What Are Virginia Disabled Veteran License Plate Benefits?

Virginia disabled veteran license plate benefits fall into two tiers. Any veteran whose disability has been certified as service-connected by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs can buy the DV plates for a $10 special plate fee on top of standard registration. Veterans who meet Virginia’s narrower statutory definition of “disabled veteran,” or who hold a 100% permanent and total VA rating, get the plates free and unlock exemptions from registration fees, local personal property tax, and motor vehicle sales tax that can save thousands of dollars.

Who Qualifies

The tier you fall into decides what you actually save, so start here.

Any Service-Connected Disability

Any veteran with a VA-certified service-connected disability can purchase Disabled Veteran plates. You pay all standard registration fees plus a $10 special plate fee.¹ The VA rating percentage doesn’t matter at this level; a 10% rating qualifies you to buy the plate just as a 70% rating does.

Virginia’s Statutory “Disabled Veteran” Definition

Virginia law defines “disabled veteran” more narrowly than the term suggests. You meet it only if you have lost, or lost the use of, a leg, arm, or hand; are legally blind; or have been certified by the VA as permanently and totally disabled.² Veterans in this group receive one free set of DV plates with no registration fees and no special plate fee.¹

A veteran rated 30% for a service-connected knee injury can buy DV plates but pays the standard fees. A veteran rated 100% permanent and total gets the plates free, and the tax exemptions described next are also gated to that rating.

Fee and Tax Savings

The plate itself is a small piece of what’s on the table. The larger savings sit in three separate exemptions.

Free Plates and Waived Registration Fees

Veterans who meet Virginia’s statutory definition receive one set of DV plates at no cost and pay no annual registration fee on that vehicle. Unremarried surviving spouses of these veterans also receive one free set, though personalization and any applicable emissions fees still apply.¹

Personal Property Tax Exemption on One Vehicle

Virginia exempts one vehicle from local personal property tax for veterans rated 100% service-connected, permanent, and totally disabled by the VA. The vehicle must be a passenger car or pickup truck registered for personal use. If the veteran is married, either spouse’s vehicle can qualify as long as one of them meets the disability requirement.³

This is often the most valuable single benefit in the program, because localities assess this tax on vehicles every year. Contact your local commissioner of the revenue or tax office to apply; each locality sets its own procedure. The exemption ends when the veteran dies and does not transfer to a surviving spouse.³

Sales and Use Tax Exemption at Purchase

Veterans with a 100% service-connected, permanent, and total VA rating can claim an exemption from Virginia’s motor vehicle sales and use tax when buying a vehicle. It applies to one vehicle at a time, purchased by the veteran or the veteran’s spouse. If the exemption is already applied to a vehicle you own, you have to sell or trade that vehicle before claiming it on a new purchase.⁴ Virginia’s motor vehicle sales tax runs 4.15%, so on a $35,000 vehicle the exemption is worth roughly $1,450 at the point of sale.

Parking Privileges Require the Accessibility Symbol

The DV plate on its own does not grant any special parking rights. To get parking privileges, you have to request the International Symbol of Access on the plate, and that requires medical certification of a mobility impairment separate from the VA’s service-connection determination.⁵

With the symbol, the plate works like a disabled parking plate. It’s valid in all 50 states and internationally, so the privileges travel.⁶ Virginia law also lets you park up to four hours in metered or time-restricted spaces without paying the meter, but individual cities and counties can opt out by local ordinance, and those areas must post signs.⁷

The plate does not let you park where parking is prohibited outright, in spaces reserved for other special vehicle types, in diagonally striped areas, or in rush-hour restricted zones where parking would create a traffic hazard.⁶

How to Apply

For standard DV plates, submit a License Plate Application (form VSA 10) with proof of your service-connected disability. Virginia accepts either a signed Certificate of Disability (form VSA 54) from a veteran service officer, or a VA benefit letter that indicates the disability is service-connected.¹

If you want the accessibility symbol on the plate, you have two documentation paths on top of the VSA 10:

A MED 10 form signed by a medical professional certifying your mobility impairment, plus a VSA 54 signed by the Veterans Administration; or
A VSA 54 signed by both a medical professional (certifying the disability) and the Veterans Administration (qualifying you for the plate).

Either path establishes the walking impairment that the standard DV application does not require.⁵

You can file by mail to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles at P.O. Box 85815, Richmond, VA 23285-5815, or in person at any DMV customer service center or DMV Select office.⁵

What Transfers to a Surviving Spouse

When a disabled veteran dies, the DV plates can transfer to the unremarried surviving spouse, who keeps the plates and the associated fee exemptions and parking privileges.⁸ Unremarried surviving spouses of veterans who met the statutory “disabled veteran” definition also receive one free set of plates.¹

The personal property tax exemption is different. It expires on the veteran’s death and does not carry over.³ A surviving spouse who inherits the plates should not assume the annual tax exemption continues with them.

1
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Disabled Veteran License Plates
2
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 46.2-100 – Definitions
3
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3668 – Motor Vehicle of a Disabled Veteran
4
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Disabled Veteran Sales and Use Tax Exemption
5
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Apply for a Disabled Parking Placard or License Plate
6
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Disabled Parking Placards and Plates Privileges
7
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 46.2, Chapter 12.1 – Parking for Persons with Disabilities
8
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 46.2-739 – Special License Plates for Disabled Veterans