The Michigan disabled veteran license plate is available to honorably discharged veterans with a VA service-connected disability rating of 100%, or of at least 50% under a 2024 expansion. The plate carries no service fee, and veterans rated 100% totally disabled also pay no registration tax. One thing the plate does not do on its own: authorize you to park in disabled spaces or at free meter parking. That takes a separate tab and, for meters, a placard.
Who Qualifies
Eligibility runs through MCL 257.803f. You need an honorable discharge from the U.S. Armed Forces, plus one of three disability categories:
- A VA service-connected total or permanent total disability rating of 100% for compensation purposes.
- A 100% service-connected rating combined with disability retirement pay from a branch of the Armed Forces.
- A VA service-connected disability rating of at least 50%.
The 50%–99% category is new. Public Act 149 of 2024 amended MCL 257.803f to open the plate to partially disabled veterans, where before it was limited to those rated 100%.1Michigan Legislature. House Bill 5127 of 2023 (Public Act 149 of 2024) The line between totally and partially disabled matters because only totally disabled veterans get the registration tax exemption.
Surviving Spouses
A surviving spouse of a disabled veteran rated at 50% or higher can keep using and renewing the plate. The vehicle must be registered in the surviving spouse’s name before the plate goes on it, and renewal follows the same rules that applied to the veteran’s rating level.2Michigan Legislature. MCL – Section 257.803f A surviving spouse who is themselves a disabled person can apply separately for a disability tab.
How to Apply
Applications are made on the Application for Veteran License Plate (Form BDVR-87), available through the Secretary of State.3State of Michigan. Military and Veteran Plate Options You can mail it in. The form asks for your personal and vehicle details along with proof of both your honorable discharge and your VA disability rating.
There is no service fee for the plate. That exemption is written into the statute, so nothing beyond applicable registration taxes should show up on the bill when you first receive the plate.2Michigan Legislature. MCL – Section 257.803f
What the Plate Saves You
Veterans holding a 100% total or permanent total disability rating pay no registration tax on the plated vehicle. Michigan calculates registration fees from a formula tied to the vehicle’s original manufacturer’s suggested retail price, so on a newer vehicle the savings add up quickly.4State of Michigan. License Plates and Tabs
Partially disabled veterans rated between 50% and 99% get the plate and the service-fee waiver, but they pay standard registration taxes at renewal like any other vehicle owner.5Michigan Legislature. 2023-SFA-5127-L – Disabled Veteran Plate; Extend
The Parking Trap
This is the part veterans most often get wrong. The disabled veteran plate on its own does not let you park in a designated disabled space, and it does not give you free parking at meters. Each of those requires a separate credential.
Disabled Parking Spaces
To use a marked disabled space, your plate needs a tab for persons with disabilities. That tab is a small adhesive sticker showing the international wheelchair symbol, applied directly to the plate. You request it separately from the Secretary of State using the same proof of disability required for a permanent windshield placard under MCL 257.675. The tab itself is free, and a new one is issued automatically at no cost when you renew.2Michigan Legislature. MCL – Section 257.803f
Free Meter Parking
Even with the disability tab, free parking at meters and in publicly owned parking structures requires one more thing: a disability parking placard with the yellow Free Parking decal, displayed in the vehicle.6State of Michigan. Disability Parking If free parking is something you’d use, apply for both the tab and the placard.
Misusing any of these credentials, including lying on the medical statement supporting a plate or placard application, is a misdemeanor under MCL 257.675 carrying up to $500 in fines, up to 30 days in jail, or both.7Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 257.675 – Stopping, Standing, and Parking
Renewal
Renewal timing depends on your rating. For totally disabled veterans, the plate expires on your birthday in a year the Secretary of State issues new plates. For partially disabled veterans, the plate expires on your birthday every year, on the same cycle as standard registrations under MCL 257.226.2Michigan Legislature. MCL – Section 257.803f
You do not need to resubmit your discharge papers or VA disability rating at renewal. Proof is only required for the original application.2Michigan Legislature. MCL – Section 257.803f There is no service fee at renewal either, though partially disabled veterans still owe registration taxes. The Secretary of State sends renewal notices, but mark your calendar rather than relying on the mail.
Transferring and Replacing Your Plate
If you change vehicles, you can move the plate over by contacting the Secretary of State with your new vehicle information. No service fee applies to the transfer. Registration taxes on the new vehicle apply unless you’re a totally disabled veteran covered by the exemption.
Replacements for military and veteran plates are free if yours is lost, stolen, or damaged, and can be ordered through the Secretary of State’s website.8State of Michigan. Plate Order/Replacement Don’t drive with a missing or unreadable plate; replacing it promptly protects your legal standing and the benefits tied to it.
Separate Federal VA Vehicle Benefits
The federal VA runs its own program for veterans whose service-connected disabilities affect driving, and it is entirely separate from the Michigan plate. If you qualify, you may receive a one-time payment of up to $27,074.99 toward a specially equipped vehicle, at the rate effective October 1, 2025.9Veterans Affairs – VA.gov. Current Special Benefit Allowance Rates The VA also awards adaptive equipment grants for modifications like hand controls, power seats, or wheelchair lifts. Adaptive equipment grants can be awarded more than once; the automobile allowance is one-time.
Eligibility for either benefit requires a service-connected disability that includes at least one of the following:
- Loss or permanent loss of use of one or both feet or hands
- Severe permanent vision impairment in both eyes (20/200 or worse in the better eye with correction, or peripheral vision reduced to 20 degrees or less)
- Severe burn injury
- ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)
- Ankylosis of one or both knees or hips (adaptive equipment only, not the automobile allowance)
You can hold a Michigan disabled veteran plate and receive the VA automobile allowance at the same time. The federal application goes through the VA, not the Secretary of State.10Veterans Affairs. Automobile Allowance and Adaptive Equipment