In order to qualify as an eligible family member for purposes of this Code section, the person must be related to the fallen service member as a spouse, mother, father, sibling, child, stepparent, or surviving spouse of such service member’s sibling. Up to two free license plates shall be allowed for any eligible family member and they may purchase additional license plates for each motor vehicle they register in this state. If a Gold Star license plate is lost, damaged, or stolen, the eligible family member must pay the reasonable cost, to be established by the department, but not to exceed the cost of other specialty license plates, to replace the Gold Star license plate.
(e) Whether a service member is deemed to have been killed in action shall be determined by the classification of death as listed by the United States Department of Defense and may be verified from documentation directly from the Department of Defense.
(f) Free Gold Star license plates shall be issued only to eligible family members who resided in Georgia at the time of the death of the service member. However, an eligible family member who was not a resident of Georgia at the time of the death of the service member may purchase a Gold Star license plate, at a cost to be established by the department, not to exceed the cost of other specialty license plates.
(g) Renewal decals shall be issued at no cost to any person that received a free license plate under the provisions of this Code section upon the payment of ad valorem taxes and other registration fees, provided that the renewal is applied for on or within 30 days prior to the renewal date of the eligible person. If the eligible person fails to renew within such time, he or she shall pay a standard renewal fee and be
subject to the standard penalties for late payment of ad valorem taxes
due on the motor vehicle.
(h) An eligible family member may request a Gold Star license plate at any time during his or her registration period. If such a license plate is to replace a current valid license plate, the license plate shall be issued with appropriate renewal decals attached.
(i) License plates issued pursuant to this Code section shall not be transferred between vehicles as provided in Code Section 40-2-42, unless the transfer is to another motor vehicle owned by the eligible
family member.
(j) Gold Star license plates shall be issued within 30 days of appli-
cation.
(k) The commissioner is authorized and directed to establish procedures and promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes
of this Code section.