Veteran Services

Fee Exemption for Disabled Veterans

A Texas driver license or ID card may be provided free-of-charge to a veteran of the United States Armed Forces if the veteran:

1. Was honorably discharged
2. Has a service-related disability of at least 60 percent
3. Receives compensation from the United States because of the disability
4. Is not subject to sex offender registration requirements

NOTE: The driver license fee exemption does not apply to commercial driver licenses.

Verification of Disability
To qualify for a fee exemption, veterans must present documents to verify their disability status while at the driver license office. If renewing by mail, the verification documents must be included with the renewal invitation. Once the disability status is established, the veteran will be eligible to use online services for fee-exempt driver license transactions.

To verify the disability, please present one of the following:

1. A signed letter on disability status issued by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; or
2. Official documents certifying conditions 1, 2, and 3 above.*

*If a veteran receives disability compensation but does not have a letter from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, verification of the disability must be provided by the veteran’s branch of military service.

Veteran Designation for Driver Licenses

DPS offers a VETERAN designation printed on the face of driver licenses for qualifying veterans. The designation is not available for ID cards at this time.

Eligibility
To be eligible for the veteran designation, an individual must be a veteran who was honorably discharged.

For this purpose, a veteran is someone who served in the:

• U.S. Army
• Navy
• Air Force
• Coast Guard or Marine Corps
• Texas National Guard (but not Texas State Guard), including the Texas Army and Air National Guard

Verification of Veteran and Discharge Status
Veterans must visit a driver license office and present their DD-214, DD-215, NGB-22, or U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs disability letter. The document can be a copy or an original, but it must show that the veteran received an honorable discharge or a general discharge (under honorable conditions).

Veterans Out-of-State
Veterans who are out of the state may request the veteran designation by mailing the following:

1. Out-of-state/country application
2. Copy of DD-214 or DD-215
3. Proof of social security number
4. Texas driver license or ID card Renewal/Replacement application
5. Explanation of Eye Specialist (form required only if renewing a driver license)
6. Required fee* (Please send a check, money order or cashier’s check payable to TX DPS.)

*The veteran designation is free-of-charge when applying for an original/renewal driver license or when making a change to a license. Veterans who are only adding a designation must pay the required fee for a duplicate license.

Disabled Veterans
Veterans that qualify for a fee-exempt driver license as outlined in the “Fee Exemption for Disabled Veterans” section will not be charged the duplicate license fee to add the veteran designation.