Veteran benefits in Johnson County, Wyoming
- Benefits you can claim here
- 29
- Property tax rate
- 0.51
- effective rate, ACS 2023 five-year
- $6,000 of assessed value (from tax year 2025), typical home
- $0
- a year at this county rate
- Veterans in this county
- 751
- US Department of Veterans Affairs VetPop2023 county model, as of 9/30/2025
What to do, in Johnson County
The process is the same across Wyoming for the statewide records. Only the office and the tax rate change.
Find what applies to you
29 benefits reach Johnson County. Browse them below.
Check whether you qualify
Open any benefit and answer a few questions about that one specifically.
Get your proof
A VA Benefit Summary Letter from VA.gov covers most of them, in about two minutes.
File with Johnson County
Form DR-501 to the Property Appraiser before March 1. File even without your letter.
How much is a property tax exemption worth in Johnson County?
The rate shown is the county's effective property tax rate - aggregate taxes actually paid divided by aggregate home value, from the Census ACS 2023 five-year file. Every overlapping levy, credit and cap is already inside it, which makes it the honest basis for sizing an exemption's dollar value.
These are example savings for a typical home in this county, not an estimate of your own bill. Your actual saving depends on your assessed value, your taxing districts, and how this exemption interacts with any others you hold.
| Effective rate | what homeowners here actually paid |
|---|---|
| Basis | ACS 2023 five-year aggregates |
| $6,000 of assessed value (from tax year 2025) (Wyo. Stat. §39-13-105) | about $0 a year against the county rate |
| Total exemption (Wyo. Stat. §39-13-105) | the entire bill — about $1,275 a year against the county rate on a typical $250,000 value, and more once your other taxing units are added |
| Where to file | Johnson County County assessor |
| Deadline | Fourth Monday of May, annually, every year |
Which document does the Johnson County County assessor accept?
Statute sets the floor; the office picks the paperwork.
Easiest · VA Benefit Summary Letter
Sign in at VA.gov, choose Download VA Letters, then Benefit Summary — Veteran Benefits.
All 29 benefits you can claim in Johnson County
All 23 Wyoming counties get the same statewide law.
other(8)
Record Your DD-214 Free — and Wyoming Keeps It Private
Every Wyoming county clerk records a veteran's discharge document FREE OF CHARGE under W.S. 19-14-104. Wyoming does something most states do not: THE RECORDED DOCUMENT IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC INSPECTION. Access is limited to the veteran, their authorised agent, dependants and veterans' service officers. Elsewhere in this corpus recording a discharge is free but makes the document public, and a veteran has to weigh convenience against disclosure. In Wyoming there is no trade-off to make.
Free recording of the discharge, kept out of public inspection
The State Veterans Cemetery — No Charge for the Plot, No Charge to Inter the Veteran, a Fee for the Spouse
Any discharge other than dishonorable qualifies you for burial at the state veterans cemetery at Evansville. The statute says plainly there is no charge for a plot and no charge for the interment of an eligible veteran. A spouse or handicapped or minor child may join you in the same plot, above or below — but that interment is charged at a fee set to cover its actual cost.
No charge for the burial plot and no charge for the veteran's interment; a grave vault is provided free for casket burials; family interment is charged at actual cost
The County's Duty to Bury: $1,500 for the Burial, $500 to Move the Body
Where a veteran dies leaving too little to pay for a funeral, the county commissioners must prepare the body, transport it to the veterans cemetery and bury it. The statute caps the burial at $1,500 and the transport at $500 — and calls this a payment of last resort, which is a phrase worth reading before you spend a family's savings.
Up to $1,500 for the burial and up to $500 for transporting the body, paid by the county from its general funds
The Military Assistance Trust Fund — Emergency Grants, and 39 Days of Child Care
One fund doing two jobs. It makes emergency grants to service members and families in financial hardship arising directly from state or federal military duty, and separately reimburses dependent care for up to 39 calendar days a year for a member in a duty status. The second half is the one almost nobody claims.
Emergency grants for hardship arising directly from military duty; dependent care reimbursed for up to 39 calendar days a year
A Custody Order Changed for Deployment Must Say It Is Temporary — On Its Face
Where duty, deployment or mobilisation orders move a service member a substantial distance, an existing custody or visitation order may only be modified TEMPORARILY. The order must state that military service is the basis and that it is temporary, and the court must consider whether it should terminate automatically. When the question returns after homecoming, the deployment and the disruption it caused are neutral factors and cannot alone justify a permanent change.
Temporary-only modification of custody or visitation on military orders, an order that must state its military basis on its face, delegated visitation to a close family member, an expedited hearing on request, and testimony by telephone, video or internet
No State Lease-Termination Right — Only the Federal Act Applies
The residential rental article of this state's code runs from definitions through owners' and renters' duties, deposits, remedies and eviction. There is no military provision anywhere in it — no active duty, no deployment, no permanent change of station. A service member ending a lease here relies on the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act alone, and the federal Act is also what forbids an early-termination charge.
No state lease-termination provision for service members — the federal Act stands alone here
The Commission Runs Rides to VA Appointments — Nine Counties, Plus Five Other Grantees
The state veterans commission holds a federal highly rural transportation grant covering nine counties, and it employs a named rural transportation coordinator at Cheyenne to run it. Five other grantees cover more ground: a regional transit operator for Johnson and Niobrara, a tribal transportation authority for Fremont, and senior centres for Goshen, Hot Springs and Washakie. The rides are free and go to VA-authorised health appointments. The test is where you live — a county with fewer than seven people per square mile.
Free transport to VA-authorised health appointments, run by the state veterans commission across nine counties and by five other grantees elsewhere
No Veterans Treatment Court — Treatment and Diversion Courts, but None for Veterans
Nearly every state in this corpus has at least one veterans treatment court. This one does not. The judicial branch publishes its treatment and diversion courts in full: treatment courts running to standards adopted on 1 July 2024, and behavioural health diversion courts at Campbell, Laramie and Natrona. No veterans court, veterans track or veterans docket appears anywhere on that page, and none appears on the branch’s own veterans legal-help page either.
No veterans treatment court is published by the judicial branch — the route is a general treatment or diversion court
education(4)
Free Tuition for Survivors and Dependants — Eight Semesters in Eight Years
Wyoming pays free tuition at the UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING OR ANY WYOMING COMMUNITY COLLEGE for the surviving spouses and dependants covered by W.S. 19-14-106. The structure is UP TO 8 SEMESTERS WITHIN AN 8-ACADEMIC-YEAR WINDOW — so the entitlement is generous in volume but bounded in time, and a student who takes a break can run out of window before running out of semesters. For enrolments after summer 2018 the benefit covers tuition on defined terms; check the current position with the institution's VA certifying official.
Free tuition, up to 8 semesters within an 8-academic-year window
Operation Recognition — a Diploma, and a Phone Number That Answers
The Wyoming Veterans Commission awards a high school diploma to a veteran who left school to serve and never received one. The commission runs a HOTLINE ON 1-800-833-5987, which for a benefit of this kind is unusually direct — most states route it through a school district. THE QUALIFYING WAR ERAS ARE NOT ESTABLISHED from the sources reviewed; secondary sources point to WWII, Korea and Vietnam, and we have not treated that as settled. Ring the hotline and ask.
A high school diploma awarded by the Veterans Commission
Free Tuition for Overseas Combat Veterans — a Medal, Not a Rating
An honorably discharged veteran who was a resident for a year before entering service and holds an armed forces expeditionary medal or authorized campaign medal from a foreign armed conflict attends the University of Wyoming or any community college with tuition free — eight semesters within eight years.
Tuition free at UW and the community colleges — 8 semesters in an 8-year window, capped at the UW undergraduate rate
Guard Tuition — 100% at the Public Institutions, $1,500 a Term Anywhere Else
A serving Guard member pays no in-state tuition and no mandatory fees at the state university, the community colleges or the law enforcement academy. At a private institution in the state the plan pays up to $1,500 for a full-time semester period instead. Three payments a year, and the total from every source cannot pass 100% of the bill.
100% of in-state tuition and mandatory fees at the public institutions; up to $1,500 per full-time semester period at an approved private institution in the state
recreation(5)
Free Day Use and Camping for Life at 50% — and the Hangtag Moves Between Cars
A Wyoming resident veteran with a service-connected disability of 50% OR MORE gets FREE DAY USE AND CAMPING FOR LIFE at Wyoming state parks, recreation areas and historic sites. It is issued as a HANGTAG USABLE IN ANY VEHICLE as long as the pass holder is present — so it is not tied to one car, which matters if you travel with family or change vehicles. Apply online with proof of residency and VA certification of the disability percentage.
Free day use and camping for life at state parks, recreation areas and historic sites
No Hunter Safety Certificate Required — Any Veteran or Serving Member
Wyoming ordinarily requires anyone BORN AFTER 1 JANUARY 1966 to hold a certificate of competency and safety in the handling of firearms before hunting. ANY ACTIVE MEMBER, HONORABLY DISCHARGED PAST MEMBER, OR VETERAN of the U.S. armed forces is EXEMPT. No rating, no wartime service, no residency of long standing — service itself is the qualification. Claim it by submitting the WGFD Hunter Education Exemption Application with military documentation.
Exemption from the hunter education certificate requirement
A Free Fishing Licence for Veterans in Hospital or at the Veterans' Home
Wyoming issues a free fishing licence for INSTITUTIONALLY SUPERVISED FISHING to a resident of the VETERANS' HOME OF WYOMING, or to a veteran HOSPITALISED AT A VA HOSPITAL WITHIN WYOMING. It may be issued by any VA hospital in the state, by the Wyoming Department of Health or by Game and Fish. It is a small, specific provision aimed at supervised outings from a facility — and it exists precisely for people who are least able to go and buy a licence themselves.
A free fishing licence for institutionally supervised fishing
Free Lifetime Bird, Small Game and Fish — 100% or Purple Heart
Two alternative routes, not two conditions. An honorably discharged resident veteran who is 100% disabled per the VA qualifies; so, separately, does any Purple Heart recipient with an honorable discharge. Either way the licences — lifetime game bird, small game and fish — are issued without charge, and either way Wyoming residency of not less than one year is required and the licences stay valid only while residency holds.
Lifetime game bird, small game and fish licences at no charge
Free Lifetime Fishing at 50% — Against a $309 Licence
A resident veteran receiving 50% or more service-connected disability compensation, and resident in Wyoming for not less than one year, gets the lifetime fishing licence without payment of any fee — the same licence the fee schedule prices at $309.
Lifetime fishing licence free — the schedule price is $309
employment(2)
Interview Preference Plus 5% — Doubling at Just 10% Disability
Every public department gives veterans and surviving spouses a preference before the interview stage. On scored applications the advantage is 5% — and 10% for a veteran with a service-connected disability of ten percent or more, one of the lowest disabled-tier gates anywhere.
5% scoring advantage at initial employment; 10% with a service-connected disability of 10%+
The Referral Bonus — $500 Now, $1,000 From July 2026
The state pays a Guard member, a recruit, a retired member or a military department employee for a successful recruitment referral. The payment is $500 and doubles to $1,000 on 1 July 2026, with eligibility widening at the same date. It is taxable income and is reported as such.
$500 for a successful recruitment referral, rising to $1,000 on 1 July 2026
vehicles(4)
Disabled Veteran Plate — Registration Fees Waived at 50%
A resident veteran receiving 50% or more service-connected disability compensation applies through the county treasurer for the distinctive disabled veteran plate — and one vehicle a year carries it exempt from the registration fees. A second plate for a motorcycle or multipurpose vehicle is allowed at the regular fees.
One pair of plates a year exempt from registration fees — passenger car, pickup, motorcycle or multipurpose vehicle
Gold Star Plates — Grandparents Count, and the Plate Is Not Free
Wyo. Stat. § 31-2-229 opens distinctive gold star plates to the parents, grandparents, spouse, children or siblings of a member of the armed forces who died in service or as a result of service. Eligibility is certified by the Wyoming veterans’ commission, the plates are issued by the county treasurer, and the statute routes the applicant through the $30 personalised-plate fee.
A distinctive plate at the $30 personalised-plate fee, plus the ordinary registration fees
Armed Forces, Purple Heart and Guard Plates — $20 to the Commission, and a Woman Veteran Decal
Wyo. Stat. § 31-2-217 gives one set of special plates to a Pearl Harbor survivor, a Wyoming Army or Air National Guard member, a Purple Heart recipient or an honorably discharged veteran, with the branch of service named on the armed forces plate. The same section carries a decal designating an honorably discharged woman veteran, which attaches to the lower left corner of the plate.
$20 application fee to the Wyoming veterans’ commission for an armed forces plate, plus the $30 plate fee and ordinary registration
Disabled Parking in Wyoming — a Medical Test With No Veteran Route, and the DV Plate Does Not Park
Wyo. Stat. § 31-2-213 was read in full this session. The placard turns on a practitioner’s letter and a twelve-month walking impairment, and there is no veteran shortcut anywhere in it. The disabled veteran plate under § 31-2-215 carries no international symbol of access, which is what the section defines a parking plate as.
No veteran route into disabled parking — the test is medical, and a rating letter is not a substitute
licenses & fees(3)
Expedited Licence and Free Temporary Permits — Thirty Days, and Volunteer Hours Count
A licensing board must issue an expedited licence within thirty days to a service member or military spouse who has held a licence elsewhere for five years — with no application needed at all. Three years buys a free 90-day temporary licence while the file is reviewed, and a temporary practice permit can run three years. A board may charge nothing for either permit.
Expedited licence in thirty days on five years of out-of-state licensure; free 90-day temporary licence on three years; free temporary practice permit up to three years
Your DD214 Is Probably Held in Cheyenne
The state military department holds the discharge document of every veteran who listed this state as their home of record at separation, and the records of Guard veterans and retirees. That makes a lost DD214 a local phone call rather than a federal request that can take months.
A copy of your DD214 from the state records office where this state was your home of record at separation; Guard and retiree records also held
A "V" on Your Wyoming Licence — Armed Forces Documentation, Honorable Discharge Only
Wyo. Stat. § 31-7-141 requires the department to print a "V" or the word "Veteran" on the face of a Wyoming driver’s licence or identification card once the applicant supplies documentation issued by the armed forces that they are an honorably discharged veteran.
A "V" or "Veteran" printed on the face of your licence or identification card
Filing in Johnson County
- Office
- Johnson County Property Appraiser
- Form
- DR-501 for most exemptions; DR-501DV for the combat-related discount; DR-501M for a deployment exemption.
- Deadline
- March 1, every year. Missing it costs the whole tax year — there is no late route back in.
Free help in Johnson County
Johnson County has a County Veteran Service Officer, and their help is free. Go to them for anything touching a federal VA disability claim.
Nobody should charge you to claim the benefits on this page. Unaccredited operators charging fees for VA claims are a real and growing problem.
Common questions about Johnson County veteran benefits
- What can I claim here?
- The Wyoming statewide records apply in every county. We have not researched county-level programmes here, so this page shows state law and complete geography rather than a local layer.
- What is it worth in this county?
- Dollar figures use the county's EFFECTIVE property tax rate - what homeowners there actually paid per dollar of home value, from the Census ACS 2023 five-year file. It is an estimate for sizing a saving; the levy table on your own bill governs.
- Where do I file for a veteran property tax exemption in Johnson County?
- File with your County assessor. The form and deadline are on each benefit record.
- What document does the Johnson County County assessor accept as proof?
- The statute sets what must be proved. An office may tell you which document it prefers, but it may not add a requirement the statute does not contain. We have not researched per-county document quirks in Wyoming.
Other counties
This is an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. Veterans Alliance is privately owned and is not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Geography from the US Census; veteran population from the VA VetPop2023 county model.