On January 1, 2020, the commissary and exchange doors opened to a group of veterans who had been locked out for decades. Six years on, a striking number of eligible veterans still don’t know they can walk in.
If you have any service-connected disability rating — any percentage — that includes you.
Who Gained Access
The Purple Heart and Disabled Veterans Equal Access Act added four groups.
- All veterans with a service-connected disability rating, at any percentage including 0%
- Purple Heart recipients
- Former prisoners of war
- Primary family caregivers designated under VA’s Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers
Medal of Honor recipients were already eligible and remain so.
That first bullet is the one worth rereading. A 10% rating for tinnitus qualifies. So does a 0% service-connected rating — the same modest rating that also opens guaranteed-acceptance VALife insurance.
What You Can Actually Use
| Facility | Open to newly eligible veterans? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Commissary | Yes | Groceries at cost plus surcharge; a card user fee applies to this group |
| Military exchange | Yes | Tax-free retail, in person and online |
| Golf courses | Yes | MWR recreation facility |
| Bowling centers | Yes | MWR recreation facility |
| Recreational lodging and RV parks | Yes | Often the most valuable benefit in the list |
| Base housing, medical care, other privileges | No | The Act covered shopping and MWR, not the wider benefit set |
The recreational lodging line gets overlooked. Military campgrounds and RV parks sit in places people pay real money to visit, and rates are typically well below commercial equivalents.
The Credential You Need
Access runs on the Veteran Health Identification Card — the VHIC — issued through VA health care. The card has to display one of these statuses:
- Service Connected
- Purple Heart
- Former POW
- Medal of Honor
If your VHIC doesn’t show one of those, or you don’t have one, a VA-issued service-connected disability letter or VA Health Eligibility Center Form H623A can work in its place.
Caregivers use their VA-issued eligibility letter rather than a VHIC.
Getting a VHIC means being enrolled in VA health care. Our guides to VA health care enrollment and priority groups and the different veteran ID cards and what each one proves cover how to get there.
Getting Through the Gate Is a Separate Question
Eligibility to shop is not the same as installation access. You still have to clear the gate, and that means a REAL ID-compliant identification or an acceptable alternative, plus whatever screening that installation requires.
Call the installation’s visitor control center before your first trip. Requirements vary base to base, and a wasted drive is an avoidable one.
Three questions worth asking on that call: which gate visitors should use and its hours, whether a background check is run on first entry and how long it takes, and whether a spouse or driver accompanying you needs their own credential. The answers differ enough between installations that assuming will cost you a morning.
What About Family Members?
The Act extended access to the eligible veteran and to designated primary family caregivers. It did not create general access for spouses and adult children of newly eligible veterans.
In practice a spouse can usually accompany the eligible veteran, but the eligible person has to be present and is the one making the purchase. Don’t send a family member to shop on your behalf — that’s the scenario that gets turned away at the register.
The User Fee Nobody Mentions
Newly eligible patrons pay a small transaction fee at commissaries that longtime patrons don’t. It’s written into the law that granted the access.
| Payment method | User fee |
|---|---|
| Credit card or signature debit | 1.43% |
| PIN debit | 0.36% |
| Cash or check | None |
| SNAP/EBT or eWIC | None |
The practical takeaway: use PIN debit rather than credit at the register and the fee nearly disappears. Details are on the Defense Commissary Agency’s extended eligibility page.
Every Honorably Discharged Veteran Can Shop Online
This one is broader still, and it predates the 2020 change.
Since November 11, 2017, all honorably discharged veterans — no disability rating required — can shop the military exchanges online. Purchases are tax-free, and it’s a lifetime benefit.
| Online exchange shopping | In-person commissary and exchange | |
|---|---|---|
| Who qualifies | Any honorably discharged veteran | Service-connected rating, Purple Heart, former POW, Medal of Honor, or designated caregiver |
| Rating required? | No | Yes, or one of the other statuses |
| Installation access? | Not granted | Required, and screened separately |
| Credential | One-time online verification | VHIC or acceptable VA letter |
| Commissary included? | No — exchanges only | Yes |
Verification is a one-time process, described on the Exchange’s veterans shopping benefit page. You’ll need your service details, and having your DD-214 at hand makes it painless.
What the Savings Actually Look Like
Commissaries and exchanges save money in two different ways, and confusing them leads to disappointment.
Commissaries sell groceries close to cost, with a surcharge added at the register that funds store construction and upkeep. The savings are real but concentrated in staples, meat, and produce rather than spread evenly across every item.
Exchanges save you differently: prices are competitive, and purchases carry no sales tax. In a state without sales tax that advantage disappears — which matters directly for Oregon shoppers, where the tax-free angle means nothing locally but still helps if you’re buying while traveling.
Compare a few items you actually buy against your usual store before assuming either way. The benefit is genuine; it just isn’t uniform.
Is It Worth the Drive From Lebanon?
Honest answer: for a weekly grocery run, probably not. There’s no installation next door, and fuel plus time will eat the savings on a routine trip.
Where it pays off is different:
- Online exchange shopping, which costs you nothing in travel and is open to every honorably discharged veteran
- Recreational lodging and RV parks when you’re traveling anyway
- A large stock-up trip combined with a VA appointment you were already making — and you may be owed travel pay for that appointment
Frequently Asked Questions
Can any veteran shop at the commissary?
No. In-person access requires a service-connected disability rating, Purple Heart or former POW status, Medal of Honor status, or designation as a primary family caregiver.
Does a 0% rating qualify me?
Yes. Any service-connected rating counts, including 0%.
What ID do I need?
A Veteran Health Identification Card showing Service Connected, Purple Heart, Former POW, or Medal of Honor status — or a VA service-connected disability letter or Form H623A.
Is there a fee to shop at the commissary?
Newly eligible patrons pay 1.43% on credit and signature debit, and 0.36% on PIN debit. Cash, check, SNAP/EBT, and eWIC carry no fee.
Can veterans without a rating shop the exchange online?
Yes. All honorably discharged veterans have had lifetime online exchange shopping privileges since November 11, 2017.
Does shopping eligibility get me onto the base?
Not by itself. Installation access is screened separately and generally requires REAL ID-compliant identification.
Start With the Free Part
Verify for online exchange shopping this week — it takes minutes, costs nothing, and applies to every honorably discharged veteran regardless of rating.
If you’re not enrolled in VA health care and don’t have a VHIC, that’s the step that unlocks the rest. A free accredited service officer can walk you through it — see our guide to free help from an accredited service officer, or call Post 51 at (541) 451-1351.