Ohio BMV To Issue Refunds For Disabled Veteran License Plate Error.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) announced today that it will issue refunds to nearly 2,000 disabled veterans who were mistakenly charged for specialty license plates that should have been provided free of charge.

The error stems from the BMV's failure to implement a change in Ohio law that allows certain disabled veterans to receive up to two free disabled veteran license plates and/or military license plates. The law, which went into effect in October 2019, was not properly adopted by the BMV, resulting in improper charges, fees, and taxes for affected individuals.

The average refund is expected to be approximately $60, although individual amounts may vary based on local fees and taxes.

Ohio BMV Registrar Charlie Norman expressed regret over the error, stating, "We are grateful for Ohio veterans' sacrifice and their service to our state and our country. We are undertaking an internal review to determine why the legislative change wasn’t adopted in a timely manner to ensure that this will not happen in the future.”

The BMV is reaching out to all affected veterans, with refunds expected to be processed within the next month. In addition, the BMV has implemented a processing change to ensure that eligible veterans are not charged for disabled/military license plates in the future.

The law applies specifically to veterans with a service-connected disability declared 100% disabled by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. It does not apply to personalized specialty disabled/military license plates.