Disabled parking
Disabled parking privileges
There are 3 types of disabled parking privileges: permanent, temporary, and organizational. To learn about the options available for each, how to apply, and how to renew, choose the type that applies to you:
- Permanent (for individuals with a permanent disability)
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Options
If you have a permanent disability, you may request one of the following permanent disabled parking options:
- Up to 2 blue placards, which hang from the rearview mirror and can be used by any vehicle while it is providing transportation for you.
- One set of disabled parking license plates. The plates must be issued to you, the qualified individual, and you must be a registered owner of the vehicle.
- One set of disabled parking license plates and one placard.
- One disabled parking tab (year only) and one blue placard. You may display the disabled parking tab on any of the following license plates:
- Armed forces collection (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and National Guard)
- Collegiate (CWU, EWU, TESC, UW, WWU, WSU)
- Disabled American veteran
- Endangered wildlife
- Former prisoner of war
- Helping Kids Speak
- Keep Kids Safe
- Law Enforcement Memorial
- Pearl Harbor survivor
- Purple Heart
- Personalized
- Professional fire fighters and paramedics
- Share the Road
- Ski and Ride Washington
- Square dancer
- Stadium
- Washington lighthouses
- Washington’s wildlife (bear, deer and elk)
- Washington’s National Park Fund
- Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
- We Love Our Pets
- Wild on Washington
How to apply
- Complete and sign a
 Disabled Parking Application for Individuals. Your doctor, physician assistant, or licensed registered nurse practitioner must complete and sign the “Physician” section of the form before you can submit it.
- Submit the original, completed application form:
We cannot accept faxed copies of the completed application for permanent disability privileges.
We will mail your receipt and disabled parking placards, plates, or tabs to you as soon as your application has been processed. You should receive your identification card in 2–3 weeks.
How to renew
You must renew your permanent disabled parking privilege every 5 years. To renew, follow the steps above for “How to apply.”
- Temporary (for individuals with a temporary disability)
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Options
If you have a temporary disability, you may request to have disabled parking privileges for up to 6 months. If you qualify, you will receive one red placard, which hangs from the rearview mirror and can be used by any vehicle while it is providing transportation for you.
How to apply
- Complete and sign a Disabled Parking Application for Individuals. Your doctor, physician assistant, or licensed registered nurse practitioner must complete and sign the “Physician” section of the form before you can submit it.
- Submit the original, completed application form:
We will mail your receipt and disabled parking placards, plates, or tabs to you as soon as your application has been processed. You should receive your identification card in 2–3 weeks.
When your placard expires
The placard is valid for 1–6 months from the date it was issued and isn’t renewable. If you need disabled parking for longer than 6 months, you must apply for a new temporary disabled parking placard.
Once the placard has expired, you may return the placard to your local vehicle licensing office for destruction or mail them to us at:
Individuals with Disabilities
Department of Licensing
PO Box 9043
Olympia WA 98507-9043
- Organizational (for organizations that transport individuals with disabilities)
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Options
If your organization uses vehicles to transport anyone with a disability, you request one of the following disabled parking options:
- Placards which hang from the rear-view mirror and can be used by any vehicle that provides regular transportation for an individual with a disability.
- Disabled parking license plates for each vehicle registered to the organization and used regularly to transport individuals with disabilities
How to apply
- Complete and sign a Disabled Parking Application for Organizations.
- If you are requesting disabled license plates, attach a copy of the current registration for the vehicle.
- Submit the original, completed application form and supporting documents at a vehicle licensing office.
We will mail your receipt and disabled parking placards or license plates to you as soon as your application has been processed.
How to renew
- Disabled parking placards must be renewed every 5 years. To renew, follow the steps above for “How to apply.”
- Disabled parking license plates must be renewed each year with the vehicle registration (tabs).
Requirements
A licensed physician, licensed physician assistant, or licensed registered nurse practitioner must determine if you qualify for disabled parking privileges.
Types of conditions that qualify
You may receive disabled parking privileges if you have a disability that limits or impairs your ability to walk and you meet at least one of the following criteria:
- You cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest.
- Your ability to walk is severely limited due to an arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition.
- You are so severely disabled that you cannot walk without the use of or assistance from a brace, cane, another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair, or other assistive device.
- You use portable oxygen.
- You are restricted by lung disease to such an extent that forced expiratory respiratory volume when measured by spirometry is less than 1 liter/second or the arterial oxygen tension is less than 60 mm/hg on room air at rest.
- You are impaired by cardiovascular disease or cardiac condition to the extent that your functional limitations are classified as Class III or IV under standards accepted by the American Heart Association.
- You have a disability resulting from an acute sensitivity to automobile emissions which limits or impairs your ability to walk. Your physician, physician assistant, or advanced registered nurse practitioner must document that the disability is comparable in severity to the others listed above.
- You are legally blind and have limited mobility.
- You have acute sensitivity to light associated with a form of porphyria that would significantly benefit from a decrease in exposure to light. Porphyria refers to a group of inheritable metabolic disorders in which exposure to light can result in burning, blistering, swelling, and scarring of the skin.
How to use disabled parking privileges
If you qualify and have a placard, tabs, or license plates indicating you have disabled parking privileges, you can park in special designated spaces. All other parking restrictions, such as meter fees or time limits may apply. You cannot park in zones or areas where stopping, parking, or standing of all vehicles is prohibited or in zones that are reserved for special types of vehicles.
How to report abuse of disabled parking privileges
Contact your local police to report individuals who are abusing disabled parking privileges or parking in a disabled parking space illegally.
Questions?
If you have questions about disabled parking privileges, contact customer service.
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