Veteran ID Cards to officially launch along with online application system in January

Veteran ID Cards are set to be officially launched in January with a new digital application service to verify the status of former Armed Forces personnel.

Former personnel who left the Armed Forces prior to December 2018 can then verify their veteran status online and receive a Veteran Card in the post.

The Ministry of Defence said it was delivering the service, together with the Office for Veterans' Affairs, as part of ongoing improvements to veteran support.

• Veteran ID Cards: All you need to know from application process to benefits and more
• Rifles soldiers offered supermarket vouchers amid cost of living crisis
• Army's top soldier appeals to personnel to seek help in cost of living crisis

The new Veteran ID Card provides a memento of service and maintains a tangible link to the Armed Forces.

It also allows veterans to easily confirm their service to the NHS, their local authority and charities, enabling them to access support and services where needed.

Veterans will be able to use their ID card to apply for the Defence Discount Service card and the Veterans Railcard.

Veterans can apply for their cards by emailing [email protected] and including their name, year of birth and the year they left service. They will then receive an email invitation to apply for their card.

The MOD said further details on the digital application process would be made available soon.

A paper-based application process will also be made available for veterans who are unable to use the online service.

Earlier this year, the OVA and MOD announced the progress they had made on the new digital verification service.

They said it would include:

• Online applications via GOV.UK
• Identity checks using GOV.UK’s new One Login service
• Automated service checking to confirm veteran status for most applications using MOD service records databases
• Increasing the MOD's secure card printing capacity to deal with the expected applications using a new high-capacity card printing machine

The Veteran ID Card has already been provided to all service leavers as part of the discharge process with effect from 18 February 2019, and retrospectively to those who left on or after 17 December 2018. As of July 2023, 71,000 Veteran Cards had been issued.

Until the Veteran ID Card was created, there was no way for veterans to easily prove they had been in the Armed Forces.

Previously, personnel had been required to hand back their ID card, known as a MOD 90, when they were discharged.