The criteria to apply for a Blue Badge

A Blue Badge is for the benefit of someone with severe mobility difficulties or severe non-visible disabilities to enable them to park closer to their destination.

Using a Blue Badge correctly

After a Blue Badge is issued it can only be used by Badge holder. It cannot be shared by a spouse, family member or anyone else.

Criteria

The Government criteria states that the applicant must:

• be unable to walk
• experience very considerable difficulties whilst walking, which may include very considerable psychological distress; or
• are at risk of serious harm when walking; or pose, when walking, a risk of serious harm to any other person

This does not include temporary conditions that are likely to get better in the 3 years the badge is issued for. The Blue Badge is issued to the person and not to a vehicle. This enables the Blue Badge holder to travel in any vehicle.

Before you apply

We strongly recommend you read the following information carefully to check if you can apply under the correct criteria for your condition. After you've checked the criteria, apply for a Blue Badge at GOV.UK. 

If you apply under the incorrect criteria, your application will be refused and you'll need to submit a new application.

Find out what information the Blue Badge service collects and uses, and your rights regarding your information in the Blue Badge privacy notice.

Automatically qualify

You're automatically eligible for a Blue Badge if you:

• are registered as severely sight impaired
• get the higher rate of the mobility component only of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
  note: the higher rate of Attendance Allowance and Personal Carer’s Allowance do not form part of the automatic entitlement criteria.
• get Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Mobility Component and a score of 8 points or more for the ‘Moving Around’ activity of the mobility component.
• get Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Mobility Component and score of 10 points specifically with the descriptor which states you ‘cannot undertake any journey because it would cause overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant’.
  note: that if your PIP or DLA award is for less than 3 years the badge can only be issued for the same duration of the award.
• get War Pensioners Mobility Supplement (WPMS)
• have received a lump sum benefit from the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces Compensation Scheme (tariffs 1-8) AFRFCS and have certification of having a permanent and substantial disability which causes the inability to walk or very considerable difficulty walking.
• are terminally ill and not expected to live for more than 6 months. In these circumstances, the application will need to be supported by a specialist nurse or consultant. This could be in the form of a letter confirming the prognosis or a copy of a DS1500 form (if issued).

Might qualify

If you're not automatically eligible as outlined above, you may still be eligible for a Blue Badge if you've an enduring and substantial disability and you:

• have a progressive disability such as (but not limited to) Motor Neurone Disease, Parkinsons, Multiple Sclerosis
• are unable to walk or have a physical disability that means you are unable to walk very far without experiencing severe discomfort and or breathlessness
• experience very considerable difficulty whilst walking, which may include very considerable psychological distress; or
• are at risk of serious harm when walking; or pose, when walking a risk of serious harm to any other person
• drive a motor vehicle regularly, have a severe disability in both arms, and are unable to operate all or some types of parking meter

Non-visible (Hidden) disabilities

The Non-visible (Hidden) disability criteria is for individuals who:

• experience very considerable difficulty whilst walking, which may include very considerable psychological distress
• are at risk of serious harm when walking or pose a risk of serious harm to any person when walking.

A badge is not issued on the basis of a diagnosis of a particular condition alone, the badge will be awarded on the severity of the effect the medical condition is having on the applicant’s mobility. The application will need to be supported by evidence relating to the above criteria.

Children under 3

A parent of a child aged under 2 years and 9 months may apply for a badge on behalf of the child, if the child has a specific medical condition which means they:

• must always be accompanied by bulky medical equipment which can't be carried around easily, and/or
• need to be kept near a vehicle at all times, so that, if necessary, they can be treated in the vehicle, or quickly driven to a place where they can be treated

A parent of a child aged between 2 years 9 months and 3 years of age may apply for a badge on behalf of their child with additional eligibility options relevant to the age chosen on the application form.

Applying for a Blue Badge for an organisation

To qualify, the organisation (not an individual) must:

• care for and transport disabled people who would themselves meet one or more of the eligibility criteria for an individual Blue Badge and;
• have a clear need for an organisational badge rather than using the individual Blue Badges of people it is transporting

It's unlikely that taxi or private hire operators and community transport operators would be eligible for an organisational Blue Badge as they are not usually concerned with the care of disabled people who would meet one or more of the eligibility criteria for a badge. Such operators are, of course, still able to use an individual’s Blue Badge when carrying that person as a passenger.

The Department for Transport is responsible for giving guidance on who can get a Blue Badge. You can find more information about eligibility on GOV.UK.