The suit is hanging on the closet door. The box is on the dresser, the flat one with the hinge that sticks, and tomorrow is Veterans Day.
For a lot of people, that is the moment the question finally comes up. It has been sitting quietly for years, and it usually sounds something like this: Am I still allowed to wear them?
Yes. You are.
Quick Answer: Yes. Veterans and retirees may wear medals on civilian clothes, and every branch permits it. Choose either full-size or miniature medals. Place them on the left side of the chest, roughly where they would sit on the uniform. Suitable occasions include Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Armed Forces Day, military funerals, memorial services, patriotic parades, and formal events tied to your service.
Why So Many Veterans Are Unsure
The confusion is understandable, because two different sets of rules get tangled together.
One set governs the uniform. Federal law, at 10 U.S.C. 772, spells out when someone no longer on active duty may wear it. A person discharged honorably may wear it traveling home, within three months of discharge. Someone who served honorably in time of war may also bear the title and wear the uniform of the highest grade held during that war, when regulations permit.
The other set governs medals on civilian clothing, and it is far more generous. Those rules live in each service’s own dress regulations rather than in federal law. They exist so that veterans can mark the days that matter.
So when someone tells you the uniform rules are strict, they are right. They are also answering a different question from the one you asked.
What Does Each Branch Actually Say?
The branches agree on the principle and differ only in the details.
| Branch | What the regulation permits |
| Army | Retired personnel and former members may wear all categories of medals, either full-size or miniature, positioned to look as they would on the Army uniform. Occasions include Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Armed Forces Day, formal occasions of ceremony, and social functions of a military nature. (AR 670-1, paragraph 23-6) |
| Air Force and Space Force | Honorably discharged and retired members may wear full-size or miniature medals on civilian suits on appropriate occasions such as Memorial Day and Armed Forces Day. The retired lapel pin is also authorized on civilian clothing. |
| Navy and Marine Corps | Miniature medals are worn with civilian evening dress, meaning black tie or white tie. For less formal occasions, miniature ribbons or lapel buttons take their place. |
| Coast Guard | Convention follows the sea services closely, with miniature medals on formal evening wear and lapel devices at other times. |
Notice what none of them say. Not one asks you to prove anything, register anywhere, or seek permission. You earned the awards once, and they are still yours.
Where Exactly Do the Medals Go?
The Army phrases the guiding principle better than anyone: place them so they look the way they looked on the uniform.
On a suit jacket or blazer, that means the left side of the chest, over the heart, in the area just above the breast pocket. Miniature medals sit on the left lapel itself, mounted on a bar in the same order they were held in service. Full-size medals go on the left breast rather than the lapel, since the lapel cannot carry the weight.
Order of precedence still applies, and it does not change once you leave. Your highest award sits to the wearer’s right, closest to the center of the chest, and the rest follow in descending order. If you would like to check yours before the day arrives, our branch guides lay them out in full: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Space Force.
Full-Size or Miniature: Which Should You Choose?
Both are correct, so this comes down to the occasion rather than the rule.
Miniature medals belong with formal evening wear. If the invitation says black tie, if the event is a ball, a formal dinner, or a military-connected wedding in the evening, miniatures are the graceful choice. They are also what you would wear with mess dress, which our guide to what medals to wear to mess dress covers in detail.
Full-size medals suit daytime and public occasions. A Memorial Day service, a Veterans Day ceremony, a parade, a graveside honor detail, a reunion. In those settings, the full-size set reads clearly from a distance, which is part of the point.
If you are weighing the two more carefully, our comparison of mini medals and full-size medals walks through every situation.
What About Ribbons on a Suit?
Ribbons are a uniform item. On civilian clothing, they have a proper counterpart, and it has carried official recognition for decades. Federal regulation 32 CFR 578.63 defines lapel buttons as miniature replicas of decorations, service medals and ribbons, and identification badges. It states plainly that they belong only on civilian clothing, on the left lapel.
That single enamel button is the everyday answer. It works on a Tuesday, at the office, at church, at a grandchild’s ceremony. Many veterans wear one year-round and save the medals for the days that ask for them.
Which Occasions Call for Medals?
The regulations name the obvious ones. Custom fills in the rest, and custom is gentle here.
Days that clearly call for them include Veterans Day, Memorial Day, and Armed Forces Day. So do military funerals, memorial services, patriotic parades, unit reunions, and formal functions of organizations such as the American Legion or the VFW. A military retirement ceremony belongs firmly on that list.
Weddings sit in a warmer, more personal category. If the ceremony carries a military connection, or if you are standing up with someone who served, medals are welcomed. If it is simply a family wedding, the lapel button is the kinder choice, because the day belongs to someone else.
And for ordinary days, wear the small pin. Nobody has ever regretted understating it.
Is Any of This Against the Law?
This worry comes up often, so let us set it down clearly.
The Stolen Valor Act, found at 18 U.S.C. 704, is aimed at fraud rather than at veterans. Its central provision reaches a person who fraudulently claims certain high decorations with intent to obtain money, property, or other tangible benefit. That intent requirement sits at the heart of the statute.
Wearing awards you were given, on your own coat, on a day of remembrance, is not what that law addresses. It is exactly what the service regulations contemplate. So wear them without hesitation.
What If the Medals Are Gone?
Very often they are. Medals get lost in a move, given to a child, damaged in a flood, or simply never issued in the first place, which happened to a great many people who left service quickly.
You can request replacements of unissued awards through your branch using your DD Form 214. If the paperwork itself has gone missing, the National Personnel Records Center can help you recover the record. That process takes time, however, and Veterans Day does not wait.
If you already know what you earned, you can have a correct set made now. We keep 121 medals and 189 ribbons in stock and mount them in proper order of precedence, ready to wear.
Wear Them Properly
Our ribbon rack builder arranges everything in the correct order for your branch and handles the devices, so nothing sits in the wrong place. You can also browse the full range of military medals or shop by branch: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Space Force.
Buying for a veteran in your family? Our guide to military retirement gift ideas explains how to find their award list without spoiling the surprise.
Use code STR2025 for 10% off your order.
Built in the USA
We make every ribbon and medal set here in the United States and ship to veterans in all fifty states, mounted and ready to wear.
Super Thin Ribbons is a U.S.-based company, headquartered at 1602 Loop 11, Wichita Falls, Texas 76306. You can reach our team directly at 940-851-6220 or sa***@**************ns.com.
If you are unsure what you are entitled to wear, or how your set should be arranged, please call us. We talk with veterans about this every week, and there is no such thing as a question too small.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Every branch permits honorably discharged veterans and retirees to wear their medals on civilian clothes, in either full-size or miniature form. Suitable occasions include Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Armed Forces Day, military funerals, and formal events.
On the left side of the chest, over the heart, roughly where they would sit on the uniform. Miniature medals go on the left lapel. Full-size medals go on the left breast, just above the pocket, and the order of precedence stays exactly as it was in service.
Ribbons are a uniform item. Their civilian equivalent is the lapel button. Federal regulation 32 CFR 578.63 defines it as a miniature replica of a decoration, service medal, or ribbon, worn only on civilian clothing and placed on the left lapel.
Miniature medals suit formal evening wear such as black tie. Full-size medals suit daytime and public occasions such as Memorial Day services, Veterans Day ceremonies, and parades.
Not on the left side, which belongs to the recipient. Custom does allow a family member to wear a relative’s medals on the right side of the chest at remembrance events. That keeps the left side free for their own awards if they served.
Regulations referenced: 10 U.S.C. 772, 18 U.S.C. 704, 32 CFR 578.63, AR 670-1 paragraph 23-6, and Department of the Air Force retiree uniform guidance.
You earned them once, and they are still yours. On the mornings that ask for them, take the box down and wear them well.