The Blue (formerly Orange) Badge Scheme provides a national arrangement of on-street parking concessions enabling people with severe walking difficulties who travel either as drivers or passengers to park close to their destinations. The Scheme also applies to registered blind people and people with severe upper limb disabilities who regularly drive a vehicle but cannot turn a steering wheel by hand.

European Parking Card Directory
http://www.epcd.org.uk
Claiming your parking rights in the UK and throughout Europe via the Blue Badge and Disability Parking Card programs.

The Scheme is administered by local authorities who deal with applications and issue badges.

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; or
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. The local authority may also request information from your doctor or ask you to attend an assessment by a qualified medical professional, such as an occupational therapist.
Further information is available from our explanatory booklet on the Scheme.

Do I need to own a car?
There is no requirement for you to own a vehicle or be able to drive one. The badge is personal to you and can be used in any vehicle in which you are travelling either as driver or passenger.

How do I apply for a badge?
Your local council is responsible for administering the Scheme and issuing badges. A list of contacts is available here. They will send you an application form which you will need to return with 2 recent (passport sized) photographs of yourself and a maximum fee of £2.

Will I need to be assessed by a doctor?
If you do not meet one of the 'automatic without further assessment' criteria, such as being in receipt of the higher rate of the mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance, your eligibility will need to be assessed by the issuing authority. The assessment arrangements are for individual authorities to decide but you will be asked to answer a series of questions to help them determine your eligibility. The authority may also ask your permission to seek further information from your doctor or ask you to see an independent doctor or other health care professional, such as an occupational therapist, employed by the authority.

I have been refused, can I appeal?
There is no right of appeal against a local authority's decision to refuse a blue badge, but an unsuccessful applicant may ask the authority to reconsider the case if they feel that their mobility problems have become more serious or if they think that all the relevant facts were not taken into consideration at the time of the assessment.

Information for badge holders
How should I display my badge and time clock?
The badge should be displayed on the dashboard of your vehicle with the front (the side containing the expiry date, issuing authority and wheelchair symbol) clearly visible to enforcement officials.

The associated time clock only needs to be displayed when you are parking on yellow lines or in a blue badge parking bay that has a time limit. In both cases, you should set the time of arrival on the clock and display it next to your badge on the dashboard.

Failure to display your badge and time clock properly could result in a parking ticket.

What parking concessions am I entitled to?
The concessions blue badge holders are entitled to are explained in Section 9 of our explanatory booklet on the Scheme.

Where can't I park?
A blue badge is not a license to park anywhere and you must not park in the circumstances described in Section 10 of our explanatory booklet on the Scheme. If you fail to abide by these rules you may receive a parking ticket.

What about parking in central London?
The Blue Badge Scheme does not apply in the City of London, the City of Westminster, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and part of the London Borough of Camden.

However, those boroughs do offer a limited range of concessions including parking bays open to national blue badge holders. A map outlining the location of these bays and their conditions of use can be obtained by calling the Association of London Government on 0207 747 4767.

If you are planning to visit central London and intend to use your badge, you may wish to check first with the authorities concerned. Contact details for the boroughs are contained in Section 7 of our explanatory booklet on the Scheme.

What about off-street car parking?
The parking concessions provided under the Blue Badge Scheme only apply to on-street parking. They do not apply in off-street car parks such as those at supermarkets. The conditions of use of off-street facilities are entirely down to the individual car park owner or operator to determine and these should be clearly displayed at the entrance. You should note that badge holders are not automatically exempt from charges in these car parks. If in doubt, ask an attendant.

Am I exempt from charges at toll crossings?
Badge holders are exempt from a number of toll crossings across the United Kingdom. We have produced a fact sheet outlining these.

Can I use my badge abroad?
The blue badge design is now standard across the European Union and you are entitled to the local concessions which apply in each Member State. Please note that these do vary from country to country and we have produced a leaflet outlining the differences.

The arrangements that apply in countries outside of the European Union, such as the USA and Australia, are set out in our fact sheet 'Travelling to countries outside the European Union'.

My badge or time clock has been lost/stolen, who should I contact?
You should contact the authority who issued the badge or time clock (a list of telephone numbers is available here). If your badge has been stolen, you should also contact the police. They will give you a crime number which should be quoted when contacting the local authority who will issue a replacement.

My badge is due to expire, what should I do?
Contact you local council who will arrange for an application form to be sent to you (a list of contacts is available here).

I have changed my address, do I need to notify anybody?
No, unless you are moving within the same council area in which case you should let the issuing office know your new address for administrative purposes. If you are moving to another council area, contact your new council around 6 weeks before your badge is due to expire and they will send you the appropriate forms (a list of contacts is available here).

The badge is no longer needed, who should I return it to?
If for any reason the badge is no longer required, it must be returned to the issuing authority (this will be stated on the front of the badge). A list of contacts is available here.

Will the proposed changes to the Scheme affect me?
The eligibility criteria are not set to change, other than extending the Scheme to children under the age of two and people with temporary disabilities.

Misuse

I think a badge is being misused, what should I do?
Report the matter to your local council (a list of contacts is available here). If possible, you should get as many details as possible from the badge on display (name, serial number, expiry date, etc). The council will investigate the matter and take appropriate action if the badge can be shown to be displayed fraudulently.

Disabled Persons' Parking Bays

Can I have a blue badge bay outside of my home?
Your local council is responsible for the provision of blue badge bays. They can designate bays on the highway but this may not always be possible due to local traffic and safety conditions. Requests are considered on a case-by-case basis and you should contact your local council (a list of numbers is available here) and ask for the Highways Department.

Who is responsible for the provisions of blue badge bays in town centres?
The local council is responsible for the provision of all types of parking bays within their area. If you have any concerns about the provision of blue badge bays, you should contact them to discuss the matter (a list of telephone numbers is available here).

I see many non-disabled people parking in off-street bays, such as supermarket car parks, who should I complain to?
The blue badge bays provided in supermarket and other off-street car parks are not covered by the regulations governing the scheme, which only apply to on-street bays. These bays are in most cases not legally enforceable and their use depends to a large extent on the courtesy and consideration of other drivers. If you see bays being abused by non-disabled people, we suggest you bring this to the attention of the appropriate store or car park operator.

Related Issues
I have received a parking ticket whilst displaying my badge, can you help?
The reason you have received a parking ticket will be indicated on the rear of the ticket itself. If you feel it was wrongly issued and wish to appeal, you should contact the parking enforcement office (whose details will also be on the rear of the ticket). If this does not prove satisfactory, you may also wish to contact the National Parking Adjudication Service, an independent tribunal where impartial lawyers consider appeals by motorists and vehicle owners whose vehicles have been issued with a parking ticket (or have been removed or clamped) by councils in England and Wales.

Please note that the Department for Transport has no powers to intervene in disputes over the issue of a parking ticket.

Do I qualify for exemption from road tax?
The road tax exemption for disabled people is operated by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). It is entirely independent of the Blue Badge Scheme. In order to qualify for an exemption, you must:

receive the higher rate of the mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance; or
receive War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement; and
the vehicle is registered in the name of the disabled person or the nominee named on the relevant certificate of entitlement (DLA404 or WPA442) issued by the appropriate government agency; or
you have an invalid carriage.
If you believe you qualify and would like an application form, or additional information about the eligibility criteria, please contact DVLA on 0870 240 0010. A list of local Vehicle Registration Offices in your area who can offer further assistance is also available.

Please note that there are restrictions on the use of tax exempt vehicles, which must only be used by the disabled person, or for their purposes, for example, to get a prescription or shopping.

What about the London congestion charge?
Blue badge holders qualify for a 100% exemption from the congestion charge but you must register with Transport for London (TfL), who operate the charge on behalf of the Mayor of London, before travelling. An application form is available from TfL by calling 0845 900 1234. Further details are available from the congestion charge web site.

Advice for Disabled Travellers from Abroad
The blue badge introduced a standard design of disabled persons' parking card across all European Union (EU) Member States. This enables disabled visitors from within the EU to enjoy the parking concessions provided in the UK by displaying the badge issued under their own national scheme.

For visitors from countries outside of the EU where no formal arrangements currently exist, UK parking enforcement officials may be prepared to recognise your disabled motorists' badges, although that will be entirely at their own discretion. We suggest that you bring your badge with you and check with the local police in the areas you intend to visit.