Virginia VSA 54 Veteran Disability Certification: Form, Filing, and Benefits

The Virginia VSA 54 form, formally the Veteran Certification of Disability, is the document the Virginia DMV uses to confirm a veteran’s service-connected disability so it can issue disabled veteran license plates, waive the annual registration fee, issue a permanent disabled parking placard, and — for veterans rated 100 percent permanent and total — apply a sales and use tax exemption on one vehicle.¹ It is a fillable PDF on the DMV’s website, but you cannot complete it alone. It needs a signature from a licensed medical professional and a signature from a Veterans Services Officer before the DMV will accept it, so plan for the routing time those signatures require.

Who Qualifies

Virginia defines a disabled veteran as someone who has lost, or lost the use of, a leg, arm, or hand; who is legally blind; or who has been certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected cause.² Unremarried surviving spouses of veterans who met those criteria can also apply for DV plates.

The VA section of the form has separate boxes for loss of sight or limbs, permanent and total disability, other service-connected disability, and 100 percent service-connected permanent and total disability.¹ Which box the VSO checks determines what benefits you receive. The tax exemptions require the 100 percent permanent and total rating.

What to Have Ready

Before you download the form, pull together:

Your DMV customer number, which appears on your Virginia driver’s license, ID card, or vehicle registration. The form uses this in place of a Social Security Number.
Your VA claim number.
A licensed medical professional willing to certify your condition. A physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner can certify the full list of qualifying conditions. A chiropractor or podiatrist can only certify walking-related limitations.
The contact information for your local Veterans Services Officer, who has to complete the VA section.

If you want DV plates that display the international symbol of access — the version that authorizes parking in spaces reserved for people with mobility limitations — you also need the VSA 10 License Plate Application. Depending on which signature path you take, you may also need the MED 10 form. Both are covered further down.³

Filling Out the Form

Download the PDF from dmv.virginia.gov/sites/default/files/forms/vsa54.pdf and type into the fields before printing. The form has three parts, each completed by a different person.

Top Section: Veteran Applicant Information

Enter your full legal name, DMV customer number, and VA claim number. Check the box for every benefit you want: disabled plate, permanent disabled placard, and sales and use tax exemption.¹ Check every box that applies. There is no benefit to filing separately for each one. Only check the tax exemption box if you have, or expect to receive, the 100 percent permanent and total rating.

Middle Section: Medical Professional Certification

You do not fill this in. A licensed medical professional examines you and checks the box that matches your condition. Physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners can certify inability to walk 200 feet without resting, use of a wheelchair or other assistive device, legal blindness or deafness, a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, use of portable oxygen, severe cardiac conditions classified as Class III or IV by American Heart Association standards, and lung disease meeting specified spirometry measurements.¹ Chiropractors and podiatrists are limited to walking-related conditions.

The medical professional prints their name, license number, issuing state, and license expiration date, then signs and dates. Check that the license expiration date is in the future. An expired license invalidates the certification.

Bottom Section: Veterans Administration

A Veterans Services Officer completes this section after reviewing your VA records. The VSO checks the appropriate category — loss of sight, limbs, or hands; permanent and total; other service-connected; or 100 percent permanent and total — and signs and dates the form.

Getting the VA Signature

The form carries a specific routing instruction: send the completed form to the Veterans Services Officer at 210 Franklin Road, S.W., Roanoke, VA 24011 for VA validation.¹ The practical order is medical signature first, then to the VSO. That way the VSO receives a form that is otherwise complete.

Two Paths for Plates With the Disability Symbol

If you are applying for DV plates that include the international symbol of access, there are two acceptable ways to document the medical piece:³

VSA 54 plus MED 10. The medical professional signs a separate MED 10 form. The VSO signs only the VA section of the VSA 54. Submit both alongside the VSA 10.
VSA 54 only. The medical professional signs the middle section of the VSA 54 itself, and the VSO signs the bottom. No MED 10 is needed.

Either path is equally valid. The single-form path is less paperwork; the two-form path lets the medical professional use the MED 10 they may already be familiar with.

Where to Send It and What It Costs

Once both signatures are on the form, submit it with your VSA 10 to the DMV:³

By mail to Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, P.O. Box 85815, Richmond, VA 23285-5815.
In person at any Virginia DMV customer service center or DMV Select office.

One set of disabled veteran license plates is free.⁴ A second set on another vehicle costs the standard registration, special plate, and any personalization fees. The highway use fee still applies to eligible vehicles even on the free first set.

What the Form Unlocks

For Every Qualifying Disabled Veteran

Every veteran who meets Virginia’s definition receives a waiver of the annual registration fee on one personally owned vehicle, whether or not that vehicle displays DV plates.⁵ You also get one free set of DV plates and, if you qualify for the symbol version, a free permanent disabled parking placard.³

For Veterans Rated 100 Percent Permanent and Total

A 100 percent service-connected permanent and total rating adds a sales and use tax exemption on the purchase of one vehicle owned and used primarily by or for the veteran.¹ A vehicle purchased by the veteran’s spouse can also qualify if it is used primarily by or for the veteran.

The same rating also supports a personal property tax exemption on one passenger car or pickup truck registered for personal use, under Virginia Code § 58.1-3668.⁶ If you are married, either spouse’s vehicle can qualify as long as one spouse holds the 100 percent rating. This one does not go through the DMV. Apply through your local Commissioner of the Revenue, because it is a local tax matter.⁷ The exemption ends on the veteran’s death and does not carry over to a surviving spouse.

After You Submit

In-person applications are processed the same day at the counter, and plates are mailed to your home in about four to six weeks. Mail-in applications generally take four to eight weeks from the date the DMV receives your packet. Keep copies of every page you send. If anything is lost in transit, you will need to show what was already filed.

Once your plates are issued, the registration fee waiver renews automatically each year on that vehicle. If you sell the vehicle or move the plates to a different car, tell the DMV so the exemption stays attached to the right registration.

1
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. VSA 54 – Veteran Certification of Disability
2
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 46.2 – Motor Vehicles
3
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Apply for a Disabled Parking Placard or License Plate
4
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Disabled Veteran License Plates VLIC-4.211
5
Virginia Legislative Information System. Virginia Code 46.2-739 – Special License Plates for Certain Disabled Veterans
6
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3668 – Motor Vehicle of a Disabled Veteran
7
Virginia Department of Veterans Services. Tax Exemptions