District of Columbia Veteran, Women Veteran, Purple Heart and DAV Plates

The District issues four families of military plates, and every fee goes to the Office of Veterans Affairs Fund except the DAV plate's. Veteran plates. D.C. Code 50-1501.02a lets a District resident who is a veteran, or the spouse of one, get veteran plates, with "separate designs for each branch of the United States Armed Forces" since 2018. The fee is a one-time $52 application fee and $26 a year for display, the figures the DMV's fee schedule also prints, on top of ordinary registration. On the veteran's death the plates pass to the surviving spouse for life or until remarriage. Every veteran and spouse is entitled to at least one veteran plate whatever extra qualifications the Mayor sets for particular designs. Who is a veteran for the plate. Subsection (a): active duty service, or Guard or reserve membership with either a call to active duty by the President or the Secretary of Defense or 20 years of service, and a discharge "under conditions other than dishonorable". The DMV's specialty tags page asks for proof of service "(honorably discharged)". An other than honorable discharge meets the statute. Branch designs. The DMV lists veterans specialty tags for the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard. The statute requires a design for each branch; the Space Force is not on the list. Women veterans. D.C. Code 50-1501.02b creates a women veterans plate, which by statute must also carry the "End Taxation Without Representation" slogan, for $25 plus $20 a year. The DMV accepts honorable, general and other than honorable discharges for it. Purple Heart. D.C. Law 26-114, the Purple Heart License Plate Amendment Act, in effect since May 21, 2026, added D.C. Code 50-1501.02o: a plate for a Purple Heart recipient or an unremarried surviving spouse, for a one-time $10 application fee and "no annual display fee". Proof is a DD-214 or DD-215, a WD-AGO 53-55, general or permanent orders with photo identification, a certificate signed by the service secretary or a general or flag officer, or other documents the DMV accepts after consulting the Office of Veterans Affairs. The DMV calls it the "Combat Wounded Veteran Purple Heart" tag. The act also repealed the old requirement that the DMV send a copy of every veteran plate application to the Office. DAV. D.C. Code 50-1503.01, from 1976, lets a member of the Department of the District of Columbia Disabled American Veterans, certified by its Department Commander and a District resident for 30 days, register one passenger vehicle with D.A.V. plates at the ordinary registration fee. For a plate with the wheelchair symbol, the DMV also asks for its disability tag application. The registration fee. A veteran rated permanently and totally disabled pays no annual registration fee on one vehicle under any of these plates; see the registration fee exemption entry.