How to Fill Out the Delaware Handicap Placard Form (MV474)

Delaware’s MV474 form is the single application you use to get a disability parking placard or special license plate from the Division of Motor Vehicles. You fill in your personal details at the top, your doctor certifies the qualifying condition, and you turn the completed form in at any DMV office or mail it to Dover. There is no fee, and a permanent placard is good for eight years.¹

Who the Form Is For

Before you spend time on the paperwork, make sure one of the qualifying situations applies. Delaware law recognizes six medical conditions that support a placard or plate, and your doctor is the one who certifies which one fits: inability to walk 200 feet without resting; inability to walk safely without a brace, cane, crutch, prosthetic, wheelchair, or another person’s help; lung disease at specified severity; reliance on portable oxygen; Class III or IV cardiac limitation under American Heart Association standards; or severely limited walking due to an arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition.²

Two groups can apply without meeting those six criteria. Anyone 80 or older qualifies by submitting proof of age, with no doctor’s certification needed. Organizations that regularly transport people with disabilities can also apply on the organization’s behalf.³

What to Have Ready Before You Start

Pull these together before you open the form:

Your full legal name, residential address, date of birth, and Delaware driver’s license or state ID number.⁴
If you want a special license plate rather than just a hanging placard: the vehicle’s VIN, make, year, current tag number, tag expiration date, and gross weight. The vehicle cannot exceed 14,000 pounds, and you must be the registered owner or a household member.
A visit scheduled with a physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice nurse licensed under Chapter 17 or 19 of Title 24 of the Delaware Code. They need to complete and sign the medical certification part of the form in person.

You can download the form from the Delaware DMV website or pick up a paper copy at any branch.¹

Filling Out the Form Section by Section

Section A: Your Information

Every applicant completes Section A. Enter your name, street address, city, state, zip code, Delaware license or ID number, and date of birth. If you are applying on behalf of an organization, write the organization’s name in the space provided. Check the box that matches your situation: an initial placard, a renewal, or a replacement for one lost or damaged.⁴

Section B: Vehicle Information

Only fill this out if you want a special disability license plate. Enter the VIN, make and year, current tag number, tag expiration date, and gross vehicle weight. Skip the whole section if a hanging placard is all you need.

Section G: Physician Certification

Your doctor completes this part, not you. The physician indicates which qualifying condition applies, marks whether the disability is permanent or temporary, signs the form, and writes in their medical license number. The DMV will reject a form that arrives without the signature or with the medical section blank, so check it before you leave the office.⁴

One last check: compare the name and date of birth on the form against your driver’s license or state ID. Mismatches with what the DMV has on file will slow processing.

Where to Submit It

You have two routes:

In person at any Delaware DMV office. The state operates locations in Wilmington, Delaware City, Dover, and Georgetown. Walking in is the fastest route, and you can typically receive the placard the same day at the service window.¹
By mail to the Dover headquarters at P.O. Box 698, Dover, Delaware 19903. Mailed applications take longer, since the placard has to be processed and shipped back.⁵

If you already have a placard on file and are renewing a permanent one, the Delaware DMV offers an online renewal that skips the branch visit.⁶ First-time applicants always need to go through a DMV office, because the initial application requires the medical certification.¹

Cost and How Long It Lasts

Initial applications and renewals are free. A replacement for a lost or damaged placard costs $1.00.⁴ The DMV’s fee schedule also lists handicapped placards at no charge.⁷

A permanent placard lasts eight years from the date of issue for an individual, and three years for an organization. For a permanent placard, the doctor must certify that the disability is permanent with no prognosis for improvement.³

A temporary placard is valid for up to 180 days. The condition does not need to be permanent, but it must substantially limit your ability to walk for at least five weeks and be severe enough that going without the placard would create hardship or risk of injury. You can reapply as many times as needed, but each new temporary placard requires a fresh form with a new physician certification. The old one cannot be extended.

Using the Placard Correctly

Hang the placard from your rearview mirror whenever you park in a designated accessible space, with the permit number facing out so it is visible through the windshield. Take it down before you drive. Delaware requires that it not hang from the mirror while the vehicle is moving, both because it obstructs your view and because it can prompt a traffic stop.⁸

The placard belongs only to the person or organization it was issued to. Lending it, using a deceased person’s placard, or falsely claiming a disability to obtain one each carry a mandatory $100 fine for a first offense and a mandatory $200 fine, 10 to 30 days of imprisonment, or both for subsequent offenses.³

1
Division of Motor Vehicles. Handicapped Plates or Placards
2
Justia Law. Delaware Code Title 21 Section 2134 – Special License Plates for Persons With Disabilities
3
Justia Law. Delaware Code Title 21 Section 2135 – Parking Permits for Persons With Disabilities
4
Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles. Delaware Code 21 Del.C. 2135 – Application for Special License Plate or Special Parking ID Placard for Persons With Disabilities
5
Division of Motor Vehicles. Contact and Location Information
6
Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles. Handicap Placard Renewal
7
Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles. Fees – Division of Motor Vehicles
8
Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles. MV474 – Application for Special License Plate or Parking ID Placard