A disabled veteran who received a Department of Veterans Affairs automobile grant decades ago can now apply for another one. The change, signed into law in January 2023, removes the lifetime restriction that previously limited eligible veterans to a single vehicle purchase grant.
The Advancing Uniform Transportation Opportunities for Veterans Act, known as the AUTO Act, allows veterans with qualifying service-connected disabilities to receive an automobile grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs every 10 years instead of just once in their lifetime.
What the Law Changed
Before the AUTO Act, VA provided eligible veterans with a one-time grant to purchase a specially equipped vehicle. That grant, currently $27,074.99 as of October 2025, was only available once across a veteran's entire lifetime. Veterans could receive multiple grants for adaptive equipment such as power steering or wheelchair lifts, but a grant for the purchase of the vehicle itself was limited to one use.
For veterans who need modified vehicles to maintain mobility and independence, this creates a significant financial burden. Modified vehicles cost between $20,000 and $80,000 for new vehicles and $21,000 to $35,000 for used ones. The average lifespan of a modified vehicle is roughly 11.5 years. Veterans who received grants ended up either driving vehicles well past their usable lives or paying tens of thousands out of pocket for replacements.
Under the new law, veterans who haven't received a vehicle grant in 30 years are immediately eligible to apply for another one; and they can then apply for a new grant every 10 years.
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Who Qualifies
Eligibility requirements haven't changed. Veterans and active-duty service members qualify for the automobile grant if they have a service-connected disability that includes at least one of these conditions:
- Loss, or permanent loss of use, of one or both feet
- Loss, or permanent loss of use, of one or both hands
- Permanent decreased vision in both eyes, meaning 20/200 vision or less in the better eye with glasses; or greater than 20/200 vision but with a visual field defect that reduces peripheral vision to 20 degrees or less in the better eye
- Severe burn injuries
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- Ankylosis in one or both knees or hips (this qualifies for adaptive equipment grants only, not the automobile purchase grant)
The disability must be service-connected or treated as service-connected under 38 U.S.C. 1151, which covers disabilities resulting from VA medical care.
How the Timing Works
The law includes a phase-in period:
Veterans who have never used a VA vehicle grant can apply immediately and will be eligible every 10 years thereafter.
Veterans who last received a grant 30 or more years ago can apply immediately. After receiving that grant, they'll be eligible again every 10 years.
Veterans who received a grant less than 30 years ago must wait until 30 years have passed since their last grant. After that, the 10-year cycle applies.
Veterans may also qualify for a second grant if a natural disaster destroyed a vehicle purchased with VA assistance, as long as the destruction wasn't the veteran's fault and property insurance didn't compensate for the loss.
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Additional Changes in the Law
The AUTO Act also updated how VA classifies certain vehicle modifications. The law allows VA to pay for specific modifications as medical services rather than only through the adaptive equipment program. These modifications include van lifts, raised doors, raised roofs, air conditioning and wheelchair tie-downs for passenger use.
This change matters because it provides another pathway for veterans to obtain necessary vehicle modifications through VA health care rather than solely through the benefits system.
How to Apply
Veterans must file their claim and receive VA approval before purchasing a vehicle or adaptive equipment. The application process requires VA Form 21-4502, Application for Automobile or Other Conveyance and Adaptive Equipment.
Once VA approves the application, the agency completes the authorization section of the form and returns it to the veteran. The veteran then purchases the vehicle, presents the original signed form to the seller, and the seller submits the form and an itemized invoice to VA. VA pays the seller directly by law. The money cannot be paid to the veteran.
Veterans applying for an additional automobile grant who previously received one should contact their local VA prosthetic and sensory aids service before purchasing any new or used adaptive equipment.
Why This Matters
The Congressional Budget Office estimated the total cost of the AUTO Act at $43 million from 2022 to 2032. That relatively modest appropriation addresses a significant quality-of-life issue for severely disabled veterans.
For rural veterans, the change is particularly important. Veterans living far from VA medical centers accumulate substantial mileage traveling to appointments and treatment. When a modified vehicle reaches the end of its usable life, replacing it out of pocket can be financially devastating.
The law was inspired by Neal Williams, a paralyzed Vietnam veteran from Maine who drove his first VA-funded vehicle more than 250,000 miles until it fell apart. Williams paid $50,000 out of pocket for his most recent van because the old law limited him to that single grant decades earlier.
The legislation was sponsored in the House by Representatives Dan Meuser, a Pennsylvania Republican, and David Trone, a Maryland Democrat. In the Senate, Senators Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, and Joe Manchin, then a West Virginia Democrat, co-authored the provisions. President Joe Biden signed the Veterans Auto and Education Improvement Act of 2022, which included the AUTO Act provisions, into law Jan. 5, 2023, as Public Law 117-333.
For veterans who used their one-time grant years ago and have been shouldering replacement vehicle costs alone, the change means they can now apply for assistance again. That represents a meaningful shift from treating vehicle mobility as a one-time benefit to recognizing it as an ongoing need across a veteran's lifetime.
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