Texas Veteran Transportation & Accessibility Benefits Guide

Table of Content:

How Veterans Can Maximize Their Mobility and Transportation in Texas

With almost 1.5 million former members of the Armed Forces, Texas is home to the second-largest population of Veterans in the United States. Texas has a long history of managing programs that provide benefits beyond what the Department of Veterans Affairs offers, thus making the Lone Star State an attractive option for post-military life. If you are moving here after discharge or upon retirement, you can take advantage of many Texas Veteran transportation benefits that promote accessibility and mobility. Some of the benefits we will cover herein include Texas Veteran license plates, vehicle registration, Veteran parking across Texas, toll discounts, and other programs you can take advantage of to improve accessibility, mobility, and transportation. You will learn about checking for eligibility, gathering documents, applying for benefits, and renewing them as needed.

Texas Veteran License Plates and Vehicle Registration

While many states offer special license plate benefits to Veterans, Texas goes many steps further with dozens of designs in various categories with different benefits. The plate designs correspond to the benefits you can enjoy based on your service and Veteran status. The chart below explains the Texas Veteran vehicle registration categories, eligibility criteria, application fees, and privileges.

PLATE TYPE	ELIGIBILITY	FEES	PRIVILEGES
Disabled Veteran	VA disability rating of at least 50%, or 40% if it involves the amputation of a lower extremity	Vehicle registration waived. First set of plates costs $3	– Free metered parking across the state. Free parking at Houston airports up to five days in a garage, and up to 60 days at an EcoPark lot. – Tolls are waived at many roads in Austin, Brownsville, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Tyler. – Free driving on toll-only, high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes.
Meritorious service and awards	Air Force Cross Distinguished Service Cross Air Medal Airman’s Medal Borinqueneers Congressional Gold Medal Coast Guard Medal Commendation Medal with Valor device Defense Meritorious Service Medal Defense Superior Service Medal Distinguished Flying Cross Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit Medal of Honor Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal Navy and Marine Corps Medal Pearl Harbor Survivor Prisoner of War Medal Purple Heart Silver Star Soldier’s Medal World War II Army of Occupation Medal	– No registration or license tag fees for Medal of Honor recipients. This is a lifetime benefit. – Purple Heart recipients enjoy free registration for one vehicle, and their first set of tags is free. – Initial registration and plate fees are waived for the following: Air Force Cross Air Medal Airman’s Medal Army Distinguished Service Cross Borinqueneers Congressional Gold Medal Bronze Star Coast Guard Medal Defense Meritorious Service Medal Defense Superior Service Medal Distinguished Flying Cross Distinguished Service Medal (all branches and DOD) Legion of Merit Meritorious Service Medal Navy and Marine Corps Medal Navy Cross Prisoner of War Medal Silver Star Soldier’s Medal	– Free metered parking across the state. Free parking at Houston airports up to five days in a garage, and up to 60 days at an EcoPark lot. – Purple Heart, Legion of Valor and Medal of Honor recipients do not pay tolls in Austin, Brownsville, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Tyler.
Branch and service recognition	The branch, unit, conflict, and specialty must be verified through discharge papers, service records, or VA letters. You must choose one recognition on the plate; for example, an Army Airborne Ranger who fought in Desert Storm with the 11th Armored Cavalry can only select one recognition to display.	The regular specialty license plate fee is waived.	– Free parking at George Bush Intercontinental Airport or William P. Hobby Airport.
Retired	Service or medical retirement with less than 50% VA disability rating.	The regular specialty license plate fee is waived.	– Free parking at George Bush Intercontinental Airport or William P. Hobby Airport.
Family and survivors	Gold Star designation or surviving spouse	Surviving spouses of disabled Veterans pay $3 for their first set of tags.	– Free metered parking. – Surviving spouses of disabled Veterans can register their tags to waive tolls at many roads in Austin, Brownsville, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Tyler. – Free parking at George Bush Intercontinental Airport or William P. Hobby Airport

To apply for Texas Veteran license plates, you must first gather your discharge, retirement, and VA disability documents. Then, complete Form VTR-420 for general military service or Form VTR-615 for Disabled Veteran status. There’s no option to upload documents for your first set of tags; you must submit your completed application along with your documents and fees in person at the local county tax assessor-collector’s office or by mail.

Thankfully, the Texas Veteran plate renewal process can be completed online through the Texas by Texas (TxT) portal; however, the initial verification of service records must be handled in person or by mail. You can also include a Verification Letter from the Veterans Commission.

License Tag Fee Comparison

If you qualify for Texas disabled Veteran license plates, the cost savings are significant. When you consider the additional benefits of free tolls and Veteran parking in Texas, the savings are even more enticing. The fees depend on whether you choose standard or specialty plates.

Feature	Standard Plate	Specialty Plate
Initial cost	Free because it is Included with vehicle registration.	Specialty designs start at $30
Annual renewal	$75	$30
Personalization	Not available.	$40
Design	Classic white background with black lettering.	Hundreds of options to display your character of service.
Revenue	Goes to the state.	Funds Veterans charities and scholarships

As you can glean from the charts above, Veterans with disability ratings and specific service awards enjoy substantial savings on vehicle registration and license tag fees. Please remember that Texas Veteran vehicle registration benefits are for one vehicle.

Renewing Your License Plates

Renewing your Veteran tags in Texas is more streamlined than the initial application. Once your service and disability status are verified and on file with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV), you don’t need to submit your documents again for annual renewals, unless your VA disability rating changed or you want to change the plate design. Most renewals can be completed through the TxT mobile app or website. The TxDMV will send you a renewal notice about 90 days before your sticker expires. If you have standard or specialty plates with designs, you can simply pay your fees online, and your new registration sticker will be mailed to you in two to three weeks. It is important to note that some VA disability ratings are temporary. If this was your status when getting your tags, you may be asked to provide a new VA letter so you can keep the International Symbol of Access (ISA) for your rearview mirror or plate. Texas eliminated the mandatory annual safety inspection for non-commercial vehicles in early 2026; however, your vehicle must go through emissions testing in the following counties, which are part of major metropolitan areas:

Brazoria
Collin
Dallas
Denton
El Paso
Ellis
Fort Bend
Galveston
Harris
Johnson
Kaufman
Montgomery
Parker
Rockwall
Tarrant
Travis
Williamson

If you prefer in-person renewals, you can do it at your county tax assessor’s and collector’s office. Take your renewal notice, proof of active insurance, and the emissions report, if applicable, for a same-day transaction.

Texas Veteran Toll Exemptions and Parking Benefits

Disabled Veteran plates in Texas can exempt you from many parking fees and tolls. As part of the various Texas Veteran accessibility benefits available to drivers with disability ratings, you can get a placard approved by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which you can hang from your rearview mirror to park in reserved spots.

Alternatively, your specialty plate can include the ISA symbol, which most of the disabled Veteran plates in Texas currently feature for convenience. Free Veteran parking in Texas is available at spots managed by city and county traffic departments. You can get this benefit if your plates have disability, meritorious, Gold Star, and surviving spouse designations. This means saying goodbye to expensive parking tickets and having to fish for coins for the meter. Please note that municipal ADA-accessible spots still require you to display the ISA symbol on the license plates or ADA placard because they are part of the Texas Veteran toll exemptions and Texas accessibility benefits program.

Free Airport Parking

Texas Veteran transportation benefits extend to free parking at four major airports: Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Love Field, and William P. Hobby. These parking waivers are available to all the license plates we have mentioned herein. To enjoy this benefit, which is significant because airport parking fees are expensive, your vehicle must have Veteran license plates. You must be present in the vehicle at the time of exit, and you may be asked to show your VA identification card, but you don’t have to be the driver. The complimentary airport parking is extended for each visit and is subject to space availability. You can’t use it with online parking reservations because that is a premium service. It should be noted that out-of-state Veterans with a disability designation on their plates can also take advantage of free airport parking in Houston.

Getting a Tolltag for Veterans in Texas

To take full advantage of Texas Veteran transportation benefits, you can apply for various tolltag programs. This benefit is not universal or statewide because toll roads are managed by different regional authorities, each with its own enrollment rules. In other words, there is no single tolltag for Veterans across Texas. Toll waivers are Texas Veteran accessibility benefits available to the following designations:

Disabled
Medal of Honor
Purple Heart
Medal of Honor
Legion of Valor

The Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) manage electronic tag programs with automatic enrollment. If you are driving through Austin or Houston, your qualifying plate is usually read automatically by cameras on major roads like the Loop 1, SH 130, SH 45, Hardy, Sam Houston, and Westpark. The North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) and Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) manage different programs. If your license plate designation is eligible, you can order a sticker from NTTA.org or HCTRA.org. The original tolltag for Veterans in Texas is managed through the NTTA program. EZ TAG is an HCTRA program, and TxTag is from the TxDOT.

Please note that the CTRMA requires online registration through its Veterans Portal; you must provide your license plate and TxTag numbers. If you drive in the DFW metropolitan area, call the NTTA customer service line at 972-818-6882 to ensure your automatic enrollment is active. Please note that the MoPac Express in Austin and the LBJ TEXpress in Dallas are not part of the toll exemption program; however, vehicles with a disability designation can drive on HOV lanes without having to pay tolls.

Toll Authority	Eligibility	Enrollment
TxDOT	Disability, Medal of Honor, Purple Heart, Legion of Valor	Automatic
HCTRA	Disability, Medal of Honor, Purple Heart, Legion of Valor	Automatic
CTRMA	Disability, Medal of Honor, Purple Heart, Legion of Valor	Registration
NTTA	Legion of Valor	Registration

Claim Your Benefits Today; You Earned Them!

The programs we’ve described can significantly reduce daily transportation costs while augmenting your Texas Veteran accessibility benefits. Whether through lower registration fees, free parking, or waived tolls, these earned benefits are designed to honor your service and support your transition to civilian life. For more detailed information, visit the DMV Veterans Portal for license plate forms and registration info, and the Texas Veterans Portal to learn about other benefits you can apply for today. https://wisevoter.com/state-rankings/Veteran-population-by-state/

Explore other texas veteran resources

Below you’ll find a complete breakdown of Texas Veteran benefits and support programs available in 2026. These categories cover everything from VA compensation, healthcare, education, housing, and employment, to financial assistance, legal help, family benefits, and exclusive Veteran discounts. Each section links to detailed guides designed to help Veterans, service members, and families understand eligibility, application steps, and how to access the support they’ve earned.