Kentucky County Clerks: Free, Confidential Discharge Recording
Every Kentucky county clerk must record a resident's DD-214 or other discharge papers free; the recorded papers are not public records (only the index of names is), copies go…
apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=18112
Kentucky Death Benefit for National Guard and Reserve Members
An $80,000 lump sum from the state general fund when a Guard or Reserve member dies in the line of duty, split into an immediate payment and a trust when children are under 18.
apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=50252
Kentucky Disabled Sportsman's License
A resident veteran rated 50% or more buys a $12.68 license bundling hunting, fishing, all deer permits, both turkey permits, waterfowl, and trout.
Gate: Service-connected rating of 50% or more
fw.ky.gov/Licenses/Pages/Resident-Senior-and-Disabled-Licenses.aspx
Kentucky Disabled Veteran License Plates
Free at 100% service-connected or with a VA vehicle grant. $23 initial and renewal between 50% and 99%, falling to $17 on January 1, 2027.
Gate: Service-connected rating of 50% or more for the reduced-fee plate; 100% makes the plate free
apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57951
Kentucky Gold Star License Plates
A Gold Star mother, father, or spouse receives up to two plates free of charge, which most summaries of this benefit omit entirely.
apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57953
Kentucky High School Diploma for WWII, Korea, and Vietnam Veterans
A local board of education shall award a diploma to a veteran who left high school to serve in WWII, Korea, or Vietnam.
apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57191
Kentucky Homeless Veterans Program
State grants for immediate needs and rent or utility assistance for veterans who are homeless or at imminent risk, with no rating requirement.
apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=21853
Kentucky Homestead Exemption for Totally Disabled Veterans
Kentucky has no veteran-specific property tax exemption. A totally disabled veteran claims the same $49,100 homestead exemption as a 65-year-old, and the only veteran-specific…
Gate: Total service-connected disability; Unemployability is not settled here
apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=39641
Kentucky Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Veterans with TBI or PTSD
A 2026 law added PTSD to Kentucky's hyperbaric oxygen therapy statute. It creates a right of access, not a right to payment - the provider may charge the veteran the full cost.
apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57615
Kentucky In-State Tuition Rates for Nonresident Veterans and Guard Members
An active Kentucky National Guard member gets resident tuition by statute.
www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/38/3679
Kentucky Income Tax Exemption for Active Duty Military Pay
All active duty pay is exempt, including drill and annual training pay for Guard and Reserve members, and a servicemember with no other income need not file a Kentucky return at…
revenue.ky.gov/Individual/Pages/Military-Exemptions.aspx
Kentucky Medal for Freedom
A state medal for a servicemember killed in action on or after January 1, 1991, reaching members of any state's Guard or Reserve who named Kentucky as home of record.
apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=42400
Kentucky Pension Income Exclusion for Military Retired Pay
Up to $31,110 of retired pay is excluded, and service before January 1, 1998 can push the exempt share higher through Schedule P.
revenue.ky.gov/Individual/Pages/Military-Exemptions.aspx
Kentucky Purple Heart, Former POW, and Pearl Harbor License Plates
$23 to start and $11 a year after, the cheapest renewal of any Kentucky military plate. A surviving spouse may keep a Purple Heart or POW plate and renew it indefinitely.
apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57951
Kentucky State Employment Interview Preference
Kentucky gives veterans a guaranteed interview rather than points.
apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=48896
Kentucky State Park Free Camping for Former Prisoners of War
A resident former POW camps free in any Kentucky state park or campground, with no annual limit, no peak-period restriction, and no rating requirement.
apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=45831
Kentucky State Park Free Lodging for Totally Disabled Veterans
Three free overnight stays a year at any Kentucky state park for a resident veteran rated 100% permanent and total, covering only the veteran, bookable only by phone and no more…
Gate: Total service-connected disability; Permanent and total, not merely 100%
apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=45832
Kentucky State Veterans Cemeteries
Five state cemeteries, free to the veteran, with a $500 spousal fee payable only at death.
apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=56650
Kentucky State Veterans Centers
Five state-run skilled nursing homes for Kentucky veterans. At a 70% rating or higher the VA per diem covers the whole cost and the veteran pays nothing out of pocket.
Gate: 70% or higher means no out-of-pocket cost
veterans.ky.gov/Veterans-Centers/Pages/default.aspx
Kentucky Tuition Waiver for a Child Disabled by the Veteran's Service
A child whose own disability is a direct result of the parent's service gets a tuition waiver with no age limit at all, and the veteran parent needs no disability rating.
apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=45835
Kentucky Tuition Waiver for the Family of a Deceased Veteran
Two statutes, not one. The general deceased-veteran waiver runs 45 months and stops at 26 for a child; the killed-in-service waiver under KRS 164.505 carries neither limit.
apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=45833
Kentucky Tuition Waiver for the Family of a Totally Disabled Veteran
Tuition waived at Kentucky public institutions for the spouse at any age and children under 26 of a veteran rated 100% service-connected, with no wartime service needed.
Gate: Veteran rated 100% service-connected, wartime service not required; Unemployability is not settled here
apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=45836
Kentucky Veteran Designation on a Driver's License or ID Card
An honorably discharged veteran can have a veteran designation added to a Kentucky license or ID card, which is proof of service for discounts without carrying a DD-214.
apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57818
Kentucky Veterans Program Trust Fund
A grant fund for organizations, not a source of aid to individual veterans. Funded mainly by the $5 earmark in veteran license plate fees, part of which was redirected in 2026.
veterans.ky.gov/veterans-trust-fund/Pages/default.aspx
Kentucky Veterans' Personal Loan Program (statute with no visible program)
KRS 40.650 authorizes $10,000 loans to veterans for a home, business, education, medical or funeral costs, or debt consolidation.
apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=21880