Q: My father passed away recently and he had Purple Heart Plates. Since he was a veteran and my mother is his widow, would she be able to keep his plates? Or at the very least cancel them and keep the actual plates?

A: Good news — your mom can keep the plates. RIGL 31-3-48- Plates for recipients of Purple Heart, states: “(c) Upon the death of the holder of any Purple Heart plates, the plates shall be transferred to his or her surviving spouse for the spouse’s lifetime until he or she remarries. (d) The applicant is not required to pay a registration fee or service charge for the plates.”

Also, according to the surviving spouse rules, any vehicle that was registered and titled in your father’s name can be transferred to your mother at no cost. You will need the title to the vehicle (if the vehicle is 10 years old or newer), a copy of your father’s death certificate, the current registration for the vehicle showing the Purple Heart plate number, a TR-1 form — Application for Registration & Title, and a Sales or Use Tax Exemption Certificate. Both of the DMV forms are available to be downloaded at our Web site at http://www.dmv.ri.gov/ forms/allforms.php

Your mother must sign the back of the title as both buyer and seller, with the notation “surviving spouse.” Please bring the original death certificate — the DMV will make a copy to keep with the application and return the original to you. No fees will be charged for the title, the transfer or the registration. Normal renewal fees, however, will apply at renewal time. Your mother need not appear in person for this transaction as long as the title is signed correctly and her signature on the TR-1 application is notarized by a notary public.

Gina Antonucci Zanni, chief of communications for the State Division of Motor Vehicles, has agreed to answer questions of general interest posed by Journal readers about state motor vehicle laws and procedures. To ask a question that would also be of interest to other readers, send a letter to Ask projoCars, Features Department, The Providence Journal, 75 Fountain St., Providence, RI, 02902. You can e-mail your question to projocars@projo.com. Please put “Ask projoCars” in the subject field. Questions or complaints of a specific nature should be posed to the DMV directly and will not be answered in this column.