How to Prove You're a Veteran for Discounts: VA ID Card, VHIC and Your Driver's License

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) says a Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC), a Department of Defense (DoD) ID card or a state driver’s license with a Veteran designation gets the same discounts as its Veteran ID Card (VIC). That is on VA’s VIC page, last updated July 23, 2026. Veterans Day is Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026, and many offers in our Veterans Day free meals and discounts list ask for proof of service. Below: which ID proves status, who can get it, what five state pages say about designation proof and fees, and a printable checklist.

Which ID proves veteran status, and who can get it?

VA’s page on the VIC says: “You can use any of these forms of ID to get the same discounts.” It then names the VHIC, a DoD ID card (a Common Access Card or Uniformed Services ID) and a state-issued driver’s license or ID with a Veterans designation. The table adds the papers that are not on that list.

Proof	Who can get it	How, per the source
Veteran ID Card (VIC)	Service on active duty, in the Reserves or in the National Guard with an honorable or general discharge (under honorable conditions); other discharges are not eligible (VA)	Apply online through AccessVA with a Social Security number, a scan of a DD-214 or one of the other discharge forms VA lists, a current government photo ID and a color photo taken within 10 years. All new cards are digital since September 2022. VA’s page lists no fee and no standard processing time
VHIC	Veterans enrolled in VA health care (VA)	Request it through AccessVA with an ID.me or Login.gov account, among others, or ask the enrollment coordinator at your nearest VA medical center. VA says it can get discounts but cannot serve as a credit or insurance card
DoD ID card	VA lists retirees, active duty, Guard and Reserve; Military OneSource lists retired members entitled to retired pay and veterans with a 100% disability rating	See Military OneSource’s ID page for the steps
State license or ID with a designation	Veterans who show the state’s proof; see the state table below	At the state’s licensing office
VA letter	Veterans eligible for the letter; VA’s letters page lists a “Benefits and service summary” and a “Service verification”	Download from VA; ID.me lists “VA eligibility letters” among its documents, but VA’s discount list does not name a letter
DD-214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty)	Veterans with the discharge paper	ID.me lists it; the VIC application and four of the state pages below use it as proof

VA’s card overview says you need to be enrolled in VA health care to receive a VHIC, and that a VIC needs an honorable or general discharge. A new VIC may not arrive in time for Nov. 11: the VA page gives no timeline, so start with something you already hold.

The law behind the card, the Veterans Identification Card Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-31, approved July 20, 2015), refers to a required fee. VA’s VIC page lists none. Read the fee line when you apply.

What do five state pages say about a veteran designation?

VA says all 50 states and Puerto Rico offer a Veteran designation. We read five state pages, each from the state’s own agency. Pages for other states were not read, and some were blocked, so their fees are not listed.

State	Proof the page lists	Fee the page states
California	Veteran Status Verification Form from a County Veteran Service Office; the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) says it does not provide the form	A nonrefundable application fee; the amount is not on the page
Texas	DD-214, DD-215, other discharge forms, a VA proof of service card, a VA disability letter or a VIC (page dated Sept. 29, 2020)	Free with an original or renewal license; a duplicate license fee applies if you only add it
Florida	A DD-214 copy, a VHIC or a VIC	“No Fee” for the designation, and “No Fee” to add it with no other changes
Ohio	One proof of military service, such as a DD-214; the state calls it an “Armed Forces” emblem	No fee to add the emblem on its own; normal fees apply for a new or duplicate credential
Georgia	Separation papers (DD-214, member copy 4) or a Certificate of Eligibility (DS-516B)	Qualified veterans may be eligible for a free license as shown on the DS-516B

Georgia’s page also says all driver services centers are closed on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026.

Which proof do retailers and parks accept?

A retailer decides what it accepts. ID.me’s help page lists a DD-214, a driver’s license or DMV ID with a veteran endorsement, a state or county veteran ID, VA eligibility letters, a VHIC and a VIC among the documents that prove military status. It says a retiree’s DD-214 counts only if it shows 20 years of service or retirement. SheerID’s help page says its instant data sources do not differentiate based on discharge status. Those are the verifiers’ own pages, not any store’s policy; check with the store.

For national parks, the National Park Service (NPS) says veterans and Gold Star families are eligible for a Military Lifetime Pass. It accepts a DoD ID, a VHIC, a VIC (digital only, from VA) or the Veteran designation on a state license. Its entrance pass page says passholders must show valid photo ID with each pass. Our national parks free days story covers Nov. 11 entry.

What to bring on Veterans Day

The printable checklist below lists each proof from this story with a tick box. Pick the one you already hold, add a government photo ID, and check the date on the November 2026 printable calendar. For the holiday itself, see when Veterans Day falls and our Veterans Day 2026 guide.