Applying for a Blue Badge

This advice applies to Scotland. See advice for See advice for England, See advice for Northern Ireland, See advice for Wales

If you're disabled or have a health condition that affects your mobility, you can apply for a Blue Badge. 

You can also apply for a badge if you care for a child who's disabled or has a health condition that affects their mobility.  

Councils can charge for a blue badge. The most you can be charged is £20.

Contact your local council if you want to check how much they charge for a Blue Badge before you apply - you can find your local council and information on the Blue Badge scheme on mygov.scot.

If you get certain benefits you'll automatically be able to get a Blue Badge. The application will be straightforward. 

You don't need to be able to drive to apply for a Blue Badge, unless you're applying because of problems with your arms. 

Follow the advice on this page to renew your Blue Badge, too. You can’t use an expired badge, so make sure you apply for a new one as early as possible. You can ask your council when to submit your renewal.

Important

You can only get a Blue Badge from your local council or at mygov.scot 

No one else can provide a genuine Blue Badge - if you think you’ve been scammed, you should report it.

Who can get a Blue Badge 

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

  • are blind or registered as blind

  • get the higher rate of the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) - check your decision letter if you're not sure

  • get the higher rate of the mobility component of Child Disability Payment, or Short-term Assistance paid during a challenge to a decision to reduce or stop that rate of Child Disability Payment – check your decision letter or certificate of entitlement if you’re not sure

  • get Adult Disability Payment and scored 8 points or more in the 'moving around' area of your assessment

  • get Adult Disability Payment and scored 12 points in the 'planning and following a journey' area of your assessment

  • get War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement 

  • received a lump sum payment as part of the Armed Forces Compensation scheme (tariffs 1 to 8), and have been certified as having a permanent and substantial disability

If you get Personal Independence Payments (PIP)

You’re automatically eligible for a Blue Badge if you either:

  • scored 8 points or more in the ‘moving around’ area of your PIP assessment

  • scored 12 points in the ‘planning and following journeys’ area of your PIP assessment

Check your PIP decision letter if you’re not sure.

If you got the higher rate of the mobility component of DLA before you claimed PIP

You’re eligible for a Blue Badge if you had a lifetime or indefinite award of DLA immediately before being assessed for PIP.

You’re also eligible for a Blue Badge if all of the following apply:

  • your DLA award was for a fixed term

  • your application for PIP was declined because you didn’t score enough points in the assessment

  • you’ve requested a mandatory reconsideration of the PIP decision within the last year

If you're not automatically eligible

You can still get a badge if:

  • you have problems walking that are permanent, or that your doctor says are likely to last at least a year

  • you have severe problems using both your arms

  • you're applying on behalf of a child aged over 2 who has problems walking or going to places

  • you're applying on behalf of a child aged under 3 who needs to be close to a vehicle because of a health condition 

  • you have a mental condition that means you lack awareness about the danger of traffic and are likely to risk your safety or the safety of others during journeys

If you're applying for a Blue Badge because you have a mental condition, you should contact your local council's Blue Badge team to ask for a paper application form. You cannot apply online. You must have been diagnosed with a condition that falls within the definition of mental disorder under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003. It covers things like dementia, autism and Down's Syndrome. 

Find out more about the scheme and how to apply on mygov.scot.

Applying for a Blue Badge

You can apply for or renew your Blue Badge online or directly to your council. Find out how to apply for a Blue Badge on mygov.scot.

You have to apply through your local council - your doctor can't help you get a Blue Badge. Your local council might also arrange an appointment to visit you - they'll let you know if you need this.

Local councils can charge a fee for issuing a Blue Badge. You can't be charged more than £20. You usually have to pay this with your application and if your application isn't successful, the fee will be returned to you.

Filling in the application if you're not automatically eligible 

If you're not automatically eligible, you'll need to fill in an extra part of the application form to explain why you need a badge. 

The application is more complicated if you're not automatically eligible - you can contact your nearest Citizens Advice for help.

If you or a child you care for has problems walking

If you’re applying on behalf of a child over 2 who has problems walking, fill in this section of the application form for them.

You should describe your condition in as much detail as you can. Your problems walking have to be caused by a substantial disability that is permanent or likely to last at least 12 months.

Try to estimate how far you can walk without help. If you’re not sure, think about how many parked buses you could walk past before you'd start to feel pain or need a rest. One bus is about 11 metres long - so if you can only walk past half a bus, you can only walk about 5 metres. Write this on your form.

If you can’t work out the distance, write down how many steps you can take without help instead.

Tell your council how long it takes you to walk this distance, and how you walk - for example if you need to take small steps or shuffle.

Describe how walking makes you feel, for example if it causes you severe pain or makes you breathless, so that you have to sit down and rest.

You have severe problems using your arms

It’s quite difficult to get a Blue Badge because of problems with your arms.

You can’t get a badge because of problems with your arms if you only travel as a passenger. 

You’ll need to:

  • have severe problems with both of your arms

  • explain why you need to drive regularly 

  • have severe problems using parking ticket machines or meters 

When you apply, you should describe the problems you have with both of your arms. You’ll need to explain in detail why you have difficulty using parking ticket machines or meters.

You’ll also need to explain why you need to drive a car regularly, for example for your job or to take your children to school.

Your child is under 3 and needs to be close to a vehicle

When you apply, you'll need to explain that you have to be close to a vehicle to either:

  • transport medical equipment

  • get treatment in the vehicle

  • get home or to a hospital quickly 

If you carry around bulky equipment because of your child’s condition, you should list it. For example, if your child needs ventilators, suction machines, feed pumps or oxygen administration equipment. 

Say how often this equipment is needed - for example every time you go out, or just some of the time.

If your child’s condition means they might need to go to hospital or home quickly, try to describe why in as much detail as you can. For example, you should explain if they have epilepsy or very unstable diabetes.

If you have a terminal illness

Your council will usually fast-track your application. 

You’ll need to send a copy of the medical form that shows you have a terminal illness – this will either be a DS1500 form, SR1 form or a Benefits Assessment under the Special Rules in Scotland (BASRiS) form. You can get these from your doctor or consultant.

Contact your local council and ask if you can fill in a paper form - tell them you're terminally ill when you call. You’ll still need to prove you’re eligible but your application might be dealt with quicker. They might give you instructions that will make the application easier, for example you might not need to answer all the questions on the form. Find your local council on mygov.scot.

If you apply online, tick the box to say you have a terminal illness.

Badges for organisations

Some organisations may be eligible for a Blue Badge if they care for and transport disabled people who meet the eligibility criteria. For example, care homes and hospices. 

An organisational badge must only be displayed when someone who would be eligible for a Blue Badge in their own right is being transported. 

Documents you need 

Before you apply, make sure you have:

  • your National Insurance number or child reference number if you’re applying for a child

  • the number, expiry date and local council on your current blue badge, if you have one 

You’ll also need:

  • your Certificate of Entitlement or decision letter from Social Security Scotland, or your decision letter from the Department for Work and Pensions - if you're automatically eligible for a badge

  • details of your medical condition - if you’re not automatically eligible for a badge

  • proof of identification - for example a birth or marriage certificate, passport or driving licence

  • proof of your address from the last 12 months - for example, a council tax bill, driving licence or letter from a government department

  • a recent digital photograph of the person the badge is for - this can be from your own device or from a photo booth or shop

If you’re applying by post

Send copies of your documents rather than originals, in case your application gets lost in the post.

You might need to get the copy of your proof of identification checked by a professional person, like a solicitor - this is called ‘certifying a document’. You should check with your local council to see if this is needed. Some professional people might charge to certify a document.

They should sign the copy and write on it:

  • the words ‘This copy is a true likeness of the original’

  • their name, address and occupation

  • the date

Find out more about how to certify a document on GOV.UK.

What happens after you've applied

It could take a long time for your application to be processed. You should contact your council if you haven’t heard back within 12 weeks.

You might be asked to do a mobility assessment. A health professional will look at your ability to carry out a range of mobility activities. They'll tell your council whether they think your health condition or disability limits your ability to move around enough for you to need a badge. 

You also might be asked to send in extra information or speak to a member of the council. 

Your council will tell you in writing if this is the case.

If you’re refused a Blue Badge, you can ask your council to reconsider their decision. The decision letter from the council will tell you how to ask for a review and what the time limit is.

Renewing your Blue Badge

You’ll need to renew your badge after 3 years. You'll also have to re-apply for a badge if you stop getting the benefit your badge is linked to.

You can renew your Blue Badge online or directly to your council. Find out how to renew your Blue Badge on mygov.scot. 

You must give your Blue Badge back to your council if you no longer need it, for example if your condition improves. You could be fined up to £1,000 if you don’t.