Kentucky Purple Heart, Former POW, and Pearl Harbor License Plates

KRS 186.162(2)(b) groups former prisoners of war, recipients of the Purple Heart, and survivors of Pearl Harbor into one fee band: twenty-three dollars initial, eleven dollars renewal. The split is twelve dollars to the Transportation Cabinet, six to the county clerk, and five to the veterans' program trust fund under KRS 40.460 on the initial purchase, and on renewal the Transportation Cabinet component drops away, leaving six to the clerk and five to the trust fund. Eleven dollars is the cheapest renewal of any Kentucky military plate other than the free ones, and it is materially cheaper than the twenty-three dollar renewal on the ordinary military and fifty-to-ninety-nine percent disabled veteran plates. Figures of twenty-six dollars initial and fourteen renewal for the Purple Heart plate, which circulate widely, are not Kentucky's fees. These fees also fall on January 1, 2027, when the county clerk component comes out of the special plate structure. The eligibility proofs differ by plate. Purple Heart: a current servicemember shows a military ID card and official documentation of the award; a veteran provides official documentation of the award and of an honorable discharge. Former prisoner of war, under KRS 186.041(4): written proof from VA or another appropriate federal agency stating the period of time the person, or the person's spouse, was a prisoner of war. The statute covers former prisoners of the enemy during World War I, World War II, the Korean War, or the Vietnam War, and extends eligibility to the spouse of a deceased former prisoner of war. Pearl Harbor, under KRS 186.041(5): written evidence from the Kentucky chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association that the person was a member of the Armed Forces on December 7, 1941, was on station between 7:55 and 9:45 a.m. Hawaii time at Pearl Harbor, on Oahu, or offshore within three miles, was honorably discharged, and is certified by the chapter. The survivorship rules are worth knowing before a death rather than after. Under KRS 186.041(4), if a former prisoner of war dies with a vehicle licensed under the section, the surviving spouse may retain the plate for use on the same vehicle or another complying vehicle. Under KRS 186.041(7), the surviving spouse of a Purple Heart recipient or of a Kentucky National Guard member or retired member who held the corresponding plate may retain it and renew it indefinitely, provided the annual registration fee is paid. The plate does not have to be surrendered. One related plate sits in its own band. A recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, or Air Force Cross pays six dollars initial and six renewal under KRS 186.162(2)(e), all of it the county clerk's fee. That plate runs through KDVA rather than the clerk: submit an application with the general order authorizing the award and the DD-214 to the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs, which verifies and forwards the name to the Transportation Cabinet by September 1 preceding the issue or renewal year, after which the plate is sent to the county clerk for collection.