Veterans Eligible For License Plates And Hunting/Fishing Licenses

(BEDFORD) – Lawrence County Veterans Affair Officer Brad Bough discussed with the commissioners this morning that veterans are entitled and eligible for Disabled Hoosier Veteran license plates and his office can help them obtain it.


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He can also assist veterans in obtaining a fishing and hunting license. A yearly license cost $2.75 a year and $27.50 for a 10-year-license.
Disabled Veterans’ Hunting & Fishing (DAV) Licenses
Indiana residents who have served in the armed forces and have a documented service-connected disability eligible for a DAV license.
The veteran will have to fill out an application form. Applications are available in your County Veteran Service Office or online. Include your USDVA File number. Send your application, payment, and self-addressed stamped envelope to:
DNR Customer Service Center
402 W. Washington St., Room W160
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Once you receive your certified application, you may use it to purchase your first DAV license either in the mail through the DNR customer service center or by taking the attached application certified by the Indiana Dept. of Veteran’s Affairs to a DNR property.
You can send in a check or money order payable to IDNR when you submit the application and your license will be mailed to you upon the certification by the Dept. of Veteran’s Affairs and payment for the license.
Within two weeks, your signed and sealed certified application will be returned to you. You will need to retain this letter for your future use.
The license sells for $2.75 and covers the hunting of small game as well as fishing, excluding any stamps. Or you can buy a 10 year DAV license for $27.50. This covers the same as above for a total of 10 hunting/fishing seasons. Game bird, Waterfowl and Trout, and Salmon stamps are not included in the discount. The hunting license is only for small game, not deer or turkey hunting.
Eligibility for the Disabled Hoosier Veteran license plate
Eligibility for the Disabled Hoosier Veteran license plate is determined by the severity of a service-connected disability and the impact of that disability on mobility. As the Disabled Veteran license plate authorizes handicapped parking privileges, the veteran must have a service-connected disability that limits walking. According to the law: “disabled veteran” means a veteran who has a service-connected disability resulting in:

  1. loss of sight in both eyes or permanent impairment of vision in both eyes; or
  2. loss of one (1) or both feet or the permanent loss of use of one (1) or both feet; or
  3. loss of one (1) or both hands or the permanent loss of use of one (1) or both hands; or
  4. a physical condition that precludes the applicant from being able to walk without pain or difficulty. This must be clearly stated in the VA rating decision. If not, the applicant will be required to furnish a statement from their doctor stating the need for this handicapped license plate OR
  5. been rated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs as being at least 50 percent disabled and is receiving service-related compensation from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. At least 60 percent of the disability rating must be for a mobility disability.

Applications must be accompanied by a copy of the Award Letter issued by the United State Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) with the breakdown of individual disability ratings. Also, include a copy of the military discharge (in most cases, DD Form 214). We do not have access to USDVA records and cannot process applications without proper evidence to determine eligibility.
No person, other than the owner of the motor vehicle displaying the Disabled Hoosier Veteran license plate, is entitled to use handicapped parking privileges. Any person who uses a vehicle which displays an Indiana Disabled Hoosier Veteran license plate and parks in a handicapped space when the registered disabled veteran is not in the vehicle when the vehicle was parked, commits a Class C infraction. Such violations also may cause the revocation of the disabled veteran’s license plate. No more than two (2) Disabled Hoosier Veteran license plates may be issued to each eligible applicant.
Older plates which say “Disabled American Veteran” and which do not have the universal handicap symbol (wheelchair) are only valid in the State of Indiana for parking purposes. Plates which do not have the universal handicap symbol may be exchanged free of charge at the local BMV.
Applications for the Purple Heart license plate must be accompanied with evidence showing that the Purple Heart was awarded. This may be done by submitting a copy of orders, certificate, statement of service, or DD214. Applications for the Purple Heart license plate will be returned without action if supporting documents are not submitted with the application. Do not send original documents. An eligible applicant may receive one (1) or more Purple Heart license plates.
To be eligible for the Ex-Prisoner of War license plate, the veteran, while serving on active duty with the U.S. armed forces, was in the power of a hostile government and was imprisoned by the military or naval forces of a foreign nation during the United States’ military involvement in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, or the Vietnam War, and who is either presently a member of the U.S. armed forces or has received an honorable discharge. An eligible applicant may receive one (1) or more Ex-POW license plates. The surviving spouse of a former prisoner of war is entitled to one (1) or more Ex-POW license plates. Remarriage revokes the spouse’s eligibility.
The Hoosier Veteran license plate does not require an application form. Present a copy of your DD214, NGB 22, or Discharge Certificate reflecting the character of service as either Honorable or under Honorable Conditions to the local license branch. Any Indiana resident who served in the U.S. armed forces and received the appropriate discharge (as stated above) is eligible for the Hoosier Veteran license plate. National Guard and reservists who served on active duty for training also are eligible. Service in the merchant marines does not qualify. The applicant may receive one (1) or more Hoosier Veteran license plates.
Vehicles registered with veterans license plates are not exempt from the payment of registration fees or property taxes due on the vehicles. There is an additional charge for the Hoosier Veteran license plate.

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