Florida Handicap Parking Permit: Eligibility, Use, and Penalties

A Florida handicap parking permit is free for permanent disabilities and $15 for temporary ones, and you get it by having a licensed medical professional sign Form HSMV 83039 within the past 12 months, then bringing the completed form and your Florida driver’s license or ID to a motor vehicle service center, tax collector’s office, or license plate agency.¹ There is no online application. The permit lets you park in designated accessible spaces and skips the fee at street meters, subject to posted time limits.

Who Qualifies

Florida Statute 320.0848 lists the qualifying conditions, and your certifying medical professional has to confirm you meet at least one:²

You cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest.
You need a brace, cane, crutch, prosthetic device, or wheelchair to walk.
You have severe lung disease, with forced expiratory volume under one liter or arterial oxygen below 60 mm/Hg on room air at rest.
You have a cardiac condition rated Class III or IV under American Heart Association standards.
You need portable oxygen.
You have been certified as legally blind.

Veterans certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or a branch of the armed forces as permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability can skip the physician certification. Submit USVA Form Letter 27-333 or its equivalent, issued within the last 12 months.²

Who Can Sign the Certification

The professional signing Form HSMV 83039 must have examined you within the past 12 months and must hold one of these Florida licenses:¹

Physician (M.D.) or osteopathic physician (D.O.)
Podiatric physician
Chiropractor
Optometrist
Advanced Practice Registered Nurse or Physician Assistant practicing under a physician’s protocol

The signer also specifies how long your condition is expected to last. That answer determines whether you get a permanent or temporary placard.

Permanent Placard, Temporary Placard, or Wheelchair Plate

A permanent placard is free, valid for four years, and intended for long-term mobility impairments. You can hold up to two at once, which helps if you ride in more than one vehicle.³²

A temporary placard costs $15 and lasts up to six months, however long your certifying practitioner specifies. If the condition continues past six months, you apply again with a current medical certification. If the second application is within 12 months of the original issue date, you owe no additional fee.⁴

If your disability is permanent, you can request a wheelchair license plate for a vehicle registered in your name instead of carrying a placard. The plate costs $28 plus applicable registration fees and renews yearly, though re-certification of your disability is only required every four years.³ A plate stays on one car; a placard moves with you between vehicles. If other people regularly drive you, the placard is usually the better pick.

How to Apply

Every application uses Form HSMV 83039, available on the FLHSMV website. Your medical professional completes the certification section and you fill out the applicant section.⁵ Bring the completed form plus your Florida driver’s license or ID card, in person, to a motor vehicle service center, local tax collector’s office, or license plate agency.¹

Watch the date on the signature. The certifying professional’s signature has to be within 12 months of the day you submit the application. Get the form signed and sit on it too long, and you will need a fresh signature before the counter will take it.

Using the Placard Correctly

The permit belongs to the person it was issued to, not to a vehicle. Whoever is driving must either be the permit holder or be transporting the permit holder as a passenger. Lending the placard to a relative so they can grab a closer spot while you stay home is illegal, and enforcement officers look for exactly that.

Hang the placard from your rearview mirror when parked in a designated space, with the permit number facing out through the windshield. Take it down before you drive. A hanging placard blocks your view and can draw a traffic citation on its own.

Metered and Private-Lot Parking

A valid placard exempts you from paying at metered parking on public streets. The time limit still applies even though the fee does not, so a two-hour meter is still a two-hour meter.⁶

Businesses, shopping centers, and other private properties open to the public must provide accessible spaces under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and your Florida placard is valid in those spaces.⁷

Out-of-State Travel

All U.S. states and territories recognize valid disabled parking permits from other states, so your Florida placard works when you travel, and out-of-state visitors can use their home placard here. Metered-parking exemptions and other specific privileges vary by state, so the perks you rely on at home may not carry over identically.

Renewal and Replacement

Permanent placards expire every four years, timed to your birthday, and you will receive a renewal notice. Renewal is not a formality: it requires a fresh Form HSMV 83039 signed by a certifying medical professional within the past 12 months.³ Book the medical appointment well before your expiration date so you are not caught driving without a current placard. Veterans using the USVA route need a Form Letter 27-333 issued within the last 12 months.²

Temporary placards do not technically renew. You submit a new application with a current medical certification, and within 12 months of the original issue date there is no additional fee.⁴

To replace a lost, stolen, or damaged permanent placard, bring two forms to a motor vehicle service center: a signed HSMV 83039 and Form HSMV 83146 (Application for Replacement License Plate, Validation Decal or Parking Permit).¹ Because a signed 83039 is required even for a replacement, the same 12-month signature window applies.

Penalties for Misuse

Using someone else’s placard when the permit holder is not in the vehicle, or displaying an unauthorized replica, is a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail, a fine of up to $500, or both.² Using an expired placard falls in the same category, and the placard can be confiscated at the scene.

Knowingly providing false or misleading information on the application or the medical certification is a first-degree misdemeanor, with a maximum of one year in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.² That exposure runs to both the applicant and the medical professional who signs knowing the patient does not qualify.

Parking in a designated accessible space without a valid permit is a separate violation under Florida Statute 316.1964, with fines set at the local level.⁶ Blocking the access aisle next to an accessible space triggers the same penalties, because that aisle is what makes it possible to load a wheelchair.

1
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Disabled Person Parking Permits
2
Justia. Florida Code 320.0848 – Disabled Parking Permits
3
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Permanent Disabled Person Parking Permits
4
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Temporary Disabled Person Parking Permits
5
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Application for Disabled Person Parking Permit HSMV 83039
6
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 316.1964 – Disabled Parking
7
ADA.gov. Accessible Parking Spaces