--- title: O.C.G.A. § 40-2-70. License plates for veterans not qualifying as totally disabled. collection: code id: 40-2-70 cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 40-2-70 (2025) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/40-2-70 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/40-2-70.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/40-2-70/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t40-ch1-5-(v28a)-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=99657e14_0#page=65 date: 2025 status: active corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68 license: CC0-1.0 publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/code/40-2.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/code/40-2-69.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/code/40-2-71.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/code/index.md version: Effective January 1, 2026. in_force: true other_versions: - version: Effective until January 1, 2026. in_force: false md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/40-2-70.md?version=until+January+1%2C+2026 current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly heading_path: MOTOR VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC / REGISTRATION AND LICENSING OF MOTOR VEHICLES / PRESTIGE LICENSE PLATES AND SPECIAL PLATES FOR CERTAIN PERSONS AND VEHICLES extraction_warnings: - bound_version_dropped:None --- # O.C.G.A. § 40-2-70. License plates for veterans not qualifying as totally disabled. (a) Any citizen and resident of this state who has been discharged from the armed forces under conditions other than dishonorable or who is currently serving in the armed forces, who is disabled but does not qualify as totally disabled pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 48-5-48 for purposes of qualification for a license plate issued pursuant to Code Section 40-2-69, shall be entitled to special and distinctive license plates for up to two motorcycles or passenger cars for personal use registered pursuant to this chapter in his or her name. Such license plates shall be transferred to another vehicle acquired by such veteran or jointly by such veteran and his or her spouse as provided in Code Section 40-2-80. Such veteran shall be entitled to license plates issued pursuant to this Code section regardless of whether he or she is suffering from a service connected or nonservice connected disability. (b) Upon proper application and compliance with the state motor vehicle laws for licensing of motor vehicles and without payment of the regular license fee for plates as prescribed under Article 7 of this chapter, a disabled veteran who does not qualify for license plates pursuant to Code Section 40-2-69 shall be issued similar license plates as prescribed in Code Section 40-2-71 for up to two motorcycles or passenger cars for personal use. There shall be no charge for revalidation decals for license plates issued pursuant to this Code section. (c) For purposes of applying for license plates issued pursuant to this Code section, a veteran who has not been certified as disabled by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs may submit to the Department of Veterans Service such veteran’s discharge papers and a certified statement from a physician, licensed under Chapter 34 of Title 43, certifying that, in the opinion of such physician, such veteran is disabled. If the certificate from the physician indicates the qualifying disabilities meet the standards of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the commissioner of veterans service shall submit a letter to the state revenue commissioner indicating that the veteran meets the requirements of this Code section and qualifies for special license plates as provided in this Code section. (d) Once a disabled veteran has established his or her eligibility to receive free motor vehicle license plates pursuant to this Code section but his or her disability has not been determined to be a permanent disability, he or she shall be entitled to receive free license plates or free revalidation decals in succeeding years upon furnishing, on an annual basis, proof of his or her status as a disabled veteran through a letter from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Such free license plates or free revalidation decals shall be for up to two motorcycles or passenger cars for personal use registered pursuant to this chapter that he or she may own or jointly with his or her spouse or minor child own or acquire in the future. ## History Ga. L. 1967, p. 539, § 1; Code 1981, § 40-2-69; Ga. L. 1985, p. 149, § 40; Code 1981, § 40-2-70, as redesignated by Ga. L. 1990, p. 2048, § 2; Ga. L. 1993, p. 467, § 1; Ga. L. 1996, p. 1118, § 10; Ga. L. 1997, p. 419, § 20; Ga. L. 1998, p. 1179, § 15; Ga. L. 2000, p. 951, § 3-11; Ga. L. 2002, p. 1074, § 6; Ga. L. 2005, p. 334, § 14-5/HB 501; Ga. L. 2012, p. 155, § 2/HB 732;Ga. L. 2025, p. 559, § 2/HB 208, effective January 1, 2026. ## Editor's Notes Ga. L. 2025, p. 559, § 6/HB 208, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “In accordance with the requirements of Article III, Section IX, Paragraph VI(n) of the Constitution of the State of Georgia, this Act shall not become law unless it receives the requisite two-thirds’ majority vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.” The legislation received the requisite two-thirds’ majority vote. ## Amendments The 2025 amendment, effective January 1, 2026, rewrote subsections (a) and (b); in subsection (c), in the first sentence, substituted “For purposes of applying for license plates issued pursuant to this Code section, a veteran who” for “If a veteran”, deleted “, such veteran” following “United States Department of Veterans Affairs”, and deleted “to a degree enumerated in Code Section 40-2-69” at the end, and, in the second sentence, deleted “which” preceding “meet” and substituted “special license plates” for “a special license plate”; and added subsection (d). ## Delayed Effective Date Code Section 40-2-70 is set out twice in this Code. This version is effective January 1, 2026. For version effective until January 1, 2026, see the preceding version.