New Hampshire sets aside a small group of registration plates for the people who served. A veteran tag is a real registration plate issued by the state, mounted in place of the standard green tag, and tied to a name on the registration record. The state runs separate designs for a general veteran, a disabled veteran, a National Guard member, a Purple Heart recipient, a Gold Star Mother and a driver on active duty.
This page stays with the veteran and military designs and answers who qualifies, what each plate looks like, what the state charges, how a decal or a medal is added, and what happens at renewal or when the plate moves to another car. Fees come from the DMV schedule, and a town clerk or a DMV registration office confirms the final total.
How to Get a Veteran Plate in New Hampshire
A veteran plate is one of the NH license plate types, ordered like any other New Hampshire plate. Apply at a town or city clerk, at a DMV registration office, or by mail. The clerk has to see that you qualify for the design you picked, so bring proof of service with the rest of the paperwork.
- Your current New Hampshire registration, or title paperwork for a car you just bought
- A driver’s license, passport or state ID
- A DD-214 discharge record, a retirement order or another service document
- Proof of residency if your town does not already hold it on file
- Payment for the plate fee and any charge that belongs to the design you chose
- Your old plates, if the clerk asks you to surrender them
- The mailing address the state should use for a personalized plate
At the counter the clerk checks two things before taking your money: the plate class on your registration and whether the design you want is issued for that class. A veteran set fits the passenger class on a car, and a motorcycle needs the motorcycle version of the same design. If a town clerk has never ordered the design, the office can still process the request or send you to a DMV office. A personalized veteran string uses form RDMV 120. Mail it to the DMV Registration Bureau, 23 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03305. Approved personalized plates arrive by mail. If the state denies the string, the driver receives a letter, a set of number plates and a new registration; the vanity fee is credited to the customer account, and the driver may pick another string or ask for a refund. Every DMV office runs on appointments, so book a slot before you drive to Concord, Manchester, Nashua, Salem, Dover, Epping, Twin Mountain or Newport. The main line is 603-227-4000.
https://www.dmv.nh.gov/vehicles-boats-and-titles/plate-typesWho Qualifies for a Veteran Plate
The state ties each design to a group. A general veteran plate is the broadest of the designs, and the others narrow the group further. The proof you bring has to match the design you request, and the clerk files a copy of that proof with the registration record.
Proof of service
A general veteran plate asks for proof that you served. A DD-214 discharge record, a retirement order or a letter from the service branch all speak to that service. The clerk needs one document that carries your name and your branch. Bring the original and a copy, since many town clerks keep the copy and hand the original back. Proof of service is the gate for a spouse or a family member who orders a plate in a veteran’s name.
Disabled Veteran
A disabled veteran plate is its own design, and the state gives it a shorter serial limit than the general veteran tag. A driver who holds one brings the service proof plus the paperwork that supports the disability. The clerk copies it and files it with the registration. Since this class is narrower, a driver who qualifies for the general tag may still need extra paper for this one. The plate takes the standard reflective aluminium rectangle, so it mounts in the same brackets as any other passenger plate.
Active Duty Military
An active duty military plate goes to a driver who is serving now. The design is issued on a passenger-class registration, and it carries a six-character limit on a personalized string. A service member registers the car through the town or city clerk like any other resident. A driver who moves to New Hampshire has 60 days from establishing residency to register the vehicle. Bring the orders, the service ID and the standard registration paper to the counter. When the driver leaves active duty, the clerk can move the registration to a veteran design at the next renewal.
Purple Heart and Gold Star Mother
Two designs honour a specific award and a specific loss. A Purple Heart plate is for a driver who received the Purple Heart, and it carries the tightest character limit of the group at four characters on a personalized string. A Gold Star Mother plate is for a mother who lost a child in military service. Both designs are ordered at the same counters as the rest of the group. The proof differs, and the clerk files the citation or the service record that supports the request.
Former prisoners of war
The state issues a plate for a former prisoner of war. The design marks that service, and the driver brings documentation from the service branch to the counter. The clerk files the proof with the registration and orders the set, on the same application steps as the other veteran designs. Ask the clerk which record settles the request before you drive to the office.
The Veteran Plate Designs
The veteran family shares the look of the standard New Hampshire plate, then adds a service marker. Every design runs 12 in by 6 in on reflective aluminium. Cars, trucks and commercial vehicles carry a pair, and a motorcycle or a trailer carries one rear plate. The base has used dark green lettering on a pale sky graphic with the Old Man of the Mountain since January 1999. The motto stays across the top and the state name stays along the bottom.
The New Hampshire Veteran plate.
The standard Veteran plate
The standard veteran plate keeps the pale sky base and adds a blue flag beside the serial. The word VETERAN sits above the flag in red, and the serial runs in the dark green the state has used since the 1999 base. A car receives a matched pair. The state issues the design on the passenger class, which covers sedans, station wagons, sport utility vehicles and light pickups. A trailer or a motorcycle runs on its own plate class and needs its own version of the design.
Disabled Veteran
The disabled veteran design swaps the flag treatment for its own marker and trims the serial allowance to four characters on a personalized string. The plate is issued alongside a disability designation on the registration, and the clerk files the supporting paper with the record. A driver who holds this plate and later wants a general veteran design can ask for the change at renewal.
National Guard
A National Guard plate marks service in the New Hampshire National Guard. The design carries the Guard’s own emblem, and a personalized string is limited to five characters. The plate fits the passenger class and takes the standard pair on a car. The clerk files the Guard service record with the registration and orders the set. A plain set can be handed over when the office holds stock.
Gold Star Mother
The Gold Star Mother plate honours a mother whose child died in military service. The design runs on the same aluminium base as the rest of the family, with its own emblem in place of the standard artwork. It is ordered at the counter with the service document that supports the request, and the clerk files a copy with the registration. The state does not publish a separate character limit for this design, so the office confirms the allowance for the class it is issued under.
Motorcycle variants
A motorcycle carries one rear plate only, so the state builds a smaller version of the veteran design for that class. A veteran motorcycle plate allows four characters on a personalized string, and a Purple Heart motorcycle plate allows three, at least two of which have to be letters. A motorcycle personalized string takes no ampersand. The bracket sits at the back of the bike, and the plate mounts right side up with every character readable. RSA 261:176 fixes a fine for a plate that is missing, borrowed from another vehicle or knowingly obscured, and the issuing office confirms the amount. A motorcycle plate is small, so keep the design clean and the serial clear.
What Veteran and Military Plates Cost
Two charges live on a veteran plate bill. One is the registration charge that every New Hampshire vehicle pays. The other is the one-time plate fee the state collects for the metal, and the NH license plate fees table sets that figure for a set. A personalized string adds the vanity charge on top of it. The table below sets out the charges that touch a veteran design.
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Plate fee, set of two | $8 a set, or $4.00 a plate under RSA 261:75 |
| Decal plate | $15 a year |
Registration fee waivers
The plate page does not publish a separate waiver table for veteran designs. The town and state registration charges apply to the vehicle, and the registration bureau decides any reduction that is tied to a service-connected disability when the set is ordered. Bring the paper that supports the reduction and ask the clerk to apply it before the bill is printed. One charge in the law looks like a waiver and is not. RSA 261:75 sets the per-plate charge, which is where the set price in the table comes from. That is a fee the state collects, not a credit against the registration. A driver who swaps to a veteran plate in the middle of a registration year pays the mid-year change charge, built from the plate fee plus a certified registration charge. Renewing a plate you already hold does not repeat that change.
The one-time plate fee
The one-time plate fee covers the reflective aluminium and is collected once, when the set is made. A plain renewal does not repeat it; only a later replacement set brings it back. Veteran plates carry no yearly surcharge of the kind the moose and parks programs attach, so the plate fee is the only charge that belongs to the metal itself. A personalized string on any veteran design adds the vanity charge, billed for 12 months and prorated by month. Order in month seven and you pay for the months left in the registration year, and the plate fee stays fixed whatever month you order. A decal plate runs at the yearly decal rate in the table.
Character limits by design
The state caps a personalized string by plate class, and the cap decides how much of a word or a call sign fits.
- A veteran plate takes six characters
- An active duty military plate takes six characters
- A National Guard plate takes five characters
- A Purple Heart plate takes four characters
- A disabled veteran plate takes four characters
- A veteran motorcycle plate takes four, and a Purple Heart motorcycle plate takes three with at least two letters
A personalized string follows the character rules the state applies to every vanity plate. The string may not include a zero anywhere, and it may not be numerals only. It carries no more than two ampersands, plus signs or minus signs, and never two in a row. A string that reads as profanity, an intimate reference, a drug or gang term, violence, illegal activity, or a slur against race, ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation is denied, forward, backward, mirrored or phonetically. Under Saf-C 508.04 a driver may appeal a denial in writing to the Director. Under Saf-C 513.62(d) the Director may recall a plate that does not conform, and a complaint has to arrive as a signed letter with an explanation.
Veteran Plates Compared
The six designs differ in who may order them, how many characters a personalized string allows and how the registration charge is treated. The veteran and active duty designs share the widest string, the National Guard design sits in the middle, and the Purple Heart and disabled veteran designs take the shortest.
| Plate | Who qualifies | Character limit | Registration fee waived |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veteran | A driver who served and shows a DD-214, a retirement order or another service record | 6 | Standard registration charge; the counter confirms any reduction |
| Disabled Veteran | A veteran whose record carries a disability designation, filed with the registration | 4 | Standard registration charge; the registration bureau decides any disability-linked reduction |
| National Guard | A current or former member of the New Hampshire National Guard | 5 | Standard registration charge; the counter confirms any reduction |
| Purple Heart | A driver who received the Purple Heart, shown by the citation | 4 | Standard registration charge; the counter confirms any reduction |
| Gold Star Mother | A mother who lost a child in military service, shown by the service record | Not published separately; the office confirms the limit | Standard registration charge; the counter confirms any reduction |
| Active Duty Military | A service member serving now, with orders or a current service ID | 6 | Standard registration charge; the counter confirms any reduction |
Cost stays even across the six. Each set carries the same one-time plate fee, and none adds a yearly state surcharge. A personalized string adds the vanity charge for 12 months, prorated by month, whatever design you pick. Proof is the second difference. A general veteran plate moves on a service record. A disabled veteran plate needs the disability paper. A Purple Heart plate needs the citation. A Gold Star Mother plate needs the record that shows the loss. New Hampshire lists an Air Medal design and a Blue Flag design in the same military group at the same fee structure.
Adding a Decal or Medal to a Veteran Plate
A decal plate puts a decal panel on the design in place of printed artwork. The state sells the decal plate for the passenger class and the veteran class, and the charge runs at the yearly decal rate in the table. A veteran decal plate allows five characters on a personalized string. The decal panel sits beside the serial so the number stays clear. A driver picks the decal, and the clerk confirms that it fits the class on the registration. The annual figure covers the decal itself and shows on the same bill as the registration charge. A medal plate adds an award to the veteran marker. The Air Medal design is built for a driver who received that award, and the citation supports the request. The clerk files the citation with the registration and orders the set.
- A veteran decal plate carries the yearly decal rate in the table
- A decal plate takes five characters on a personalized string
- An Air Medal request uses the citation as proof of the award
- The decal panel sits beside the serial, and the serial stays clear
- A decal that covers the serial or the state name breaks the display rule
A cover or a frame can turn a clean plate into an obscured one. RSA 261:176 sets the fixed fine for a plate that is missing, borrowed from another vehicle or knowingly obscured, and the issuing office confirms that charge beside the plate fee and the decal rate. Keep the decal inside its panel and leave every character readable from the front and the rear. The plate fee and the decal charge are separate lines on the bill.
Renewal and Moving a Veteran Plate to Another Car
A veteran plate renews with the registration. The design stays on the car until you ask for a change, and the plate fee does not repeat on a plain renewal. A personalized string renews at the vanity rate, billed for 12 months and prorated by month, and shows on the same bill. Moving the plate to another car is a transfer, and the clerk handles it at the counter. Bring the registration for the vehicle that carries the plate, the paper for the car it is moving to, and the proof of service if the office does not already hold it. A plate from another vehicle draws the fixed fine the NH plate laws set under RSA 261:176 when it sits on the wrong car, so make the transfer official before the plate goes on. A mid-year change from one design to another carries the change charge, broken into the plate fee and a certified registration charge. A switch at renewal folds into the normal bill.
- Renewal keeps the veteran design, and it changes only if you ask
- The plate fee is charged once and does not repeat on a plain renewal
- A personalized string renews at the vanity rate for 12 months, prorated by month
- Moving the plate to another car is a transfer handled by the clerk
- A mid-year switch to another design carries the change charge
- Update the address on the registration before you place an order
Renewals run through the town or city clerk, or online where the town offers it, so a personalized string renews on the same schedule as the registration itself. Mail orders go to the DMV Registration Bureau, 23 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03305, and the main line is 603-227-4000.
Frequently Asked Questions
Short answers to the questions drivers ask most about New Hampshire veteran plates.
How do I get a veterans license plate in NH?
Apply at a town or city clerk, at a DMV registration office, or by mail. Bring your registration or title paperwork, a photo ID, proof of residency and the service record that matches the design. A plain set can be handed over the same day, and a personalized string is mailed after approval.
Who qualifies for a New Hampshire veteran plate?
A driver who served qualifies for the general veteran plate. The disabled veteran, National Guard, Purple Heart, Gold Star Mother and former prisoner of war designs each need their own supporting record. An active duty military plate goes to a service member who is serving now.
What does a NH veteran plate cost?
The one-time plate fee is $8 for a set of two, the figure RSA 261:75 supports at $4.00 for each plate. A personalized string carries the vanity rate in the table, billed across 12 months and prorated by month. A veteran decal plate runs $15 a year. The town and state registration charges apply on top, and the clerk prints the final total.
Can I move my veteran plate to another car?
Yes. The clerk handles the transfer at the counter with the paper for both vehicles. A plate from another vehicle draws a fixed $150 fine under RSA 261:176 when it sits on the wrong car. A mid-year change from one design to another costs $28.
Does a veteran plate allow a personalized string?
Yes. A veteran plate and an active duty military plate allow six characters, a National Guard plate allows five, and a Purple Heart plate and a disabled veteran plate allow four. The string may not include a zero or read as numerals only, and the state mails an approved plate to the address on the registration.