Amherst County Vehicle License Fee and Exemptions

Article II of chapter 9 of the county code imposes the vehicle license fee. Section 9-28 sets it at $25.00 a year on each motor vehicle and $11.00 on each motorcycle, with or without a sidecar, and caps the county fee: "The amount of the license fee imposed by Amherst County under this article shall not be greater than the amount of the license fee imposed by the commonwealth on said vehicle" (Ordinance of July 10, 2006). Section 9-30 lists the exemptions and reductions. Subsection (h) exempts "one (1) motor vehicle, owned, and used personally by any veteran who holds a current state motor vehicle registration card establishing that he has received a disabled veteran's exemption from the department of motor vehicles, and has been issued a disabled veteran's motor vehicle license plate, as prescribed in Code of Virginia, § 46.2-739..., or one (1) motor vehicle owned and used personally by the un-remarried surviving spouse of such disabled veteran". Subsection (d) exempts one vehicle of a Medal of Honor recipient or un-remarried surviving spouse; subsection (i) does the same for a former prisoner of war; subsection (k) halves the fee for a National Guard member's vehicle; and subsection (b) charges no fee to residents of incorporated towns already subject to a town license tax. A veteran who qualifies for the plates at a lower rating, or who kept a standard plate, should expect the fee and ask the Treasurer's office.