Disability Plates & Placards

Drivers with disabilities who qualify for special parking placards and registration plates have several accommodations available to them:

• Exemption from paying parking meter fees in Maryland if the parking meters do not meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and can park for up to twice the maximum allowable time shown on the meter (not to exceed four hours).
• Areas outside of Maryland, including the District of Columbia, have different parking meter exemption laws. Please check with the local government to obtain parking meter exemption information.
• Maryland’s registration plates and placards for individuals with disabilities display the wheelchair symbol and are recognized nationwide.

Note: The American's with Disabilities Act does not prevent payment of parking meter fees by an individual with a disability.  Therefore, you should verify requirements of feeding parking meters and the time limit allowed in the jurisdiction you are visiting.

Accommodations for motorists with disabilities do not apply to zones where stopping, standing, or parking is prohibited to all vehicles, and spaces which are reserved for special types of vehicles.

Accommodations are not available where there is a local ordinance prohibiting any parking during heavy traffic periods such as morning, afternoon or evening rush hours, or where parking is clearly a traffic hazard or; in Baltimore City, where there is a local ordinance that restricts parking for vehicles that do not display a specified residential parking permit.

Always check specific posted signs before you park, since you cannot disregard zones prohibiting all vehicles.

​Anyone committing fraud or misrepresenting themselves when applying for or using a parking placard for people with disabilities is subject to a fine of up to $500. If disability conditions are not met, the plate/placards may be revoked.​

1. ​​Has lung disease to such an extent that forced (respiratory) expiratory volume for one second, when measured by spirometry, is less than one liter, or arterial oxygen tension (pO2) is less than 60 mm/hg on room air at rest.
2. Has cardiovascular disease limitations classified in severity as Class III or Class IV according to the standards set by the American Heart Association.
3. Is unable to walk 200 feet without stopping to rest.
4. Is unable to walk without the use of, or assistance from, a brace, cane, crutch, another person, prosthetic device, or other assistance device.
5. Requires a wheelchair for mobility.
6. Has lost an arm, hand, foot, or leg. See Note (D) “Certification Under Maryland Law.”
7. Has lost the use of an arm, hand, foot, or leg.
8. Has a permanent disability that adversely impacts the ambulatory ability of the applicant and which is so severe that the person would endure a hardship or be subject to a risk or injury if the privileges accorded a person from whom a vehicle is specially registered were denied.
9. Has a permanent impairment of both eyes so that: 1) The central vision acuity is 20/200 or less in the better eye, with corrective glasses, or 2) There is a field defect in which the peripheral field has contracted to such an extent that the widest diameter of visual field subtends an angular distance no greater than 20 degrees in the better eye. See Note (C) “Certification Under Maryland Law”.
10. Temporary Placard (red)
    Disability is not permanent but would substantially impair the person’s mobility or limit or impair the person’s ability to walk for at least three weeks, and is so severe that the person would endure a hardship or be subject to risk of injury if the Temporary Placard were denied.

Maryland Law specifies that only licensed physicians, physician assistant, nurse practitioners, chiropractors, optometrists, podiatrists, or physical therapists can certify to the particular conditions listed.

• A licensed physician, licensed physician assistant, or licensed nurse practitioner may certify all qualifying conditions listed.
• A licensed chiropractor, licensed podiatrist or licensed physical therapist may certify disability codes (3 through 8 and 10).
• A licensed optometrist may certify only qualifying conditions regarding vision.
• The person with the disability may self-certify the conditions listed under disability code 6, by appearing in person with proper identification. In this situation, only the disabled person’s name and this disability code must be recorded. If, however, a doctor certified the loss of a limb, the doctor must complete all of Section C.

You, your dependent, or any person who depends on you for transportation may be certified as having a disability under the ten medical conditions listed.

1. ​Report the lost/stolen placard or plate to the local law enforcement agency
2. Obtain the police report number from the local law enforcement agency
3. Complete the Application for Maryland Parking Placards/License Plates - VR-210 - PDF - 175.55 KB form
   1. Include the police report number and the reporting jurisdiction.
4. Visit a MVA location or mail your completed form
   1. Visit your local full-service MVA office in person for a substitute placard or plate
   2. Visit any express office (except Oakland) for replacement placards
   3. Mail the completed form along with the appropriate fees to:
      1. Motor Vehicle Administration
         6601 Ritchie Highway N.E.
         Glen Burnie, Maryland 21062
         Attn: Disability Unit. Room 202
      2. Do not mail cash.  

All states must recognize removable disability placards, temporary disability placards and special license plates which have been issued by authorities of other states for the purpose of identifying vehicle(s) permitted to utilize parking spaces reserved for persons with disabilities.

Although states must recognize disability placards, temporary disability placards and special license plates to utilize parking spaces reserved for persons with disabilities, you may not be entitled to free-metered parking.​

You may use your disability placard whenever you rent a car in order to park in a disability parking space. The individual with the disability must be in the vehicle when it is parked in the accessible parking space and they must have their disability certification card to present to any law enforcement officer upon request.​

​An individual with a disability may apply for:

• ​One placard
• One regular disability plate
• One placard and one regular disability plate
• Two placards

In addition, up to two motorcycle disability plates can be requested with any option listed above.

Placards are designed to easily move from one vehicle to another, whether it's a vehicle you own personally or a vehicle you're riding in that is owned by another person.

Some disability spaces are marked "van accessible." These spaces are designed with extra wide access aisles (eight feet wide) to accommodate vans with lifts and minivans with ramps, which require more space.  Drivers with a disability placard or plate who do not have these special vehicles, should park in regular disability spaces first and only park in van accessible spaces if all other disability spaces are filled.​

​Permanent disability placards do not contain an expiration date.  The placards displays “PERMANENT” and are valid until the death of the disabled individual for whom the placard was issued.  The temporary placard may be valid for anywhere from three weeks up to six months. Registration stickers must be applied to plates every two years.​

• ​If you no longer require the disability plate issued to you, you must return them to the MVA immediately.​
• If you no longer need the permanent (blue) disability placard issued to you, you must return it to a MVA branch.
• If you don’t need the temporary (red) disability placard anymore, you must destroy it so it can’t be used again, for example, by cutting it up or shredding it.