New Hampshire Disabled Veteran Plates and Free Parking

RSA 261:86 furnishes one set of special plates for one motor vehicle owned by a veteran, who may be listed as first or second owner on the title or registration, in five categories. Which category a veteran falls into decides whether they park free, and the statute says so in terms. The five categories in paragraph I. Subparagraph (a): a veteran who, because of being an amputee or paraplegic, received the vehicle from the United States government or whose vehicle replaces one so received, or "who is evaluated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to be permanently and totally disabled from such service-connected disability". These plates "shall incorporate the international accessibility symbol". Note that the third route needs no adapted vehicle and no amputation, only a VA evaluation of permanent and total disability from service-connected disability. Subparagraph (b): a veteran "determined by the veterans administration to be suffering from total blindness as a result of a service-connected disability". Subparagraph (c): a former prisoner of war captured and incarcerated while serving in a qualifying war or armed conflict as defined in RSA 72:28, V, "or while serving in military operations in Iraq or Afghanistan", discharged of a character outlined in RSA 21:50. The section then adds a definition that matters: "For purposes of this subparagraph, 'prisoner of war' shall include a person who was captured and incarcerated while serving in military operations in Iraq or Afghanistan whether or not he or she was formerly designated as a 'prisoner of war' by the United States Department of Defense." New Hampshire does not wait for a Defense Department designation, and it does not stop at Vietnam the way several states in this catalog do. Subparagraph (d): a veteran awarded the Purple Heart in a qualifying war or armed conflict as defined in RSA 72:28, V, discharged of a character outlined in RSA 21:50 "or is still on active duty". A recipient who takes the plate while on active duty must furnish proof of a qualifying discharge before the first registration renewal after discharge. Subparagraph (e): a Pearl Harbor survivor, discharged of a character outlined in RSA 21:50, on payment of the regular registration fee. The discharge standard in (c), (d) and (e) was pointed at RSA 21:50 by 2026 chapter 252, sections 6 and 7, effective August 31, 2026, so a general discharge under honorable conditions now qualifies for those three plates. Now the parking, which is the thing to get right. Paragraph II: "Notwithstanding RSA 265:73 or any other law, any person who is issued a plate pursuant to subparagraphs I(c)-I(e) shall not be entitled to free parking privileges for disabled veterans." So the former prisoner of war plate, the Purple Heart plate and the Pearl Harbor survivor plate carry no free parking. Only the (a) and (b) plates do, and they do it because they carry the international accessibility symbol rather than because of the veteran's status. That is the opposite arrangement from South Carolina, where the valour and Purple Heart plates park free and, once 2026 Act No. 115 repeals the older municipal meter exemption in S.C. Code § 56-5-2585 on October 6, 2026, the service-connected disability plate does not. The trade-off inside subparagraph (a) is easy to miss and costs money. A permanently and totally disabled veteran may, "in lieu of the special number plates described in this subparagraph", opt to receive one free set of the ordinary veteran plates under RSA 261:87-b, "but in such case shall not be entitled to free parking privileges that are reserved for plates with the international accessibility symbol." A veteran who prefers the look of the plain veteran plate gives up the parking. If mobility is an issue, take the accessibility plate. Fees and extra sets, in paragraph II. The initial set under any of (a) to (e) is issued without charge. "An additional set of plates shall be issued to a person who qualifies for the special plates upon payment of the state and municipal permit fees for issuance of number plates", so a second vehicle is possible but not free. And a person qualifying under (a), (c), (d) or (e) may be issued an additional plate for a motorcycle. Subparagraph (b), total blindness, is left out of the motorcycle provision. Surviving spouses. The prisoner of war plate and the Pearl Harbor survivor plate are transferable on death to the surviving spouse, who keeps it for life unless he or she remarries. The Purple Heart plate carries the same surviving spouse entitlement. Subparagraphs (a) and (b) contain no surviving spouse clause, which is the sensible result since those plates track a living person's disability. Separately, RSA 261:88 governs walking disability plates and placards generally. A veteran whose mobility impairment does not meet the RSA 261:86 tests, or who wants a placard for a vehicle they do not own, should look there instead; it is not a veteran provision and it turns on the certified walking disability rather than on service. Free parking itself comes from RSA 265:73, which RSA 261:86, II overrides for the (c) to (e) plates. Enforcement is local, so carry the registration and expect a parking officer to read the plate rather than the statute.