People with disabilities or specific health conditions could have their lives made a lot easier by obtaining a Blue Badge, which allows drivers to park closer to their destination.
Blue Badges cost up to £10 in England and £20 in Scotland. It’s free if you live in Wales. You can apply for one for yourself, on behalf of somebody else or an organisation that transports people who struggle with their mobility. Once obtained, the badge lasts for up to three years before you have to re-apply.
Automatic Entitlement
There are six instances where somebody is automatically entitled to receive a Blue Badge. These are:
- You receive the higher rate of the mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance (DLA).
- You receive a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) because you can’t walk more than 50 metres (a score of 8 points or more under the 'moving around' activity of the mobility component).
- You are registered blind (severely sight impaired).
- You receive a War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement.
- You have received a lump sum benefit within tariff levels 1 to 8 of the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation) Scheme and have been certified as having a permanent and substantial disability that causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking.
- You receive the mobility component of PIP and have obtained 10 points specifically for descriptor E under the 'planning and following journeys' activity, on the grounds that you are unable to undertake any journey because it would cause you overwhelming psychological distress.
Health Conditions That Qualify
There are 13 health conditions or impairments that make you eligible for a Blue Badge. If you qualify on any of these terms, you must apply online via the government website.
- You are unable to walk.
- You cannot walk without help from someone else or using mobility aids.
- You find walking very difficult due to pain, breathlessness or the time it takes.
- Walking is dangerous to your health and safety.
- You have a life limiting illness, which means you cannot walk or find walking very difficult and have an SR1 form. An SR1 form is a UK medical report used to fast-track government benefit claims for people with a terminal illness or nearing the end of life.
- You have a severe disability in both arms and drive regularly, but cannot operate pay-and-display parking machines.
- You have a child under the age of 3 with a medical condition that means the child always needs to be accompanied by bulky medical equipment.
- You have a child under the age of 3 with a medical condition that means the child must always be kept near a vehicle in case they need emergency medical treatment.
- You are constantly a significant risk to yourself or others near vehicles, in traffic or car parks.
- You severely struggle to plan or follow a journey.
- You find it difficult or impossible to control your actions and lack awareness of the impact you could have on others.
- You regularly have intense and overwhelming responses to situations causing temporary loss of behavioural control.
- You frequently become extremely anxious or fearful of public/open spaces.
Application Process
Once you have completed the application, it is up to your local council to decide if you are eligible for a badge. It's important to note that they cannot start the assessment process until they have all the necessary evidence. It may take 12 weeks or longer to assess your application.
As part of the Blue Badge application process, you will need to provide:
- Proof of identity (birth or adoption certificate, passport, driving licence).
- Proof of address (a recent council tax bill or a recent letter from a government department such as DWP).
- A recent head and shoulders digital photo.
- Your national insurance number (if you have one).
- Contact details (phone number, email and postal address).
If your local council decides that you are not eligible and you think that they did not take account of all the facts, you can ask them to consider your application again.
