Oklahoma
Oklahoma exempts 100 percent service connected disabled veterans from all ad valorem property taxes on the primary residence and from sales tax (lifetime), gives free hunting and fishing licenses to resident veterans rated 60 percent or higher, in state tuition at Oklahoma public colleges, and free state park admission for honorably discharged veterans.
Oklahoma Department of Veterans AffairsProperty tax exemption
Full ad valorem property tax exemption on the primary residence. Also qualifies for the 100% Disabled Veteran Sales Tax Exemption (lifetime exemption from Oklahoma sales tax on personal purchases).
State income tax
Oklahoma does not tax VA disability compensation, and military retirement pay is fully exempt from Oklahoma income tax (100% exemption since the 2022 tax year).
Disabled veteran plates & registration
Oklahoma veterans with a 50 percent or greater service-connected disability qualify for a reduced $5 annual vehicle registration fee on up to two vehicles, after obtaining the reduced licensing charge card or sales tax exemption number from the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs.
Public employment preference
Oklahoma adds 5 points to a veteran's state exam score, 10 points for a service-connected disability, and places veterans rated 30%+ at the top of the absolute-preference register.
In state tuition
Under 38 USC 3679(c) (originally Section 702 of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act), every public college that accepts Post-9/11 GI Bill or Montgomery GI Bill students must charge in state tuition to covered students using their GI Bill, regardless of state residency. The old requirement to enroll within 3 years of separation was removed by the Isakson and Roe Act effective August 1, 2021, so there is no longer a time limit after discharge. State specific extensions to this rule are noted below where applicable. Oklahoma waives tuition at state colleges for honorably discharged veterans who were Oklahoma residents at the time of enlistment.
Dependent / survivor education
Oklahoma's Heroes Promise scholarship helps the children of veterans killed in action or rated 100% disabled, and a 2024 law extends tuition waivers to 100% disabled veterans and their dependents at public colleges and technology centers.
Hunting and fishing license
Free Disabled Veterans Annual or Lifetime Combination License.
State park entrance
Oklahoma gives honorably discharged veterans free admission to state-owned or operated parks and museums; the benefit is not limited to disabled veterans. Camping and lodging fees still apply.
Camping & recreation
All resident veterans get free admission to Oklahoma state parks and museums; veterans rated 60%+ also get free hunting and fishing licenses and discounted camping.
State veterans cemetery
Oklahoma operates state veterans cemeteries (including the Oklahoma State Veterans Cemetery in Oklahoma City) with no cost for the plot, opening/closing, and perpetual care for eligible veterans and their families.
Oklahoma ranks 26 of 51 for rural veterans' access to accredited help: 10.86 accredited representatives per 10,000 veterans, with 37.2 percent of its veterans living rural.
Email me the Oklahoma benefit checklist
A clean, printable checklist of every Oklahoma benefit on this page - with the eligibility threshold and official source for each - sent straight to your inbox.
State legislatures revise thresholds and dollar amounts every session. The figures above are sourced from the state agency that administers each program, but the latest year is the state's word, not ours. Before you file an application, click the source link in each section and verify the current threshold.
Writing about Oklahoma veteran benefits? You are welcome to reference this guide. Copy the citation below and link back so your readers can verify each program against the state source, or download the benefits table.
Developers: this record is available as structured data VBD:STATE:OK