Alabama Military License Plates: Types, Eligibility, and Costs

Alabama military license plates are issued through your county tag office after the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs (ADVA) certifies your eligibility, and the fee you pay depends entirely on which plate you qualify for. Some plates, like the Medal of Honor and former POW plates, are free. Others carry standard registration plus a small annual add-on. The paperwork you bring to that first ADVA appointment is what decides how smoothly the rest goes.

Which Plates Alabama Offers

The state issues distinct designs for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marines, with separate versions for active duty, veterans, retirees, disabled veterans, and reservists. That alone accounts for dozens of options.

On top of the branch plates, Alabama recognizes service in specific conflicts, including Vietnam, Korea, World War II, the Cold War, and the Global War on Terrorism. A separate group of plates honors specific decorations: the Medal of Honor, Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, and Legion of Valor. Former prisoners of war have their own plate. The state also issues Disabled Veteran plates tied to your VA rating, National Guard and Active Reserve plates, Alabama State Defense Force plates, and Gold Star Family plates for relatives of service members who died in the line of duty.¹

Who Qualifies and What to Bring

You must be an Alabama resident, and the vehicle must be registered in your name. From there the required documents track the plate you want.

Veteran and Branch Plates

The DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) is the foundation document. If you are still serving, a valid military ID or a current Leave and Earnings Statement proves active status. If your DD-214 is lost, an ADVA Veteran Service Officer can review other authoritative records, such as military orders, and issue a certification affidavit in its place.²

Award and Decoration Plates

Plates tied to a decoration require official military or VA documentation confirming the award. A Purple Heart applicant, for example, needs records showing the decoration was conferred. Medal of Honor plates are also available to a recipient’s widow.³

Disabled Veteran Plates

Bring your VA disability rating certification plus one of the following: military ID, DD-214, or an ADVA affidavit. Your rating percentage decides which fee exemptions apply, so make sure the document reflects your current rating.⁴

Gold Star Family Plates

Gold Star Family applicants provide a DD Form 2064 (Overseas Death Certificate or Department of Defense Death Certificate) or a DD Form 1300 (Report of Casualty). If you are not listed as next of kin on either document, you also need a notarized ADVA affidavit certifying your relationship to the deceased service member.¹

How to Apply

For most applicants there are two stops. Start with an ADVA Veteran Service Officer, who confirms your eligibility and issues a certification. ADVA has offices in most Alabama counties; some smaller counties consolidate into neighboring locations, and a full directory is on va.alabama.gov.

Then take the ADVA certification, your supporting military documents, your vehicle title, and proof of insurance to your county tag office (or revenue commissioner’s office, depending on the county). The official verifies your paperwork, processes the registration, and issues the plate. This is typically handled in person, though some counties may accept mail-in applications. Call ahead to confirm hours and procedures.

If you already have your DD-214 and want a straightforward branch or veteran commemorative plate, the county office can sometimes verify eligibility directly without the ADVA step. Getting the ADVA certification first avoids the risk of being turned away.

What Each Plate Costs

Alabama military plates combine standard registration fees, ad valorem (property) taxes on the vehicle, and, for some plates, an additional annual charge. Several plates waive part or all of that.

Medal of Honor and Former POW

Both registration fees and ad valorem taxes are fully waived on your first plate. A second plate under the same category requires payment of all standard fees and taxes.³

Purple Heart

Your first Purple Heart plate is exempt from registration fees, but you still owe ad valorem taxes. Additional plates require full fees.⁵

Distinguished Flying Cross, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Air Medal

These plates carry the regular registration fee, ad valorem taxes, and an additional twenty-five dollars per year. Recipients are limited to one plate unless they pay full fees for additional vehicles.³

Disabled Veteran Plates

Fee exemptions here are tiered by your VA disability rating.

Rated 10% to 50%: your first plate is exempt from registration fees and plate issuance fees, but you still pay ad valorem taxes. Any additional plates require all standard fees with no exemptions.
Rated 51% or higher, or vehicle equipped with special mechanical controls: your first plate is exempt from registration fees and plate issuance fees, but you still pay ad valorem taxes. Each additional plate costs five dollars per year rather than the full registration fee.⁴

That split between the two tiers catches people off guard. If you are rated 50% or below and want plates on a second vehicle, you pay full cost on the second. At 51% or higher, that second vehicle drops to five dollars.

Branch and Commemorative Plates

Most veteran status plates, conflict-era commemorative plates, and branch-of-service plates use a simpler formula. You pay the standard registration fee for your vehicle type plus three dollars in any year a new metal plate is physically issued.⁶

Which Vehicles Can Wear the Plate

Military plates go on personally owned private passenger vehicles registered in your name. Cars, motorcycles, station wagons, pickup trucks, and motor homes all qualify, provided the gross weight does not exceed 12,000 pounds. Commercial vehicles and vehicles registered to a business are not eligible.¹

The plate follows you as the owner and is not transferable to another person. If you sell the vehicle, you keep the plate and can move it to a new qualifying vehicle by notifying your county tag office.

Surviving Spouses

When a veteran dies, the surviving spouse can keep the distinctive plate for life, or until they remarry, as long as it stays on a vehicle registered in their name. The ADVA regulation confirms this specifically for Armed Forces Retired plates. Medal of Honor plates are separately available to widows of recipients.¹

The spouse continues paying whatever regular taxes and fees the plate requires. If the veteran had been exempt, whether that exemption carries over depends on the specific plate category. Confirm with your county tag office before assuming the waiver continues.

Recertification Every Five Years

Military and veteran plates are not subject to cancellation for low sales volume the way some other distinctive plates are. The state can, however, require you to recertify eligibility every five years or whenever a plate design is reissued. Recertification means presenting your DD-214 or other qualifying documentation to the licensing official again. If those documents are unavailable, an ADVA certification will satisfy the requirement.²

Annual renewal otherwise works like any Alabama registration: pay the applicable fees and taxes before your registration month expires.

If You Cannot Find Your DD-214

Request a replacement from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis. The fastest route is the online portal at eVetRecs (vetrecs.archives.gov). You can also download Standard Form 180, complete it, and mail or fax it to the NPRC. All written requests must include a handwritten signature dated within the past year.⁷

While you wait on federal records, an ADVA Veteran Service Officer can often work with whatever documentation you do have and issue the certification affidavit Alabama needs for plate eligibility, so the missing DD-214 does not have to hold up your application.

Providing False Information

Lying on a military plate application, concealing a material fact, or misusing a military plate is a Class C misdemeanor under Alabama law.⁸

1
Alabama Department of Revenue. Alabama Code 810-5-1-.232 – Military and Veteran Related License Plate Eligibility
2
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 32-6-64 – License Plate Design
3
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 32-6-250 – Distinctive Plate Authorized, Fees
4
Alabama Department of Revenue. Disabled Veteran US Air Force License Plate
5
Alabama Department of Revenue. Purple Heart License Plate
6
Alabama Department of Revenue. Cold War Veteran License Plate
7
National Archives. Request Military Personnel Records Using Standard Form 180
8
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 32-6-253 – Construction of Provisions