Around two dozen plate designs, a $10 cemetery fee on each veteran set, and a DV plate that carries disabled parking. A surviving spouse may keep the deceased veteran’s plates, except the DV ones.
Also called: license plate, 61-3-458, DV plate, disabled veteran plate, Purple Heart plate, Gold Star, ex-prisoner of war, Pearl Harbor, parking.
Section 61-3-458 is the whole catalogue of Montana's military and veteran plates, and there are about two dozen of them. Serving members get branch plates, National Guard "NG" plates and reserve component plates, on a certificate from the unit commander, and must surrender them on becoming ineligible. Veterans get a "VETERAN" plate with the branch symbol, a National Guard veteran plate for a member or former member eligible for military retirement, a combat wounded purple heart plate, an ex-prisoner of war plate, a Pearl Harbor survivor plate for a veteran who was on station at or within three miles of Pearl Harbor between 7:55 and 9:45 Hawaii time on December 7, 1941, and a Legion of Valor plate.
The disabled veteran plate is the one with a practical benefit attached. A "DV" plate entitles the veteran to the parking privileges of a person holding a special parking permit under Title 49, chapter 4, part 3. Two routes reach it: a Purple Heart award together with a VA rating of 50 percent or more for a service-connected injury, or a current rating of 100 percent, or being paid at the 100 percent rate, for a service-connected disability. The second route means a veteran paid at the total rate through individual unemployability qualifies. A combination plate showing both "DV" and the combat wounded purple heart decal is available to a veteran who meets both, and carries the same parking privilege.
A veteran may hold more than one set. Subsection (4)(a) says an eligible veteran must be issued any set, and more than one set, of the plates they request and are eligible to receive.
Each set of veteran plates under subsection (4) carries a $10 veterans' cemetery fee under 61-3-459, on issue, renewal and transfer, which goes to the account funding the state veterans cemeteries. That fee is waived for some veterans under 61-3-460 and expressly is not waived for the Purple Heart at 50 percent route.
For the family. Gold Star family plates go to a family member eligible for or holding a Gold Star Lapel Button, on a DD Form 3 or supporting documents. Next-of-kin plates go to a family member eligible for or holding a Next-of-Kin of Deceased Personnel Lapel Button, on a DD Form 1300. An unremarried surviving spouse may keep the special plates issued to the deceased veteran, with one exception: not the "DV" plates and not the DV combination plates. The parking privilege dies with the veteran.
One internal tension in the section worth recording. Subsection (6) says that for the purposes of the section, "veteran" has the meaning in 10-2-101, which requires an honorable discharge. Subsection (4)(a) then says the applicant proves eligibility by presenting a DD-214 or other documents "showing an other-than-dishonorable discharge or a reenlistment". The definition and the evidence rule do not agree. A veteran with a general discharge who is refused should point at subsection (4)(a); a veteran who is granted plates on a general discharge should not assume the same document opens the veterans' home or the county interment allowance, which run on the definition rather than on the evidence rule.
Military and veteran plates may not be issued for a quadricycle, semitrailer or pole trailer, and may be issued for a motorcycle under 61-3-414.
Thresholds
Thresholds for Montana Military and Veteran License Plates
Gate
Rule
A 100 percent rating for the DV plate
One route to the disabled veteran plate and its parking privilege is a current rating of 100 percent for a service-connected disability.
Paid at the 100 percent rate is an express alternative
Section 61-3-458(4)(b)(ii) reads "is currently rated 100% disabled or is paid at the 100% disabled rate", so a veteran paid at the total rate through individual unemployability reaches the DV plate on the statute.
A Purple Heart with a 50 percent rating
The other route to the DV plate is a Purple Heart award together with a VA determination of 50 percent or more disabled because of a service-connected injury. This route does not waive the $10 veterans’ cemetery fee.
A surviving spouse keeps every plate except the DV
An unremarried surviving spouse may retain the special plates issued to the deceased veteran, but not the DV plates or the DV combination plates, so the disabled parking privilege does not pass on.
The definition and the evidence rule disagree
Subsection (6) adopts the 10-2-101 definition, which requires an honorable discharge, while subsection (4)(a) accepts documents showing an other-than-dishonorable discharge or a reenlistment. Plates granted on a general discharge do not establish eligibility for benefits that run on the definition.
Documents the source lists
What the official source lists for an application, and where to get each document. It is a reference read from the source, not a full list of what the office may ask for; check with the office or an accredited representative before you apply. Needed means the source asks for it; Helps means the source calls it optional or says it speeds things up.
NeededDD214 or other documents showing an other-than-dishonorable discharge or a reenlistment
Out of date, a broken link, or something else wrong? Say what you found, and an editor checks it against the official source.
Disclaimer
VetTOC is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense. Information is for reference only and is not an eligibility determination. Verify with VA, the relevant state or territory, or an accredited VSO.