Ohio BMV Military License Plate Settlement — Full Fee Refunds

Current Status

Claims are open. Eligibility documents must be received by the settlement administrator, online or by mail, by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on December 2, 2026. The Ohio Court of Claims preliminarily approved the settlement on August 19, 2026, and the settlement fairness hearing is set for July 21, 2027; no final approval order has been entered, and no payment date has been announced.

What Changed Recently?

Judge Lisa L. Sadler of the Ohio Court of Claims granted preliminary approval of the settlement in Kacin v. Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, No. 2023-00204JD, in an order journalized August 19, 2026. The order appointed Kroll Settlement Administration as administrator and set December 2, 2026 as the deadline to claim, opt out or object. Notice has gone out by mail and email to people BMV’s records show bought a Specialty Military License Plate during the class period, and display notices are being posted at Deputy Registrar offices and county veterans service offices around Ohio.

The case was filed March 17, 2023. In 2018, Ohio created a series of Specialty Military License Plates tied to a veteran’s branch of service, theater of service or honors. A 2019 budget bill amended Ohio Revised Code 4503.29(D)(2)(b), effective October 20, 2019, so that veterans rated 100% service-connected disabled could get those plates without paying the usual registration taxes and fees, as they already could for Disabled Veteran License Plates. The lawsuit alleged that BMV kept collecting the full fees from those veterans anyway. BMV denies the claims, and the court has not found that it did anything wrong. The case reached settlement after class certification was litigated through an appeal to Ohio’s Tenth District Court of Appeals.

Who Qualifies?

The settlement class covers veterans rated 100% service-connected disabled who paid registration fees or taxes to an Ohio Deputy Registrar on or after October 17, 2019 for a Specialty Military License Plate for which those charges should have been waived under Ohio Revised Code 4503.29(D)(2)(b). In practice, that means three things had to be true:

• The veteran bought a Specialty Military License Plate at an Ohio Deputy Registrar’s office on or after October 17, 2019.
• At the time of the purchase, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs had rated or compensated the veteran’s service-connected disability at 100%.
• The veteran has not already received a refund from BMV for that purchase.

The court’s preliminary approval order estimated the class at up to 23,376 people.

How Much Can You Get?

Each eligible veteran receives a full refund of the registration taxes and fees paid for each qualifying Specialty Military License Plate purchase, including any sales tax. The refund does not cover separate services bought at the same time, such as personalizing or transferring the plate. There is no cap and no pro rata reduction: BMV calculates each refund from its own records of what was paid. As an example of scale, the court’s order notes that the class representative paid $111.07 for one plate in 2021.

BMV also pays class counsel’s fees and costs, up to $375,000 including a $10,000 incentive award for the class representative, and separately pays Kroll’s notice and administration costs. None of those amounts are deducted from veterans’ refunds.

What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?

Every claim needs two documents, which the settlement calls the Eligibility Documentation:

• A Declaration of Eligibility, signed under penalty of perjury, listing the date of each Specialty Military License Plate purchase (and the plate number, if known), the effective date of the 100% rating, and confirming no prior refund. The form is posted on the settlement website’s Documents page.
• A copy of a letter from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs showing a service-connected disability rated or compensated at 100% and the date as of which that determination was made.