If you’re mobility impaired on either a permanent or temporary basis, making your way across a long stretch of parking lot can be a painful or even impossible challenge. That’s why Georgia and other U.S. states have reserved closer-in and more accessible parking spaces for disabled vehicle drivers and passengers.
You can take advantage of the laws by obtaining a handicap parking placard or a disabled persons license plate. Depending on your personal situation, this disabled person parking information could be as important as saving on your auto insurance. Here’s how to get a handicap placard in Georgia.
Eligibility Criteria for a Handicap Placard in Georgia
To park in a handicap space, you must have a permanent or temporary medical condition that limits your mobility or makes it physically difficult to walk as far as 200 feet without having to stop. Causes might include paralysis; pregnancy; leg or knee surgery; a heart, lung, or neurological condition; or an ailment or condition by which you must have a wheelchair or can only walk with the aid of a cane, crutches, walker, or other device.
Consult your doctor to see if you might qualify for a disability parking permit. After all, you must get a signed order from your physician to get such a permit.
The good news is that once you’ve received your handicap parking placard in Georgia, it’s good in every other state in the nation. By the same token, if you receive a permit in another state, it will also be accepted in the Peach State.
Understanding the Types of Disability Permits
If you qualify, you can apply for either a placard or a license plate that indicates your disability. The placard hangs from the rearview mirror of whatever vehicle you’re in, whether as a passenger or a driver.
This is the advantage of the placard — it goes with you. You might use it one day while driving your own car and then take it with you the next day while you ride as a passenger in a friend’s vehicle.
Disabled persons license plates, on the other hand, can only be affixed to one car. The advantage here is that if you only use that one vehicle, you don’t have to take the chance of losing or forgetting to bring a placard or hang it from your rearview mirror.
Navigating the Application Process
Before beginning an application for disability parking, your first step is a conversation with your physician. That’s how you’ll learn whether your permanent or temporary condition should enable you to obtain a disability parking permit. Then proceed as follows.
Gather the Documents You’ll Need
Your physician will need to supply you with a signed and notarized MV-9D Disabled Persons Parking Affidavit. You can download this form online or pick it up at a tag office in your county.
You’ll need a Georgia drivers license or state I.D. card to verify your identity if you’re getting a placard as a passenger only. If you plan to drive with a placard, you must present a valid Georgia drivers license.
If you wish to obtain a disabled persons license plate, you’ll also need to show proof of car insurance.
Apply by Taking the Following Steps
First, discuss the option of obtaining a disability parking permit with your physician to make sure you qualify. Then download or obtain the MV-9D form, and either fill it out yourself or ask your physician to do so. Your doctor must then sign and notarize the affidavit.
You can then take your signed and notarized form and the other required documents to a nearby county tag office. Alternatively, you can mail all the documentation to the tag office and apply by mail.
In this way, you can obtain either a red placard indicating a temporary disability or a blue card for a permanent disability. You can only use the temporary placard for a maximum period of six months. You can use the blue card permanently, but you must renew it every four years.
Fees Associated with Disability Parking Permit Applications and Renewals
Your handicap parking placard is free, both initially and upon renewal. That’s true whether you apply for a temporary or permanent disability parking permit.
The cost of getting a disabled persons parking license plate is $20, and you must renew it annually at that same cost.
Utilizing Your Handicap Parking Placard Properly
As mentioned, the advantage of having a placard instead of a disabled persons license plate is that it goes with you. You’re able to use it in any passenger vehicle in which you are either driving or riding. However, it’s your responsibility to remember to have the placard with you and to hang it from the rearview mirror while parking in a parking space reserved for the disabled.
The fine for being caught in a disabled parking space without a permit ranges from $100 to $500 in Georgia. In addition, your vehicle can be towed at your expense. That’s why it’s critically important to either remember the placard or not to use handicap parking if you’ve forgotten it.
The same penalties can apply if you’re still using a placard beyond its renewal period.