How to Fill Out the NC MVR-37A Handicap Placard Form

To get a North Carolina disability parking placard, you fill out the NC MVR-37A handicap placard form in two parts: your identifying information at the top, and a licensed medical provider’s certification of your qualifying condition at the bottom. Each placard costs $5. Turn it in at any License Plate Agency and you walk out with the placard the same day; mail it to the NCDMV in Raleigh and it arrives in three to four weeks.¹

Before You Start: Who Can Sign for You

The bottom half of the MVR-37A has to be completed by a licensed medical provider. Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-37.6, that means a licensed physician, ophthalmologist, optometrist, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner. The Division of Services for the Blind can certify visual impairments. A licensed certified nurse midwife may sign only for a temporary placard. A Veterans Affairs disability determination can substitute for the medical certification.²

The provider is the one who decides whether you meet a qualifying condition. The form itself lists them: an inability to walk 200 feet without resting; dependence on a brace, cane, crutch, prosthetic, wheelchair, or another person to walk; specified lung disease thresholds; portable oxygen use; a Class III or Class IV cardiac condition by American Heart Association standards; a severely limiting arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition; or blindness or severely limited corrected vision.¹ You don’t need to bring medical records to the NCDMV. The provider’s signed certification is the only medical documentation the state asks for.

Filling Out the Applicant Section

The top half of the MVR-37A is yours. Print your name, your North Carolina driver’s license or state ID number, and your street address with city, state, ZIP, and county. If your mailing address is different, enter it in the separate mailing-address field. Add a phone number where the NCDMV can reach you. The form does not ask for a Social Security number.¹

One application can request up to two placards. If you don’t already hold a disability license plate, you’re eligible for a second placard so you can keep one in each vehicle you ride in regularly. Sign and date the form once your section is complete.

What the Medical Provider Fills In

Your provider checks the box for your qualifying condition, marks whether the disability is permanent or temporary, and, for a temporary placard, writes the length of time the condition is expected to last, up to six months. Then they sign and date.¹

Whether the provider marks the condition as total and permanent matters later. That designation is what determines whether you’ll need a fresh medical certification when the placard comes up for renewal.

Submitting the Form and Paying the Fee

There’s no online submission. You have two ways to turn the form in.

In person at any NCDMV License Plate Agency. Bring the signed form and $5 per placard. You receive the placard the same day. The NCDMV office locator at ncdot.gov shows the nearest agency.³
By mail, with a check or money order payable to NCDMV, sent to: North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles, 3148 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27697-3148. Allow three to four weeks.¹

If you’re recovering from surgery or otherwise need the placard soon, go in person. Mail works well when you’re renewing before your current placard expires.

Which Placard You’ll Receive

The type of placard you get depends on what your provider certified.¹

A standard disability parking placard is valid for five years. To renew, you’ll need a new MVR-37A with a fresh medical certification. If the placard expires after you turn 80, no medical recertification is required.²
A total and permanent disability parking placard is also valid for five years, but renewal doesn’t require a new medical certification.
A temporary placard is valid for one to six months, matching what the provider specified. When it expires, it cannot be renewed; you submit a new MVR-37A with a new certification if you still need one.¹

All three cost $5. The same fee applies to initial issuance, renewals, and replacements.²

Replacing a Lost, Stolen, or Damaged Placard

If your placard is lost or stolen, submit a new MVR-37A and pay the $5 replacement fee, in person or by mail. Replacing the registration card that came with the placard is a separate $25.50 charge if that card is also missing. If the placard is physically damaged but you still have it, bring it in and the NCDMV replaces it at no charge.¹

Displaying the Placard and Avoiding Misuse

Hang the placard from your rearview mirror whenever you park in a disability-designated space. If your vehicle doesn’t have an inside rearview mirror or you physically can’t hang it there, put it on the driver’s side of the dashboard so it’s visible from outside. On a motorized wheelchair or similar vehicle, display it wherever it can be seen clearly.²

The placard belongs to the person, not the car. Using someone else’s placard when they aren’t in the vehicle is a violation, and parking in a disability-designated space without a valid placard or plate is an infraction carrying a fine of $100 to $250.³

1
North Carolina Department of Transportation. MVR-37A North Carolina Disability Placard Form
2
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statutes 20-37.6 – Parking Privileges for Handicapped Drivers and Passengers
3
North Carolina Department of Transportation. Disability Placards and Plates