How to Fill Out and Submit Form VTR-214: Texas Disabled Parking Placard

Form VTR-214 is the Texas application for a disabled parking placard or disabled person license plate. You fill out page one with your personal information, have a licensed medical professional complete and sign the disability statement on page two in front of a notary, and submit the package to your county tax assessor-collector’s office in person or by mail.¹

What You Need Before You Start

Pull these together before you sit down with the form:

Your Texas driver’s license or state ID number.
If you want disabled person license plates (not just a placard), your vehicle’s VIN, current Texas plate number, year, and make.
An appointment or office visit with a licensed medical professional who can sign the disability statement.
A notary public to witness that medical professional’s signature. First-time applications must be notarized.²
$5 per placard if you’re requesting a temporary (red) placard. Permanent (blue) placards are free.¹
A copy of your photo ID if you’re mailing the application.

The “licensed medical professional” who signs page two must be a physician, podiatrist, optometrist, or qualifying physician’s assistant or advanced practice nurse. They have to be licensed in Texas or in an adjacent state (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, or Oklahoma), or practice at a U.S. military installation in Texas or at a VA hospital or health facility.¹

Filling Out Page One

Page one is yours. Print your full legal name, your current residential address, and your Texas driver’s license or state ID number. The form does not ask for date of birth.

Check the boxes for what you’re requesting: a placard, disabled person license plates, or both. If you’re only asking for a placard, leave the vehicle section blank. If you want plates, fill in the VIN, current plate number, year, and make. For a temporary placard, make sure the request matches the payment you’re sending.¹

Page Two: The Disability Statement and Notarization

Your medical professional handles page two. They print your name, their own name, their license number, and their mailing address. They then check the box indicating whether your disability is permanent or temporary, and sign.

That permanent-versus-temporary box controls what you get. Permanent gets you a blue placard valid for four years. Temporary gets you a red placard valid for six months.¹

Then comes the step people forget. The medical professional’s signature has to be notarized on first-time applications. Page two of the form includes a notary block for the notary public to witness the signature, stamp the document, and record their commission expiration date.² Skip the notarization and the county tax office will send you back to get it done. Many medical offices keep a notary on staff, which is the easiest way to handle both signatures in one visit.

Fees

Permanent (blue) placards cost nothing. No state fee, no county fee for the placard itself.

Temporary (red) placards are $5 each. If you need more than one, each carries its own $5 fee. Pay by personal check, money order, or cashier’s check.¹

If you apply for disabled person license plates, you pay standard Texas vehicle registration rather than a placard fee. For a passenger vehicle or truck 6,000 pounds or less, the base registration is $50.75 per year plus local county fees. Most counties add $10 to $11.50, putting the typical total in the low-to-mid $60s. Bexar, Cameron, El Paso, Hidalgo, and Webb counties charge higher local fees of $20 or more.³

Where to Submit the Form

Take or mail the completed form to the county tax assessor-collector’s office in the county where you live, or the county where you’re receiving medical treatment. The medical-treatment option is useful if your care is far from home — you don’t have to wait until you’re back.²

Walking in is the fastest route. If your paperwork is complete, many county offices will hand you the placard at the counter. Disabled person license plates are manufactured separately and mailed to you.

To apply by mail, send the completed form, a copy of your photo ID, and payment if you’re requesting a temporary placard. Processing varies by county, but most offices turn mailed applications around within a couple of weeks.¹

Renewing or Replacing a Placard

Permanent blue placards are good for four years. To renew, submit a new Form VTR-214, but you only need to complete page one. Your doctor does not have to fill out the disability statement again. Include either a copy of the original VTR-214 you filed four years ago or your expiring placard.⁴

Temporary red placards cannot be renewed. If you still need one after six months, you file a brand-new application with a fresh disability statement and pay another $5.

If your placard is lost or stolen, bring a copy of the original VTR-214 to the county office and they can issue a replacement. Without a copy, and if the county can’t verify its records, you start over with a new application and a new disability statement. If a law enforcement officer seized your placard, submit a new VTR-214, but the disability statement does not need to be completed again.⁴

Who Qualifies

Texas defines qualifying conditions broadly. You’re eligible if a mobility problem substantially limits your ability to walk, or if your vision meets specific thresholds. Mobility-based conditions include:

Inability to walk 200 feet without stopping to rest.
Inability to walk without a brace, cane, crutch, prosthetic device, or another person’s help.
Inability to get around without a wheelchair or similar device.
Lung disease with forced expiratory volume under one liter, or arterial oxygen tension below 60 mm Hg at rest on room air.
Use of portable oxygen.
Cardiac limitations classified as Class III or IV under American Heart Association standards.
An arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition that severely limits walking.
A foot condition that limits or impairs walking, in the opinion of a licensed podiatrist.
Any other condition that, in a physician’s opinion, limits your ability to walk.

Vision-based qualification is visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with corrective lenses, or a visual field no wider than 20 degrees.⁵

Your medical professional decides which condition applies and whether it’s permanent or temporary when they sign page two. If you qualify under more than one, that’s fine; the form only requires that the disability statement be completed and signed.

1
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Application for Persons with Disabilities Parking Placard and/or License Plate
2
State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code TRANSP 681.003 – Parking Placard Application
3
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Texas Registration Fees
4
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Disabled Parking, Placards and Plates
5
State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 681.001 – Definitions