Hawaii Veteran License Plates

Hawaii issues ten military and veteran license plate designs: Veteran, Combat Veteran, Combat Wounded, Pearl Harbor Survivor, Former Prisoner of War, World War II Veteran, Korea Veteran, Vietnam Veteran, Persian Gulf Veteran, and Gold Star Family. Motorcycle versions are available. The pricing is straightforward in a way several states are not. These plates cost what a regular license plate costs. There is no specialty plate surcharge and no annual premium, so a veteran is not paying extra to display the designation. The Pearl Harbor Survivor plate is specific to Hawaii in a way no other state's plate roster can be, and it belongs to a rapidly shrinking group. Eligibility documentation differs by design. A discharge document establishes veteran status, a campaign or combat decoration establishes the combat plates, and a DD-1300 Report of Casualty establishes Gold Star Family eligibility. There is no disability rating requirement for the plates themselves. The financial benefit for a disabled veteran in Hawaii sits in the registration fee exemption, which is a separate application covered in its own entry here. Holding a veteran plate does not produce that exemption and claiming that exemption does not require a specialty plate. The authority is HRS 249-9 together with Act 188. Apply through the county motor vehicle registration office for the island where the vehicle is registered, since Hawaii's vehicle registration is county-administered even though the plate designs are set by the state.