How to Get a Handicap Placard in New Jersey: Apply and Renew

To get a handicap placard in New Jersey, have a licensed medical professional certify a qualifying condition on the state’s application form, then submit it either at a Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) agency for a permanent placard or at your municipal police department for a temporary one. Permanent placards and disability plates are free; temporary placards cost $4. If you apply in person with everything in order, you can walk out with a placard the same day.

Applying for a Permanent Placard or Disability Plates

Permanent placards cover long-term or lifelong disabilities and are valid for three years. Disability plates do the same job as a placard but mount on the vehicle. You can request a placard, plates, or both on the same form, and there is no fee for either.¹

The application is Form SP-41, “Application for Vehicle License Plates and/or Placard for Persons with a Disability.” Download it from the MVC website or pick one up at any MVC agency.²

Fill out the applicant section with your full name, address, and New Jersey driver’s license or non-driver ID number. If you don’t have either, bring documents proving your identity and New Jersey residency when you apply. If you’re requesting disability plates, include a copy of your vehicle registration.

A licensed medical professional then completes the certification section: they check which qualifying condition applies, list their license number, and sign. The certification must be dated within 60 days of when you submit the application, so don’t get the form signed months in advance.¹

You have two ways to submit the completed SP-41:

In person at any MVC agency. Bring the completed form, your ID, and your vehicle registration if you’re requesting plates. Placards are processed same-day when your paperwork is in order.³
By mail. Send the form to New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, Special Plate Unit, 225 East State Street, P.O. Box 015, Trenton, NJ 08666-0015. Mail applications take roughly four to six weeks to process, plus delivery time.³

If you can’t go to an MVC agency yourself, someone else can apply for you. That person needs to bring a notarized authorization letter you’ve signed, or hold power of attorney for your affairs.¹

Applying for a Temporary Placard

Temporary placards cover short-term disabilities such as recovery from surgery or a broken leg. They use a different form and a completely different submission path.

The form is SP-68, “Application for Temporary Placard.” Instead of taking it to the MVC, bring the completed form to your municipal police department and submit it to the Chief of Police, along with a check or money order for $4 made payable to NJMVC.⁴ Police departments often issue the placard the same day or the next business day.

A temporary placard is valid for six months and can be renewed once for another six months with a new medical certification and another $4 fee. After that second six-month period, the temporary option is exhausted; if your condition hasn’t resolved, you would need to apply for a permanent placard through the MVC. When your temporary placard expires or your condition improves, return it to the police department that issued it.

Who Qualifies

New Jersey recognizes six qualifying conditions, and only one needs to apply. Your medical professional will indicate the applicable one on the form.⁵

Loss of the use of one or more limbs from paralysis, amputation, or another permanent disability.
Severe, permanent disability that prevents you from walking without a brace, cane, crutch, prosthetic device, wheelchair, another person’s help, or a similar assistive device.
Lung disease with a forced expiratory volume under one liter per second (measured by spirometry), arterial oxygen tension under 60 mm/Hg on room air at rest, or use of portable oxygen.
Cardiac condition classified as Class III or Class IV under American Heart Association standards.
An arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition that severely and permanently limits your ability to walk, or inability to walk 200 feet without stopping to rest.
Permanent sight impairment in both eyes, certified by the N.J. Commission for the Blind. This condition qualifies you for a placard only, not disability plates.

Disabled veterans and Purple Heart recipients apply through a separate MVC process with different forms and documentation, not the SP-41.⁶

Using Your Placard

The placard is tied to you, not to a specific vehicle, so you can use it in any car you drive or ride in as a passenger. The reverse is the rule that catches people off guard: the person the placard was issued to must be in the vehicle every time it parks in an accessible space. You can’t lend it to a family member running errands, even if the errand is for you.

Along with the placard, the MVC issues a Persons with a Disability Identification Card, and that card must be on you whenever you use the parking privilege.¹ Hang the placard from your rearview mirror so it’s visible through the windshield when parked, and remove it before driving; a dangling placard blocks your line of sight and can prompt a traffic stop on its own.

Renewing and Replacing Your Placard

Permanent placards and disability plates require fresh medical recertification every three years. The MVC mails a renewal notice before your expiration date. If one doesn’t arrive, download a new SP-41, have your medical professional complete the certification, and mail it to the Special Plate Unit at the address above.¹

Replacements for lost, stolen, or damaged placards are free. You can handle it in person at an MVC agency or by mail. Bring your Identification Card, your driver’s license or non-driver ID, and the damaged placard if you still have it, along with a completed SP-41. If both the placard and Identification Card are gone, bring a notarized statement confirming the loss, or be ready to sign a written statement in front of an MVC employee. If the placard was stolen, bring a police report.¹

1
New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. Wheelchair Symbol Plates and Persons With a Disability Placards
2
NJ.gov. Application for Vehicle License Plates and/or Placard for Persons with a Disability
3
New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. Wheelchair Symbol Plates and Persons With a Disability Placards FAQ
4
NJ.gov. Application for Temporary Placard
5
NJ MVC. Qualifications: Wheelchair Symbol Plates and Persons With a Disability Placards
6
New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. Disabled Veteran, Purple Heart Recipient Placards