Parking in a reserved disability space in Hawaii without proper authorization carries a fine of $250 to $500 per violation, plus court costs. Hawaii handicap parking fines drop sharply, to between $25 and $100, when the driver actually holds a valid permit but failed to display it at the time of the citation. Both penalties come from Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 291-57 and apply statewide.1Justia. Hawaii Revised Statutes 291-57 – Parking Spaces Reserved for Persons With Disabilities; Penalties
What Triggers the $250 to $500 Fine
The full penalty applies whenever someone uses a reserved disability space without the right to be there. Under HRS 291-57, that includes parking with no placard at all, displaying an expired or otherwise invalid one, using another person’s permit when that person is not in the vehicle, parking in a striped access aisle next to a reserved space, and blocking the entrance to a reserved space.1Justia. Hawaii Revised Statutes 291-57 – Parking Spaces Reserved for Persons With Disabilities; Penalties
The access aisle rule catches drivers by surprise. Those striped areas next to accessible spaces are not overflow parking, and no vehicle may encroach on them, even briefly. They exist so wheelchair users and people using ramps or lifts can transfer safely between vehicle and pavement.2U.S. Access Board. Chapter 5 – Parking Spaces
Borrowing a family member’s placard is another common way drivers end up with a full citation. The permit must belong to someone who is actually riding in the vehicle, or being dropped off or picked up at that location. Officers watch for this specifically.
When the Fine Drops to $25 to $100
Hawaii separates two very different situations. If you never had the right to that space, you pay $250 to $500. If you did have the right but simply forgot to hang the placard from your rearview mirror, the fine is $25 to $100 plus court costs.1Justia. Hawaii Revised Statutes 291-57 – Parking Spaces Reserved for Persons With Disabilities; Penalties
This distinction matters most at the contest stage. If your placard slid off the mirror, was in the glove box, or was left at home while your permit was still current, you can bring proof and ask the court to apply the reduced penalty rather than the full fine. Under HRS 291-54, the placard must hang from the rearview mirror in a parked vehicle, or sit face-up on the dashboard if the vehicle has no rearview mirror. Placards must be removed while driving.
Metered Parking and Where the Reduced Fee Does Not Apply
A valid Hawaii placard or disability plate gives you time at metered spaces without paying, up to two and a half hours or the posted maximum, whichever is longer, but only when all designated accessible spaces are full.3Justia. Hawaii Revised Statutes 291-55 – Metered Parking Privileges The meter exemption does not override no-parking zones, fire lanes, or other safety restrictions, and parking in one of those areas still draws a standard citation.
Visitors should read this carefully. Hawaii recognizes out-of-state and foreign disability placards for the purpose of using reserved accessible spaces, but the metered-parking exemption applies only to permits issued under Hawaii law. If you are visiting with a mainland or international placard, expect to feed the meter.4Hawaii State Department of Health. Disability Parking Permits
Forging or Altering a Permit Is a Separate, More Serious Offense
Parking without a valid permit is a fine-only traffic infraction. Manufacturing, altering, or distributing a fraudulent disability parking permit is treated separately under HRS 291-52.7 and carries higher consequences than a simple parking ticket. If someone hands you a placard they made or modified, the exposure is no longer just a fine.
Fines for Businesses and Property Owners
Drivers are not the only ones who can be fined. Under HRS 291-58, any public or private entity that provides reserved disability spaces must keep them in compliance with state accessibility rules. A private entity that fails to do so faces $250 to $500 per offense, and each day of noncompliance counts as a separate violation.5Hawaii Department of Health. Chapter 291, Part III, Hawaii Revised Statutes – Parking for Disabled Persons A broken sign or a fading access aisle that sits neglected for a month becomes an expensive problem quickly.
The Disability and Communication Access Board adopts the rules under HRS 291-56 that govern signage, space dimensions, and access aisle markings. Enforcement authority under HRS 291-59 rests with law enforcement, parking enforcement officers, and volunteer enforcement officers, and it reaches both public lots and private facilities that contain reserved spaces.6Justia. Hawaii Revised Statutes 291-59 – Enforcement
How to Contest a Citation
You have 21 days from the date of the citation to respond to the District Court or Traffic Violations Bureau printed on the ticket. Miss that window and the court can enter a default judgment for the full fine. Getting that undone means filing a motion to set aside the default and posting a cash bond equal to the total fine before you get another chance to argue.7Hawaii State Judiciary. Parking Violations
If you go to a hearing and the judge rules against you, you have 30 days to request a trial. Bring the placard, the receipt or paperwork showing when it was issued, and anything else that proves you had the right to use the space on the date of the citation. This is where the gap between the $250 to $500 penalty and the $25 to $100 penalty becomes worth the trip. Showing that your permit was current at the time turns a full fine into a much smaller one.7Hawaii State Judiciary. Parking Violations
A Note on Replacement Placards
If your placard was lost, stolen, or damaged and you got cited while waiting on a replacement, that history helps at a hearing. You can request a replacement from your county issuing agency without a new medical certification as long as the original permit was still within its valid period. The replacement fee for a disabled paid parking exemption permit is $30, and any remaining pieces of the old placard must be surrendered.8Cornell Law School. Hawaii Code R 11-219-7.25 – Replacement of Lost, Stolen, Mutilated, or Confiscated Disabled Paid Parking Exemption Permits Documentation of the replacement request, dated before the citation, is worth bringing to court.