The department shall issue special plates as specified in this section under the following circumstances:
(1) If any resident of this state who is registering or has registered an automobile, or a motor truck, dual purpose motor home or dual purpose farm truck which has a gross weight of not more than 8,000 pounds, a farm truck which has a gross weight of not more than 12,000 pounds or a motor home submits a statement once every 4 years, as determined by the department, from the U.S. department of veterans affairs certifying to the department that the resident is, by reason of injuries sustained while in the active U.S. military service, a person with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk, the department shall procure, issue and deliver to the veteran, plates of a special design in lieu of the plates which ordinarily would be issued for the vehicle, and shall renew the plates. The plates shall be colored red, white, and blue and the department shall consult the department of veterans affairs before specifying the design of the plates. The plates shall be so designed as to readily apprise law enforcement officers of the fact that the vehicle is owned by a disabled veteran and is entitled to the parking privileges specified in s. 346.50 (2). No charge in addition to the registration fee shall be made for the issuance or renewal of such plates.
(1a) If any resident of this state, who is registering or has registered an automobile, or a motor truck, dual purpose motor home or dual purpose farm truck which has a gross weight of not more than 8,000 pounds, a farm truck which has a gross weight of not more than 12,000 pounds or a motor home, submits a statement once every 4 years, as determined by the department, from a physician licensed to practice medicine in any state, from an advanced practice registered nurse licensed to practice nursing in any state, from a public health nurse certified or licensed to practice in any state, from a physician assistant licensed or certified to practice in any state, from a podiatrist licensed to practice in any state, from a chiropractor licensed to practice chiropractic in any state, from a physical therapist licensed to practice in any state, or from a Christian Science practitioner residing in this state and listed in the Christian Science journal certifying to the department that the resident is a person with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk, the department shall procure, issue and deliver to the disabled person plates of a special design in lieu of plates which ordinarily would be issued for the vehicle, and shall renew the plates. The plates shall be so designed as to readily apprise law enforcement officers of the fact that the vehicle is owned by a nonveteran disabled person and is entitled to the parking privileges specified in s. 346.50 (2a). No charge in addition to the registration fee shall be made for the issuance or renewal of such plates.