How to Get a Handicap Parking Permit in CT: Qualify, Apply, Renew

To get a handicap parking permit in CT, have a licensed medical provider certify that you meet one of the state’s qualifying disability conditions, fill out the DMV’s renewable or temporary placard application, and submit it online, by mail, or at any DMV office. A renewable placard is free and lasts the same length as your Connecticut driver’s license or non-driver ID. A temporary placard costs $5 and is valid for up to six months.¹

Who Qualifies

Connecticut uses federal criteria for a disability that limits walking. A medical professional must certify that you meet at least one of the following:

You cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest.
You need a cane, brace, crutch, prosthetic device, wheelchair, or another person’s help to walk.
You have limited or no use of one or both legs.
You use portable oxygen.
You have a Class III or Class IV cardiac condition under American Heart Association standards.
You have an arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition that severely limits walking.

Legal blindness also qualifies. That certification can come from an ophthalmologist, an optometrist, or the Board of Education and Services for the Blind.²

Renewable or Temporary

Which placard you apply for depends on how long your condition will last. The DMV uses a separate form for each.

A renewable placard is for long-term disabilities. It carries no fee and stays valid for the same term as your Connecticut driver’s license or non-driver ID, generally six years.¹

A temporary placard is for short-term situations like surgery recovery or a broken bone. It costs $5, lasts up to six months, and cannot be renewed. If the condition continues past that, you have to submit a new application with fresh medical certification.²

How to Complete the Application

Download the Renewable Permit Application or Temporary Permit Application from the DMV website, or pick one up at any DMV office. You sign the applicant section. A licensed physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse completes the medical certification. If you’re applying based on legal blindness, an ophthalmologist, optometrist, or the Board of Education and Services for the Blind can sign instead.²

You’ll also give your name, date of birth, address, and Connecticut driver’s license or non-driver ID number. The ID number is not required if you’re certified blind, age 80 or older, severely disabled, or unable to obtain the documents needed for a Connecticut ID.¹

Where to Submit

You have three options:

Online through the DMV’s disability placard portal, which allows individuals and guardians to submit electronically.³
In person at any Connecticut DMV office.
By mail to CT DMV, Customer Service – Accessible Parking Permit, 60 State Street, Wethersfield, CT 06161-2525.¹

For a temporary placard, be ready to pay the $5 fee. Online submissions take a credit card; in-person and mail-in submissions use the DMV’s usual payment methods.

Renewing or Replacing a Placard

You can request renewal of a renewable placard starting six months before it expires. If you miss that window, the DMV allows a 60-day grace period after expiration. Every renewal requires a new medical certification, even if your condition is unchanged.¹

Lost, stolen, or damaged placards are replaced through the same channels used for the original application. Renewable placard replacements carry no fee.

Using the Placard

Hang the placard from the rearview mirror whenever you park in an accessible space. If the vehicle has no rearview mirror, put it on the dashboard where it’s visible from outside. The placard belongs to you, not to a vehicle, so you can use it in any car as long as you’re the driver or a passenger.

Vehicles displaying a valid Connecticut placard or disability plate can park at metered spaces for an unlimited time without paying, and posted time limits don’t apply, provided the person with the disability is driving or riding.⁴

Do not park in the striped cross-hatch zone next to an accessible space. That zone exists so people using wheelchairs, ramps, or lifts can get in and out of their vehicles, and Connecticut law reserves both the space and the adjacent cross-hatch for vehicles with a valid placard or plate.²

Penalties for Misuse

A first violation of the accessible parking statute carries a $250 fine. A second or later offense is $500.²

Using a placard that belonged to someone who has died is an automatic $500 fine on any offense. The placard must be returned to the DMV when the person it was issued to dies or moves out of state.²

A vehicle caught parked illegally in an accessible space three or more times can be towed and impounded until all outstanding fines are paid.²

Disabled Veteran Plates Are Separate

A Connecticut disabled veteran license plate does not authorize the use of accessible parking spaces. It comes with an overtime parking card that allows parking beyond posted time limits for up to 24 hours, but nothing more.⁵ If you’re a disabled veteran and you also meet the medical criteria above, you can apply for a disability placard in addition to your veteran plates.

1
Connecticut DMV. Accessibility Parking Permit for Individual
2
Justia Law. Connecticut Code Title 14 – Section 14-253a
3
Connecticut DMV. Disability Placard
4
cga.ct.gov. Handicapped Parking Laws in Connecticut
5
Connecticut DMV. Disabled Veteran Registration