PA veteran license plate designs are issued for military service, for a medal, or for a family connection to service, and they are ordered against a Pennsylvania registration that already exists. The fee schedule lists eighteen designs in this family, from the six branch plates to the campaign plates for Vietnam, Korea, and the Second World War. Each design is a separate entry with its own amount inside a band. The registration underneath keeps its class, its plate series, and its expiration date. This page covers eligibility, the designs, the paperwork, the fees, and what changes at renewal.
Drivers arrive at this topic from two directions. Some already hold a military plate and want to know what happens at renewal or when the plate moves to another vehicle. Others are ordering for the first time and are unsure which design fits their record, or whether the plate can carry personalized characters. Both paths run through the same application and the same fee schedule, so the sections below start with eligibility, then work through the design list, the paperwork, and the cost.
Who qualifies
A military plate is issued for a vehicle that is already registered in Pennsylvania, and the qualification question has two parts. The first is whether the vehicle may carry the plate at all. The second is whether the applicant’s record supports the design being ordered. The bureau decides the second part from the application and its supporting record, not from the design alone.
A valid Pennsylvania registration
PennDOT requires the applicant to hold a valid registration plate and to keep it on the vehicle until the replacement arrives. A military plate is built against that record, so a lapsed registration or a surrendered plate stops the order before production. The current plate stays on the car in the meantime, which means the vehicle is never without a plate while the order is in progress. The specialty plate options include designs that raise money for a cause.
Vehicle classes
Personalization brings the vehicle list into play: passenger vehicles, motorcycles, motor homes, trailers, and trucks with a registered gross weight of 14,000 pounds or less. A design ordered without personalization follows the registration class and the rules for that design. The class and the weight printed on the registration card are the details the bureau checks.
The connection to the design
Each design names a branch, a medal, a campaign, or a family relationship, and the application is where that connection is set out. The bureau reviews the application against the record it holds, so the details have to match what the applicant can document. A plate ordered for a design the record does not support is refused or returned, and the vehicle keeps the plate it already has.
Newly purchased vehicles
A vehicle bought from a dealer has to be titled and registered before a military plate can be ordered for it. The first registration issues a standard plate, and the military order follows once the record exists. A buyer who wants the design from the first day should plan for two stages, because the plate is issued against a registration rather than against a bill of sale.
The designs PennDOT lists
The schedule lists eighteen military designs, and they fall into four groups. The grouping helps a driver find the right entry, since the band applies to the family while each design keeps its own line in the schedule. The PennDOT fee schedule lists each amount by vehicle class.
The six branch designs
Six designs name a branch of service: U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Merchant Marine. Each is a separate plate with its own artwork and its own entry. A driver who served in more than one branch has to choose one design for the plate, because the vehicle carries a single design at a time.
Medals and awards
Four designs recognize a medal: Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Silver Star, and Medal of Honor. These are distinct from the branch plates and from each other, and the schedule lists them as separate entries. The artwork for each is tied to the award rather than to a service branch, which is why a recipient’s branch plate and medal plate are different orders.
Service and campaign designs
Five designs sit in this group: National Guard, Afghanistan and Iraq Veterans, Vietnam War Veteran, Korean War Veteran, and World War II Veteran. The campaign plates name a period of service, and the National Guard design names a component rather than a campaign. Each entry stands alone in the schedule, and a driver who qualifies for more than one chooses the design to display.
Family and prisoner of war designs
Three designs complete the list. Gold Star Family and Blue Star Family are named for the family rather than for the service member, and Prisoner of War names the experience of captivity. These designs are ordered against the registration holder’s application in the same way as the others, and the supporting record is what the bureau reviews before the plate is produced. A replacement plate request uses a different form when the plate is illegible.
Documentation
The paperwork for a military plate is mostly about matching the design to a record. The bureau already holds the vehicle and the registration, so the new material is the part that establishes the connection and the identity of the applicant.
What the application asks for
The application asks for the design being ordered, the vehicle it will be mounted on, and the applicant as the bureau records them. The plate number currently on the vehicle, the vehicle identification number, and the make and model should be copied from the registration card. The owner section repeats the name and address on the record, and the form closes with a signature and the payment.
Supporting records
The record that supports a design comes from the applicant rather than from the bureau, and it has to be consistent with the details on the application. A name that differs between the record and the registration is the most frequent reason a packet is returned, so the applicant should use the form of the name that the bureau already holds. The instructions for the design state what to attach, and that list should be read before the envelope is sealed.
When the design is for a family member
A family design is not a branch plate with a different name, and the record behind it belongs to the family relationship rather than to the registrant’s own service. The applicant should expect the review to examine that relationship specifically. Where the record is incomplete or inconsistent, the bureau returns the packet rather than issuing a plate on an assumption.
Fees for military plates
Two amounts shape the bill, and the second applies only when characters are added. The table below collects the amounts the schedule prints for this family, together with the registration and transfer lines that usually sit beside them.
| Plate or transaction | Fee |
|---|---|
| Military plate, first issuance | $12 to $28 |
| Military plate with personalization | $148 to $164 |
| Personalization on a plate other than standard issue | $136 |
| Passenger registration, one year | $48 |
| Passenger registration, two years | $96 |
| Transfer of a registration plate | $11 |
| Local use fee, per registration year, participating counties | $5 |
| Replacement standard plate | $14 |
Why the price is a range
Each design carries its own amount inside the band, so the schedule does not quote one figure for the family. A driver comparing two designs should look up each entry rather than assume a middle value. The range is what the schedule shows before a design is chosen, and the design settles the exact amount.
The personalized bundle
The schedule also lists military plates with personalization as a combined amount, and that figure is higher than the plain design charge. A driver can read the bundle or add the design charge and the personalization charge separately, and the two readings should agree. The bundle is convenient, but the itemized lines are what show which part is the plate and which part is the characters.
What the amounts do not cover
The plate charge sits beside the registration fee rather than in place of it. Title work, lien recording, and the county local-use fee appear on their own lines, and a transfer carries its own amount. An authorized agent under contract with the bureau may add a service or delivery fee that the bureau does not set, so two agents can quote different totals for the same order.
Personalization
Characters can be added to a military design, and the rules are the same ones that apply to any personalized plate. The base changes the artwork and the fee, not the character limit.
Character rules
A standard plate carries up to seven letters or numbers, and a motorcycle plate carries five. One hyphen or one space is permitted, not both, and either one uses a character slot. Special characters such as periods, ampersands, and symbols are not available. The count includes every character printed, so a separator reduces the letters available by one.
The charge on a military base
Personalization on plates other than the standard issue carries its own amount in the schedule, and the military bundle reflects that amount added to the design charge. The charge is a plate fee, so it does not replace the registration payment. A personalized military plate therefore carries the design amount and the personalization amount together.
What personalization does not change
Personalization leaves the class, the weight rating, and the expiration date untouched, and it does not change the design’s own eligibility. A combination is approved for the plate that was ordered rather than reserved for the driver, so a second vehicle needs a second application. The characters travel with the plate at renewal, and they follow the plate if it is transferred.
Ordering
The order runs through a form, a payment, and the details already on the registration. Each part has to match, because a mismatch is caught before production rather than after.
The form
The form identifies the design, the vehicle, and the owner. A separate application is required for each plate, so two vehicles mean two packets rather than one. The applicant should write the design name exactly as the schedule prints it, since a near match can send the packet back for clarification.
Payment
The plate charge, and any registration charge that applies, go to the Commonwealth by check or money order rather than cash. An agent may take payment at the counter and add a service fee of its own. A payment that does not match the order holds the packet until the difference is resolved.
Production and mailing
Approved orders are produced in batches and mailed to the address on the registration record. The card is updated to the new plate number at the same time. The design and the characters should be compared with the order as soon as the plate arrives, because a printing error is easier to correct before the plate is mounted and used.
Returning the plate being replaced
The plate that comes off the vehicle goes back to the bureau. The return address is the Bureau of Motor Vehicles Return Tag Unit, PO Box 68597, Harrisburg PA 17106-8597, and the plate is marked as a dead tag when it is received. Returning it keeps the record clean and settles which plate belongs to the vehicle.
Renewal and transfer
A military plate follows the registration through renewal, and it can move to another vehicle you own in some cases. The plate has no renewal cycle of its own.
Renewal
Renewal keeps the design and the characters as long as the registration stays active and the plate remains readable. PennDOT stopped issuing registration stickers at the end of 2016, so the card is the record of a current registration. A renewal notice that lists the military plate confirms that the design carried through.
Moving the plate to another vehicle
A transfer follows the normal process, and a transfer fee applies in addition to any title work. The plate has to be in good condition and has to match the class it is moving to. A transfer between spouses or between a parent and child can follow the vehicle once the title and transfer amounts are paid.
Lost, stolen, or damaged
A plate that is damaged but still readable is replaced through the bureau’s replacement process, and the amount depends on the plate and on the reason for the request. A lost or stolen plate has to be dealt with on the record before a replacement is issued. The bureau’s replacement form starts either case.
Disabled veteran and former prisoner of war plates
Two situations sit slightly apart from the rest of the family, and both are visible in the schedule rather than in the design list alone.
The Prisoner of War design
Prisoner of War appears among the military designs, and it is ordered like the other entries in the family, against a Pennsylvania registration and with the record that supports the design. It is a distinct plate rather than a variant of a branch design, and the schedule prices it within the military band.
The personalization amount for disability and POW categories
The fee schedule prices personalization for disability and POW categories at its own amount, separate from the charge for other plate types. That line is the reason a personalized plate in these categories does not carry the general personalization amount. The schedule is the authority on which line applies, and the categories are listed there by name.
What the schedule does not decide
The fee schedule sets amounts, not eligibility. It does not describe the evidence that supports a disability designation or a prisoner of war designation, and it does not set out a review standard for either. Those questions belong to the application and to the bureau’s review, and a driver should read the instructions for the specific design before filing.
Frequent mistakes
Most problems with military plates come from the order rather than from the plate, and the same few errors recur.
Assuming every design has the same eligibility
The designs share a band, not a qualification test. A branch design, a medal design, and a family design each rest on a different record, and the application is where that record is set out. Treating the family as one eligibility rule is the fastest way to a returned packet.
Choosing characters that will not fit
Seven characters is the limit on a standard plate, and a separator uses one of them. A combination built around a full surname plus a year often runs long, and a motorcycle plate holds fewer characters still. Counting the string before filing is simpler than revising it after a refusal.
Ordering before the registration exists
A new vehicle has to be titled and registered before the design can be ordered. An application filed against a bill of sale has nothing to attach to. The registration card is the record the bureau checks, and it should exist before the form is completed.
Paying one charge instead of two
A personalized military plate carries the design charge and the personalization charge, and the bundle in the schedule shows the total. A payment built on the design amount alone is short, and a short payment holds the packet. Reading both lines before writing the check avoids the delay.
Keeping the old plate
The plate that comes off the vehicle belongs back at the return tag unit. A plate kept at home stays on the record and can raise questions when the vehicle changes hands. Mailing it back with the plate number noted closes the file.
Official sources
PennDOT publishes the fee schedule and the plate fact sheets used on this page.
Every figure and rule on this page was checked on 23 October against official PennDOT documents, including:
- Form MV-70S, Bureau of Motor Vehicles Schedule of Fees, April revisionhttps://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/penndot/documents/public/dvspubsforms/bmv/bmv-forms/mv-70s.pdf
- PennDOT fact sheet, Personalized Registration Plates, February 2025https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/penndot/documents/public/dvspubsforms/bmv/bmv-fact-sheets/fs-personalized_plate.pdf
- PennDOT, Personalized Registration Plateshttps://www.pa.gov/agencies/dmv/vehicle-services/registration-plates/personalized-registration-plates
Frequently Asked Questions
These are the questions readers send most often about military plates in Pennsylvania, answered from the current fee schedule and the bureau’s plate material.
What military license plates does Pennsylvania offer?
The schedule lists eighteen designs: six branch plates, the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Silver Star, and Medal of Honor, the Prisoner of War, Gold Star Family and Blue Star Family, National Guard, Afghanistan and Iraq Veterans, Vietnam War Veteran, Korean War Veteran, and World War II Veteran.
How much does a PA veteran plate cost?
The design charge sits inside a band that runs across the family, and the fee table on this page shows the band. A personalized version carries a higher combined amount, and personalization on other plate types has its own line in the schedule. Neither replaces the registration fee.
Can a military plate carry personalized characters?
Yes. A standard plate carries up to seven characters, a motorcycle plate carries five, and one hyphen or one space is allowed. Special characters are not available. The vehicle has to fall within the classes PennDOT lists for personalized plates.
Who can order a Pennsylvania military plate?
The applicant has to hold a valid Pennsylvania registration and the record has to support the design being ordered. The bureau reviews the application and its supporting record, so a plate is not issued for a design the record does not establish. A new vehicle must be titled and registered first.
Do I have to return my current plate?
The plate that comes off the vehicle should go back to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles Return Tag Unit, PO Box 68597, Harrisburg PA 17106-8597. It is marked as a dead tag when it is received, which keeps the vehicle record clean and settles which plate belongs to the car.