You automatically qualify for a Blue Badge if you are over 2 years old and at least one of the following applies:
- You receive a higher rate of the mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance
- You receive a Personal Independence Payment (a score of 8 points or more under the ‘moving around’ activity of the mobility component)
- You receive the mobility component of PIP and have obtained 10 points under the ‘planning and following journeys’ activity, on the grounds that you are unable to undertake any journey because it would cause overwhelming psychological distress
- You are registered blind (severely sight impaired)
- You receive a War Pensioner’s Mobility Supplement
- You have received a lump sum benefit within tariff levels 1-8 of the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation) Scheme and have been certified as having a permanent and substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking
You may be eligible for a badge if one or more of the following applies:
- You cannot walk at all or cannot walk without help from someone else or using mobility aids
- 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 or 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 regularly have intense and overwhelming responses to situations causing temporary loss of behavioural control or you frequently become extremely anxious or fearful of public or open spaces
Blue badges are usually issued for 3 years.
If your benefit award is less than 3 years, the Blue Badge will expire at the same time.
If your badge was issued by Nottingham City Council, we will write to you approximately 6 weeks before your badge is about to expire to remind you to re-apply for a new one.
The Blue Badge is issued to a person, not a vehicle.
This means the badge holder may use the concessions whenever they travel as a driver or passenger, regardless of who owns the vehicle.
Only the Blue Badge holder may use the concessions, so the Badge holder must be in the vehicle when the concession is being claimed.
It is a criminal offence for someone other than the badge holder to use the Blue Badge concessions. If they do, they are liable to a fine of up to £1,000. The Blue Badge can be withdrawn if the holder misuses it or allows others to use it.
Please see our Blue Badge Misuse or Abuse and Enforcement pages for more information.
You may continue to use your existing Blue Badge. Please let us know your new address.
If you've moved away from Nottingham City Council, you will need to apply to your new local authority for a new badge when your current badge expires.
You should report the matter to the Police - Blue Badges are valuable in the wrong hands. They will supply a crime number or a lost property reference.
You will need to contact the Blue Badge team on 0115 876 1966 and report the incident to them. You will be asked to fill in a Badge Replacement Form that will be sent to you.
You can also report a missing badge online at www.gov.uk/replace-lost-stolen-blue-badge.
There will be an administration fee of £10.00 for any replacement badge.
You may park using your Blue Badge in the following locations:
Designated Disabled Parking Bays
You may park for free. Unless signs say otherwise, you may park without
time limit.
You must display the Blue Badge (and the blue parking clock if the bay is time limited).
Always try to use these bays instead of parking on yellow lines.
Pay and Display Parking Bays
Badge holders may park for free and for as long as they need to. You must display the Blue Badge.
Parking on Yellow Lines
Badge holders may park on single or double yellow lines for up to three hours but in general not where there are restrictions on loading or unloading - indicated by yellow kerb dashes and/or signs on
plates. (You may wish to check whether a particular local authority has chosen to exempt Blue Badge holders from this restriction.) Where local schemes apply, such as those that apply in parts of central London (see page 27 of your Blue Badge Rights and Responsibilities handbook), you should check the rules for that area.
You must display the Blue Badge and the blue parking clock showing the quarter hour period during which you arrived.
Time restricted Parking Bays
You may park for an unlimited period within these marked bays, while your badge is on display.
Information on where your Blue Badge is not valid can be found the Blue Badge Scheme: rights and responsibilities in England booklet that was sent to you when you received your Badge or online here:
The Blue Badge is not a licence to park anywhere. You must not park during the time a ban on loading or unloading is in force (normally indicated by one or two yellow marks on the kerb at the times shown on the post mounted plates).
However, in pedestrian areas, waiting and loading restrictions may be in force even where there are no yellow lines shown on the road or kerb. Details of any restrictions in force will be shown on plates displayed at the kerb side of the road.
You must NOT park in the following places:
- Where there are double white lines in the centre of the road even if one of the lines is broken
- In a bus or tram lane during its hours of operation
- In a cycle lane
- On any clearway, double or single red lines during their hours of operation
- On all pedestrian crossings - including Zebra, Pelican, Toucan and Puffin crossings
- On zig-zag markings before and after Zebra, Pelican, Toucan and Puffin crossings
- In parking places reserved for specific users, e.g. loading bays, taxis, cycles
- Where temporary restrictions on parking are in force along a length of road e.g. as indicated by no-waiting cones
- On a residents parking bay, unless signs are showing that you may do so, or you have checked with the local authority Highways Department that you may do so
- In suspended Pay and Display meter bays or when the use of the meter or bay is prohibited
- On school keep clear markings during the hours shown on a yellow no-stopping plate
You must NOT park where it would be obstructive or cause a danger to others. The following are likely examples:
- At school entrances, bus stops, on a bend, or near the brow of a hill or hump bridge
- Where it would make it difficult for others to see clearly, e.g. close to a junction
- Where it would make the road narrow, e.g. by a traffic island or where road work is in progress
- Where it would hold up traffic, e.g. in narrow stretches of road or blocking vehicle entrances
- Where emergency vehicles stop or go in and out, e.g. hospital entrances
- Where the kerb has been lowered, or the road raised to form a pedestrian crossing
- On a pavement unless signs permit it
Click to download and view the Rights and responsibilities in England booklet
When using the parking concessions you must
- Display the badge on the dashboard or front facing panel, where it can be read through the front windscreen
- If there is no dashboard or facia panel in your vehicle, you must still display the badge in a place where it can be read from outside the vehicle
- The front of the badge should face upwards, showing the wheelchair symbol
- The side showing the photograph should not be visible through the windscreen
- You must also ensure that the details on the front of the badge remain legible. If they become unreadable through fading or wear and tear, you must return the badge to your local authority so they can issue you with a new one
- Displaying a badge that is illegible may result in a Penalty
Blind people need to ensure that people displaying the badge or clock on their behalf understand how to display them correctly.
Incorrect display of the badge may result in a Penalty.
Apply online to use a Non-British Blue Badge
When visiting Nottingham City it may be possible to use a Blue Badge issued in another country.
Related Pages
Contact Us
Blue Badge Team
Parking Regulation and Compliance
PO Box 10169
Nottingham
NG1 9HS
blue.badges@nottinghamcity.gov.uk
Tel: 0115 876 1966
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