California Disabled Veteran License Plates and Registration Fee Exemption

Vehicle Code section 5007 issues Disabled Veteran license plates and section 9105 carries the fee exemption. DMV states the eligibility test as any one of these: a disability rated at 100% by VA, or by the military service that discharged the veteran, due to a diagnosed disease or disorder that substantially impairs or interferes with mobility; an inability to move without the aid of an assistive device; loss of the use of one or more limbs; or permanent blindness as defined in Welfare and Institutions Code section 19153. A qualified disabled veteran is exempt from all fees, other than fees for duplicate certificates, plates, and stickers, on one passenger motor vehicle, motorcycle, or commercial motor vehicle with an unladen weight of 8,000 pounds or less that is not used for transportation for hire, compensation, or profit. The exemption reaches one vehicle only, has to be a vehicle the veteran owns, and applies only while that vehicle displays the DV plates. A person who qualifies for more than one type of fee-exempt plate, such as a DV plate and a former prisoner of war plate, cannot hold both. DV plates carry disabled parking privileges. DMV lists parking in a space marked for wheelchair access, next to a blue curb, at a green curb with no time limit, free of charge at a metered space, and in an area that otherwise requires a permit. Misuse is cited under Vehicle Code sections 4461, 4463, 5007, and 21458 among others. Apply with form REG 256V, Certification for Disabled Veterans License Plates. The medical certification can come from a licensed health care provider, or from a county veterans service officer or a VA representative. Submit the current registration card or other registration documentation, surrender the current plates, and show a valid driver license or identification card. The mobility condition matters. A 100% rating on its own is not the whole test, because DMV ties the 100% path to a diagnosed disease or disorder that substantially impairs mobility. The loss-of-limb and permanent-blindness paths do not require any particular rating, and the rating filter cannot test them, so a veteran rated below 100% who lost the use of a limb should read the DMV page directly rather than trust the filter.