Missouri Military License Plates, Veteran Designation and Free Parking

Missouri issues more than fifty military plate designs and the general rules matter more than the catalogue. Section 301.3030 sets both. No special licence plate involving military actions or personnel may require a special fee for issuance or personalisation of one set issued to each qualified applicant; additional sets may be charged the ordinary special-plate and personalisation fees. And any military plate authorised after August 28, 2006 may not limit the number a qualified person may obtain, so long as each set is issued for a vehicle owned solely or jointly by that applicant. The practical effect is that a veteran who qualifies for a post-2006 plate can carry it on more than one vehicle, paying only the ordinary registration charges beyond the first set, while the older plates including the disabled veteran plate in section 301.071 remain one-set benefits. The plates include the Congressional Medal of Honor plate in section 301.145, the Purple Heart plate in section 301.451, plates for retired members of the military in section 301.441, Vietnam, Korean War and World War II veteran plates in sections 301.457, 301.464 and 301.465, an honorable discharge plate in section 301.3054, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross and Bronze Star plates, a Disabled American Veterans plate in section 301.3061, a plate for the spouse of a military member in section 301.3121, a plate for a member killed in the line of duty in section 301.3142, a Woman Veteran plate in section 301.3172, and motorcycle versions in section 301.4000. Section 301.3031 requires the director to notify military plate applicants of the opportunity to make a voluntary contribution to the World War I memorial under section 301.3033. Free parking attaches to a shorter list. A vehicle weighing less than six thousand pounds bearing a Medal of Honor, Prisoner of War, Purple Heart, Silver Star, Navy Cross, Bronze Star with or without the V device, Distinguished Flying Cross, Distinguished Service Cross, Air Force Cross or Coast Guard Cross plate may park free in metered spaces and in any parking lot or garage on a Missouri public college or university. It does not apply during special event parking, and the metered space privilege depends on local authority approval. The Military Award Placard is the removable alternative, issued at no fee to a veteran who received one of those decorations, and it carries the same two privileges. It is the route for a veteran who does not want to change plates or who drives more than one vehicle, and it is applied for on the same Form 4601 used for the plates. The veteran designation on the licence itself is section 302.188. A person may apply to the Department of Revenue for a veteran designation on a driver's licence or identification card on producing a DD Form 214 showing a discharge status of "honorable" or "general under honorable conditions"; or a Uniformed Services Identification Card showing "retired" or "reserve retired"; or a VA photo identification card; or one of the older discharge documents the section lists by name, including WD AGO 53, WD AGO 55, WD AGO 53-55, NAVPERS 553, NAVMC 78 PD, NAVCG 553, DD 256MC and DD 215, showing honorable or general under honorable conditions. The applicant pays the ordinary licence or identification card fee; there is no separate charge for the designation, and the designation goes on the front of the card. Two points on that section. A general discharge under honorable conditions is expressly enough, which is not true of the disabled veteran plate or of several benefits elsewhere in this file. And once the designation is added the veteran does not resubmit the verification document on renewal.