Disabled parking permit

Member Countries of the International Transport Forum, an inter-governmental organisation within the OECD, would from 1978 grant the same parking concessions to people with disabilities as they offered their own nationals.

97/4 on Reciprocal Recognition of Parking Badges for Persons with Mobility Handicaps", and now applies to ITF member states as well as Associated Countries.

[2] Disabled parking permits generally take the form of either specially marked license plates or a placard that hangs from the rear-view mirror.

[10] In the United Kingdom, this scheme of permits was originally introduced (using Orange Badges) by the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970.

Badges are issued as a right if a person meets certain statutory requirements, most of which are associated with actually being in receipt of certain disability benefits from the national Social Security system; additionally, a local authority can make concessionary issues of badges to persons who have a permanent disability which does not fall directly within the more rigid statutory requirements but which seriously impairs their mobility.

A drop of 49% in prosecuted badges may have related to the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on citizen behaviour, local authority enforcement practices, and resources availability.

[13] In England and Wales, Blue Badge holders are required (unless signs show otherwise) to display a disabled person's parking disc ("clock").

In London, the volume of traffic has led to restrictions upon the national scheme in some areas with local colour schemes used to restrict standard concessions to local residents, for example the permits are green in Camden, white in Westminster, purple in Kensington and Chelsea, and red in the City of London.

The standard scheme only generally applies to on-street parking and is outlined on the Roads Service Northern Ireland website.

There are also proposals to extend the issue of badges to small children and a wider range of (temporarily or permanently) disabled people.

[16] Disabled parking permits are applied for through state and territory organisations, and rules for eligibility differ among jurisdictions.

The application process for a disability parking permit typically involves submitting a medical assessment, proof of identity, and completing the required forms.