Who can have a Blue Badge?
There are two types of eligibility criteria. An individual's eligibility for a Blue Badge is considered in terms of being ‘eligible without further assessment’ (previously known as ‘automatic’) or ‘eligible subject to further assessment’ (previously known as ‘discretionary’).
Type 1: Without further assessment criteria
People who may be issued with a badge without further assessment are those who are more than two years old and fall within one or more of the following descriptions:
- receives the Higher Rate of the Mobility Component of the Disability Living Allowance (HRMCDLA)
- receives 8 points or more under the “moving around” activity of the mobility component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- receives the mobility component of PIP and has obtained 10 points under the “planning and following journeys” activity, on the grounds they are unable to undertake any journey because it would cause them overwhelming psychological distress
- is registered blind (severely sight impaired)
- receives a War Pensioner's Mobility Supplement (WPMS)
- receives a lump sum benefit under the Armed Forces and Reserve forces (compensation) scheme within tariff levels 1-8.
Type 2: Subject to further assessment criteria
People who may be issued with a badge after further assessment are those who are more than two years old and may be described as one or more of the following:
- a person who drives a vehicle regularly, has a severe disability in both arms and is unable to operate, or has considerable difficulty in operating, all or some types of parking meter
- a person who has been certified by an expert assessor as having an enduring and substantial disability which causes them, during the course of a journey, to:
- be unable to walk / experience very considerable difficulty whilst walking, which may include very considerable psychological distress
- or be at risk of serious harm when walking
- or pose, when walking, a risk of serious harm to any other person.
Any of the above types of difficulty whilst walking could potentially be caused by a physical disability, or by a ‘non-physical’ disability. In either case, the disability experienced by the applicant must endure for at least three years.
In addition, children under the age of three may be eligible for a badge if they fall within either or both of the following descriptions:
- a child who, on account of a condition, must always be accompanied by bulky medical equipment which cannot be carried around with the child without great difficulty
- a child who, on account of a condition, must always be kept near a motor vehicle so that, if necessary, treatment for that condition can be given in the vehicle or the child can be taken quickly in the vehicle to a place where such treatment can be given.