Mercer County Clerk Paula Sollami Covello is pleased to unveil a newly updated Veteran Discount Booklet that lists merchants in Mercer County who are offering discounts to veterans. The Veteran Discount Booklet is a way for local businesses in our community to show their appreciation to Veterans for their heroic service. Participating businesses are offering up to 25 percent off for veterans who produce their County-issued Veteran ID Card. The updated discount booklet also lists the County’s numerous veteran-owned businesses.
The booklet will be available to veterans when they obtain their Veteran ID Cards from the County Clerk’s Office located on 209 South Broad St. in Trenton. If a veteran wishes to obtain a booklet, they may also send an email [email protected] and they will be added to the County Clerk’s mailing list. To view a PDF version of the booklet, please visit https://www.mercercounty.org/government/county-clerk-/office-services/county-id-s.
The County Clerk’s Office issues Veteran ID Cards as a way to honor and identify those who served our country in active military duty. The County Clerk’s Office has been providing Veteran ID Cards that indicate a veteran’s status for several years. “We have learned that our Vet ID cards have become very helpful, not just to indicate service, but also because many local retailers now offer special discounts to veterans,” said County Clerk Paula Sollami Covello.
Veteran ID cards are issued for free during the weeks of Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Veterans Day and National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. However, if a card is needed at another time during the year, the fee is $10, which is half the price of a regular County ID Card. “Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Veterans Day and National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day remind us our U.S. soldiers made great sacrifices to preserve our freedom,” Clerk Sollami Covello said.
The County Clerk’s Office also offers veterans the ability to record their DD-214 form, the certificate of honorable discharge, free of charge. The DD-214 is required paperwork for a Veteran ID Card and is issued when a service member is honorably discharged from active military duty. The document contains information normally needed to verify military service for benefits, retirement, employment and membership in veterans’ organizations.
Clerk Sollami Covello added, “Because military papers can get damaged or lost, veterans should take advantage of the opportunity to file copies of their DD-214 discharge papers with the Clerk’s Office. I am particularly sensitive to the need for recording such papers since the County Clerk’s Office maintains and preserves official documents and records for Mercer County.” If a copy of one’s discharge papers is needed in the future, a veteran, an immediate family member, or a legally recognized representative of their estate may obtain one with proper identification.
The County Clerk’s Office also issues a Peddler’s License. The Peddler’s License is free to veterans who are honorably discharged, in accordance with New Jersey state law. Veterans can receive a photo ID card and Veteran Discount Book by visiting the Mercer County Clerk’s Office’s ID department, located on the second floor at 209 South Broad Street in Trenton. The Clerk’s Office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. To reach the ID Department directly, please call 609-278-7108 or 609-989-6465.
Submitted by Mercer County
