Disabled Parking Placards

A person's medical condition must meet the legal definition of a disability to qualify. "Disability" means a condition in which a person has:

• Visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with correcting lenses
• Visual acuity of more than 20/200 but with a limited field of vision in which the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle of 20 degrees or less
• Mobility problems that substantially impair a person's ability to move around; these problems can be caused by:
  • Paralysis
  • Lung disease
  • Cardiac deficiency
  • Wheelchair confinement
  • Arthritis
  • Foot disorder
  • Other medical condition causing a person to use a brace, cane, crutch or other assistive device.

County tax offices accept disabled parking placard applications. Please contact your county office for more information.

To apply for a new "permanent" (blue) placard or "temporary" (red) placard, you must:

• Ask your doctor to complete the Disability Statement section of the application
• Complete the rest of the application
• Submit the application and payment to your county tax office

To renew a "permanent" (blue) placard, you must:

• Complete the Affidavit portion of a new application (not the disability statement), including the signature of the applicant
• Submit a copy of the original application, along with the new application to your county tax office. If you do not have a copy of your application, you may also submit your expiring placard(s) to your county tax office.

Placards for permanent disabilities must be renewed every four years. Placards for temporary disabilities are valid for six months or until your disability ends, whichever comes first, and cannot be renewed. You will need to apply for a new placard if your temporary disability extends beyond the six-month limit.

Vehicles displaying disabled plates or placards are the only vehicles allowed to park in spaces clearly marked for the disabled. These vehicles may park in any space clearly marked for the disabled unless the space is marked “BLUE PLACARD PARKING ONLY” in which case a blue placard must be displayed for parking.

• Blue placards designate a permanent disability.
• Red placards designate a temporary disability.
  

Vehicles displaying Disabled Veteran license plates are not subject to the above restriction and may park in any disabled parking space.

Nursing homes, retirement communities, institutions and other facilities that transport people with disabilities may obtain blue parking placards for their vehicles, including vans and buses. These placards can only be used when transporting people with disabilities.

People who misuse disabled parking placards are subject to fines of up to $1,250 and/or up to 50 hours of community service.

A law enforcement officer may seize a placard if the officer believes a parking offense has been committed. Confiscated placards are returned to TxDMV.

The owner of the placard may request a hearing to explain the situation, after which we determine if the placard should be returned to the owner.

If your placard is lost or stolen, you can replace it by presenting a photocopy of the Form VTR-214 that you originally submitted, to your county tax office. If you did not keep a photocopy of the form and/or the county tax office cannot verify the placard was issued, you will need to apply for a new disabled placard.

If your disabled placard was stolen, please report it to your local law enforcement agency. Reporting placard theft allows us to flag that placard in our database and can assist in identifying the thief.

• Blue placards are for people who have a permanent disability.
• Red placards are for people with a temporary disability.
  
  

For more information about disabled parking placards, please call our customer help line at (888) 368-4689 and (512) 465-3000, or visit the Office of the Governor.