The Blue Badge Scheme

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What is the Blue Badge Scheme?

The Blue Badge Scheme provides a national arrangement of parking concessions for people with severe walking difficulties who travel either as drivers or passengers. The Scheme also applies to registered blind people, and people with very severe upper limb disabilities who regularly drive a vehicle but cannot turn a steering wheel by hand. It allows badge holders to park close to their destination, but the national concessions apply only to on-street parking.

You can get a Badge if:

You receive the higher rate of the mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance
You receive a War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement
You use a motor vehicle supplied for disabled people by a Government Health Department
You are registered blind
You have a severe disability in both upper limbs, regularly drive a motor vehicle but cannot turn the steering wheel of a motor vehicle by hand even if that wheel is fitted with a turning knob
You have a permanent and substantial disability which means you are unable to walk or have very considerable difficulty in walking. In this case you may be asked to answer a series of questions to help the local authority determine whether you are eligible for a badge. People with a psychological disorder will not normally qualify unless their impairment causes very considerable, and not intermittent, difficulty in walking.

The main concessions are:-

Badge holders may park free of charge and without time limit at parking meters on street and "pay and display" on street parking unless local traffic orders prevent this
Badge holders may be exempt from limits on parking times imposed on others
Badge holders may usually park on single or double yellow lines for up to three hours in England and Wales and without time limit in Scotland unless this is prevented by a ban or local scheme

The Scheme does not apply in certain areas and the badge itself is not a licence to park anywhere. Details of the concessions and restrictions will be supplied once your application has been approved. The Badge itself is valid for three years and is a two-sided card with space for a photograph on the back.

If you are applying by e-mail, you will be notified when your application has received provisional approval or if your circumstances are such that you will not qualify. If you receive provisional approval you will then be asked to submit the following:

Two reasonably recent photographs taken from self service booths or any suitable photographs cut down to passport photo size.
If you are applying under Part B of the form in any of the sections where documentary evidence is required, you will also be asked to submit this with your photograph. All documents will be returned to you whether or not your application is successful.
The fee for the badge is £2 which will also need to be submitted at the same time.

If you are applying for a car badge under Part C, it will be necessary for your GP to complete a medical questionnaire.

You can apply for your badge online, please click here to continue.

UK Blue Badge Parking Map

"Staffordshire County Council is not responsible for the content of external websites linked from this page."

The DirectGov website features an interactive map of disabled parking facilities in 64 major cities across the UK.

Last Modified: 11/07/2007 10:11:04
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