Veterans and caregivers with new commissary and exchange access next year can bring a guest while shopping, a Department of Defense spokeswoman confirmed Thursday in an email.

While base entry for the newly eligible veterans on Jan. 1 is limited to those with a Department of Veterans' health insurance identification card or to caregivers with a VA letter, guests will be able to accompany them on base as long as they have official identification.

Acceptable forms include the REAL ID-compliant driver's license and U.S. passport, among others.

The guests, who can be a spouse or child, will have to enter through the base visitor control center and pass a standard security check, which includes criminal history and a terrorism screening.

Related: Veterans with Base Access Still Face Delays on New Commissary Benefit

Guests will have to be with their sponsors at all times, and they cannot make any purchases.

Earlier this year, Congress granted Purple Heart recipients, former prisoners of war, veterans with any service-connected disability and caregivers registered with the Department of Veteran Affairs' Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers program access to commissaries, exchanges and Morale, Welfare and Readiness facilities including golf courses and movie theaters.

Read more about the two-phased base access plan for these 4.1 million new shoppers here.

By Dorothy Mills-Gregg