlord-tenant act lets a tenant who is a member of the armed forces, including the national guard and armed forces reserves — or that tenant’s spouse or dependant — end a rental agreement on less than the usual 20 days’ written notice where permanent change of station or deployment orders do not allow 20 days’ notice.
Serving membersApplies statewideRelease from the rental agreement on less than 20 days’ written notice
Read it and check if you qualifyDeployment Is Not a Reason to Take Your Parenting Plan Apart
The effect of a parent’s military duties potentially impacting parenting functions cannot, by itself, be a substantial change of circumstances justifying a permanent modification of a parenting plan or custody decree. The court can hand the deployed parent’s residential time to a family member for the absence, and a temporary custody order ends within ten days of the returning parent’s notice.
Serving membersApplies statewideYour parenting plan cannot be permanently modified on the strength of your deployment alone
Read it and check if you qualifyVeterans’ Benefits Are Named in the Utility Discount Statute — But It Is an Income Programme, Not a Veteran One
Every regulated electrical, gas and thermal energy company in Washington must offer a low-income discount rate, and RCW 80.28.068 names veterans’ benefits among the public benefits whose receipt verifies eligibility. There is no veteran discount as such — what a veteran gets is a straightforward way to prove they are inside the low-income programme.
VeteransApplies statewideNot a veteran benefitA discounted rate set in your utility’s own tariff, plus grants and other assistance
Read it and check if you qualifyVeterans Treatment Court — Every Court in the State May Run One, and Four Charge Types Shut You Out
Chapter 2.30 RCW authorises every trial and juvenile court in Washington to establish a therapeutic court, and names veterans treatment court as one of the programme types. Treatment replaces the ordinary path through the case in exchange for resolving it. The prosecutor must consent in a criminal case, and four categories of charge or prior conviction bar entry unless the court makes a special finding.
VeteransApplies statewideTreatment in place of the ordinary path through the case, where the local court runs the programme and the prosecutor consents
Read it and check if you qualifyA State-Funded Veterans Service Officer in Small Counties — and the Adjacent-County Right That Starts in 2028
The state pays to put an accredited veterans service officer into underserved counties. The version in force today funds counties with a population of one hundred thousand or less, first come first served, capped at one full-time officer each. From 1 July 2028 the test changes to counties where take-up of federal disability or pension compensation is below the national average, and a funded county must then let veterans from adjacent counties use its officer.
VeteransApplies statewideA state-funded accredited service officer in your county, where your county qualifies and applied
Read it and check if you qualifyVeterans Conservation Corps — Habitat Work, Training and Ecotherapy, and You Pick Which Half
The Washington Veterans Conservation Corps is created by statute inside the Department of Veterans Affairs. An enrollee may choose the volunteer habitat-restoration projects list, the training, certification, ecotherapy and placement programme, or both. The department is directed to help enrollees find employment in conservation work.
VeteransApplies statewideHabitat restoration work, training and certification, ecotherapy, and help finding conservation employment
Read it and check if you qualifyWomen Veterans Advisory Committee — a Seat, Not a Cheque
The Department of Veterans Affairs runs a Women Veterans Advisory Committee whose stated mission is to ensure Washington’s women veterans have equitable access to federal and state veterans’ services and benefits. It is an advisory and outreach body with an open membership application — it is not a benefit that pays money.
VeteransApplies statewideAdvisory committee membership, outreach, events and webinars — no payment
Read it and check if you qualifyGold Star Plates — Nine Classes of Family, and No Excise Tax at All for Six of Them
RCW 46.18.245 gives Gold Star plates to a widow, widower, parent, adoptive parent, stepparent, adult in loco parentis or foster parent, child, adopted child or sibling of a service member who died in service or as a result of it. For everyone but a child or sibling, one vehicle carries no vehicle licence fees, no plate fees and no motor vehicle excise tax.
VeteransApplies statewideOne vehicle free of vehicle licence fees, plate fees and motor vehicle excise tax for a widow, widower, parent, adoptive parent, stepparent or in loco parentis applicant; plate fees only for a child or sibling
Read it and check if you qualifyThe Veteran Designation on a Washington Licence — Four Named Documents, Retiree Card Included
RCW 46.20.161 puts a veteran designation on a Washington driver’s licence on request. The statute names four acceptable proofs — a VA identification card or proof of service letter, a DD Form 214 or 215, an NGB Form 22, or a DD Form 2 retiree card — and lets the department accept alternates besides.
VeteransApplies statewideA veteran designation on the licence — the licence fee itself is $10 for each year the licence is issued
Read it and check if you qualifyDisabled Parking in Washington — a Veteran Route Added in 2025, and No Doctor Needed for It
RCW 46.19.010(1)(k), added by 2025 c 295 and effective 1 October 2025, makes a veteran with a 70 percent or higher disability rating who uses a service animal eligible for special parking privileges. It sits outside the subsection that requires a practitioner to determine the disability, and placards are issued free of charge.
VeteransApplies statewideFree — parking placards and identification cards must be issued free of charge
Read it and check if you qualifyWashington State Ferries — No Veteran Fare, and a VA Card Will Not Get You the Disability One
The largest ferry system in the country offers no discount to veterans, to Purple Heart recipients, to Medal of Honor recipients or to Gold Star families. The 50 percent disability fare that does exist is real, but Washington State Ferries states plainly that IDs from the Veterans Administration are not accepted as proof of it.
VeteransApplies statewideNot a veteran benefitNo veteran fare exists — the route in is the disability fare, and it needs a card the VA does not issue
Read it and check if you qualify
Does my county change the answer?
For the statewide records, no — the same law applies in all 39 counties. What changes is the office you file with and the rate your bill is calculated at, and we do not yet hold Washington rates.
- Adams County
- Asotin County
- Benton County
- Chelan County
- Clallam County
- Clark County
- Columbia County
- Cowlitz County
- Douglas County
- Ferry County
- Franklin County
- Garfield County
- Grant County
- Grays Harbor County
- Island County
- Jefferson County
- King County
- Kitsap County
- Kittitas County
- Klickitat County
- Lewis County
- Lincoln County
- Mason County
- Okanogan County
- Pacific County
- Pend Oreille County
- Pierce County
- San Juan County
- Skagit County
- Skamania County
- Snohomish County
- Spokane County
- Stevens County
- Thurston County
- Wahkiakum County
- Walla Walla County
- Whatcom County
- Whitman County
- Yakima County
Every benefit here was checked against the statute or rule behind it, and each page shows the date. This is an informational match, not a government eligibility determination — the responsible agency decides your application.