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Blue Badge scheme

The Blue Badge scheme provides parking concessions for people with severe mobility problems, or someone who is unable to undertake any journey because it would cause overwhelming psychological distress. The scheme operates throughout the UK and is recognised throughout the European Union.

You are automatically eligible to apply for a badge if you are over three years old and either:

  • Receive the higher rate of the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance
  • Have a score of 8 points or more on the 'moving around' section of the Personal Independent Payment (PIP)
  • Have a score of 10 points under 'Planning and following a journey' component, with the descriptor 'Cannot undertake any journey because it would cause overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant'
  • Are registered statutory blind
  • Receive a War Pensioner's Mobility Supplement
  • Are a member of service personnel or veterans who has been awarded a benefit (giving rise to entitlement to a lump sum at tariffs 1-8 inclusive) under the AFCS and assessed and certified by the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA) (an executive agency of the Ministry of Defence) as having a permanent and substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking.

You also may also be eligible for a badge if you are over three years old and either:

  • Have an enduring and substantial disability (expected to last longer than 3 years) which means you cannot walk, or which makes walking very difficult
  • Be 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
    • is unable to undertake any journey because it would cause overwhelming psychological distress
    • be 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 (or would find it very difficult to operate them).

If you are a parent of a child who is under the age of three, you may apply for a badge for your child if they have a specific medical condition which means that they either:

  • must always be accompanied by bulky medical equipment which cannot be carried around without great difficulty
  • need to be kept near a vehicle at all times, so that they can, if necessary, be treated in the vehicle
  • driven to a place where they can be treated, such as a hospital.

Applying for or renewing a Blue Badge

To apply for a new blue badge parking permit or to renew your blue badge please telephone 0161 253 6855, you will need your national insurance number and a debit card to make payment. You should re-apply for a blue badge renewal some weeks before it runs out to allow us time to order your new badge, but not more than 12 weeks before the renewal date.

Following a successful application you will be advised what to do next.

Blue Badge application if you have a DS1500 or SR1

Please apply using the form below if you hold either a DS1500 or SR1 document, issued by your GP or MacMillan Nursing Trust. You will be required to upload a copy of this document to support your application.

Apply for a Blue Badge using a DS1500 or SR1 (opens in a new tab or window)

Following successful application of your blue badge over the phone only

Only if you have already made a telephone application and been advised you qualify for a blue badge and we have asked you to supply evidence, please use the online form below. where you can upload your ID and photographs. Please do not complete this form unless you have applied for a blue badge or renewal over the phone first. Please upload your evidence within 28 days of making the application. Once you have uploaded all evidence required, your blue badge will be processed within 20 working days. Please allow a further 14 days for postage.

Blue Badge application - Submit your ID and medical evidence online

Following a blue badge application over the phone you have been asked to supply medical evidence for an Occupation Therapist

If you have already made an application for a blue badge over the phone and have been informed you need to upload your medical evidence for an occupational therapist, please upload the evidence using the form below, currently due to the Covid pandemic face to face visits are cancelled. Please upload your evidence within 28 days of making the application.

Blue Badge application - Submit occupational therapist evidence

Further information