Department of motor vehicles disabled parking permit

• Parking spaces
• Proper use of license plates or valid permits
• Misuse of parking permits or plates
• Traveling out of state

Parking spaces

On-street parking spaces reserved for people with disabilities are designated by local law or ordinance.

Off-street parking spaces for people with disabilities are required by law at any private facility with 201 or more parking spaces. If you have a question about parking for people with disabilities on a particular street, contact the authorities responsible for maintaining that road.

Proper use of license plates or valid permits

Any vehicle with a license plate or valid permit displaying the International Symbol of Access may use parking spaces designated for use by a person with a disability. The person to whom the license plate or permit was issued must be traveling in the vehicle in order to use these spaces. Plates and permits do not allow you to disobey state or local parking regulations.

Misuse of parking permits or plates

If you misuse plates or a parking permit or allow another to misuse them, the DMV may revoke the plates/permit or deny renewal.

The most common misuse is when someone other than the person with a disability uses the plates or permit to park in a space reserved for people with disabilities. These parking permits or plates are valid only when the person with a disability who received the permit is driving the vehicle or is a passenger in it.

Traveling out of state

Connecticut plates and permits for people with disabilities are available only to Connecticut residents. However, Connecticut honors out-of-state plates and permits for people with disabilities, and most other states also honor Connecticut permits and plates. If you are traveling to another state, check with the local law enforcement agency of the other state to be sure.

Permanently Disabled Person’s Parking Permits/Placards

A permanently disabled person is defined as someone who: 

• Is hearing impaired, which means, a person whose hearing is totally diminished or so seriously limited as to prohibit the person from understanding oral communications when spoken in a normal conversational tone
• Has disabilities that can be expected to incapacitate a person for more than 180 days
• Is so limited in mobility that they cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest 
• Cannot walk without the use of or assistance from a brace, a cane, a crutch, another person, a prosthetic device, a wheelchair, or other assistive device 
• Is restricted by lung disease to such an extent that their forced respiratory volume for one second, when measured by Spiro meter, is less than one liter, or when at rest their arterial oxygen tension is less than 60 millimeters of mercury on room air 
• Uses portable oxygen 
• Has a cardiac condition to the extent that their functional limitations are classified in severity as Class III or Class IV according to standards set by the American Heart Association
• Is a vision impaired individual whose central visual acuity does not exceed 20/200 in the better eye with correcting lenses or whose visual acuity, if better than 20/200, is accompanied by a limit to the field of vision in the better eye to such degree that its widest diameter subtends an angle of no greater than 20 degrees
• Is severely limited in their ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological, or  orthopedic condition or complications due to pregnancy

Persons with disabilities may apply for a permanently disabled person’s parking permit/placard from the County Tag Office where the disabled person lives by submitting Form MV-9D Disabled Person’s Parking Affidavit signed by a licensed doctor of medicine or osteopathic medicine, a podiatrist, an optometrist, or a licensed chiropractor. You do not have to own a vehicle to obtain a disabled persons parking permit/placard. 

The permanently disabled person’s parking permit/placard:

• Is blue in color.   
• Is issued at no charge.
• Must be replaced every four years. 
• May be used in any vehicle that the disabled person is operating or in which the disabled person is a passenger. 
• May be issued to an institution when the primary use of the vehicle is transporting persons with disabilities. Institutions can apply for these permits at the County Tag Office in the county in Georgia where the institution is located. 

A permanently disabled person may apply for both a disabled person’s parking permit/placard and a disabled person’s license plate with a Form MV-9D Disabled Person’s Parking Affidavit by checking the applicable boxes. The vehicle owner information is only required when applying for a disabled person’s license plate. The applicable box on this form must be checked indicating the type of parking permit/placard or license plate being requested. 

Temporarily Disabled Person’s Parking Permit/Placard 

A temporarily disabled person is a person with temporary limitations from a surgery or an accident. Temporarily disabled persons may apply for a parking permit/placard from the County Tag Office where they live by submitting a  Form MV-9D Disabled Person’s Parking Affidavit signed by a licensed doctor of medicine or osteopathic medicine, a podiatrist, an optometrist, or a licensed chiropractor. You do not have to own a vehicle to obtain a disabled persons parking permit/placard. 

The temporarily disabled person’s parking permit/placard:  

• Is red in color.
• Is valid up to 180 days. 
• Is issued at no charge. 
• May be used in any vehicle that the disabled person is operating or in which the disabled person is a passenger. 

Special Equipment Disabled Person Parking Permit/Placard

Persons who drive a motor vehicle that has been equipped with hand controls to operate the vehicle’s brakes and accelerator; or who are physically disabled from the loss of, or loss of use of, both upper extremities, may apply for a special equipment disabled person’s parking permit/placard for the specially equipped vehicle by submitting Form MV-9D Disabled Person’s Parking Affidavit to the County Tag Office where they reside. 

The special equipment disabled person parking permit: 

• Is gold in color.
• Is issued at no charge.
• Must be replaced every four years.
• Is issued in the same name as the permanent parking permit/placard.

Disabled Person’s License Plate

A person with disabilities, their spouse, child, ward or legal guardian who is a Georgia resident and owns or leases a motor vehicle may apply for a disabled person’s license plate for their vehicle at the County Tag Office where the owner lives.  Please provide the following: 

• Renewal notice (if correct) or completed Form MV-1 Tag and Title Application. 
• Application for individual and institutions – Form MV-9D Disabled Person’s Parking Affidavit must be completed and signed by a licensed doctor of medicine or osteopathic medicine, a podiatrist, an optometrist, or a licensed chiropractor, stating the vehicle owner or their spouse, ward or child is a person with disabilities whose disability or incapacity can be expected to last for more than 180 days, and stating the specific disability.
• Application for businesses – Form MV-9DB Disabled Person’s License Plate Affidavit for a Business. Instructions are included on the form.
• Fees – Annual $20 license plate fee. 
• Emissions inspection if applicable. 
• Proof of Insurance by one of the following:
  • Filed by the insurance company directly in the Department’s database.
  • Insurance binder showing insurance liability coverage.
• Taxes – Subject to Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT), Annual Motor Vehicle Ad Valorem Tax, or Georgia Sales and Use Tax.

A disabled person’s license plate:

• May only be issued for a private passenger motor vehicle or motorcycle, a truck weighing 14,000 pounds or less, or a recreational vehicle used for personal transportation that is owned or leased by the applicant.
• May be issued for a motor vehicle owned by the disabled person or owned jointly with the disabled person. 
• May be issued for a motor vehicle owned by the spouse, parent, or legal guardian of the disabled person. 
• May not be used by any person who is not a disabled person or who is not entitled to obtain a disabled person’s license plate. 
• May not be transferred to another person upon the disabled person’s death or if the joint ownership of such vehicle ceases for any reason. The disabled person’s license plate shall be canceled and the owner of such motor vehicle must apply for a regular category license plate for the vehicle. 
• May be transferred to another passenger vehicle that the registrant purchases if the previously owned vehicle is sold or is no longer owned by the disabled person, their spouse, child or ward.  

Any of the following shall constitute a criminal offense:

• Anyone willfully and falsely representing themselves as having the qualifications to obtain the disabled person’s license plate.  
• Any licensed doctor of medicine or osteopathic medicine, podiatrist, optometrist or licensed chiropractor who knowingly and willfully makes a false or misleading statement in their affidavit stating that an applicant is a disabled person. 
• Any person owning a vehicle bearing the disabled person’s license plate who is not entitled to do so.  

Disabled License Plate for a Business 

A business may apply for a disabled person’s license plate provided the employee that is disabled is the primary operator of the vehicle and Form MV-9D Disabled Person’s Parking Affidavit is completed, as stated.

Where can I pick up a handicap placard near me?

How do I get a Florida handicap parking permit?

How do I get a handicap placard in Nevada?

How do I get a handicap placard in Idaho?