SALISBURY, MD (March 5, 2020) – Veterans and their dependents now have an additional resource to help them apply for benefits and receive other services. The Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA), in partnership with the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration (MDOT MVA), today celebrated the opening of a new Veterans Service Office inside the MDOT MVA Salisbury branch office, at 251 Tilghman Road. Wicomico County is home to approximately 7,000 veterans, with an additional 14,000 living in the surrounding counties.
“Maryland declared 2019 as the Year of the Veteran, and this new center shows that every day of every year, we are working to show our appreciation for the men and woman who bravely serve our country,” said Governor Larry Hogan. “This partnership between MDVA and MDOT MVA will help make essential services easily accessible to our veterans and their families.”
The MDVA Service and Benefits Program helps men and women who served in the uniformed services of the United States, as well as their dependents and survivors, obtain benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Department of Defense, the State of Maryland and other agencies. At the new Veterans Service Office in Salisbury, a full-time veteran’s benefits specialist will be available to provide representation to veterans and families applying for benefits.
“I am pleased to open our new Salisbury veterans service office,” said MDVA Secretary George Owings. “Co-locating our veterans service office with the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration will increase visibility and enable us to serve more veterans who call the Eastern Shore home.”
MDOT MVA Administrator Chrissy Nizer was joined by MDVA Deputy Secretary Robert Finn and Baltimore Veterans Affairs Regional Office Director Antione Waller on Thursday to cut the ribbon on the new Veterans Service Center. This is the second location resulting from the MDVA and MDOT MVA partnership; the first opened in October at the MDOT MVA Glen Burnie Branch in Anne Arundel County. Since opening, that location has assisted more than 1,700 veterans and submitted more than 130 disability compensation and pension claims.
“The Veterans Service Center at the MDOT MVA Glen Burnie branch has been a huge success in making services more accessible for our veterans,” said MDOT MVA Administrator Nizer. “We are excited to continue to provide premier customer to our veterans by expanding these options to the Eastern Shore with the Salisbury office.”
Overall, MDVA operates Veterans Service Offices in 13 communities across Maryland. The Salisbury office at the MDOT MVA is one of two branch offices on the Eastern Shore. The other is in Easton.
MDOT MVA honors veterans in many ways, including offering a “Veterans Status” designation to their driver’s license or identification card, which indicates they are eligible for state veteran benefits. MDOT MVA has issued more than 125,000 drivers licenses and IDs with a veteran designation. MDOT MVA also offers more than 100 specialty license plates honoring America’s military, as well as vehicle registration cards and license plate stickers for veterans who qualify as 100 percent disabled. For more details on those and other services, go to
www.mva.maryland.gov/drivers/apply/military.htm.
To learn more about the Salisbury veteran’s office or to meet with a veterans benefits specialist, call 410-219-7256.
