A Maryland handicap placard is free from the Motor Vehicle Administration once a licensed medical provider certifies that you have a qualifying condition under Maryland Transportation Code ยง 13-616. You complete Form VR-210, your provider fills out the medical section, and you submit it online, by mail, or in person. Permanent placards last for life; temporary placards last up to six months.
Who Qualifies
Maryland law lists the exact conditions that qualify. A medical provider must certify at least one of the following:
- Lung disease with forced expiratory volume in one second under one liter by spirometry, or arterial oxygen tension under 60 mm/Hg on room air at rest.
- Cardiovascular disease classified as Class III or Class IV under American Heart Association standards.
- Inability to walk 200 feet without stopping to rest.
- Inability to walk without a brace, cane, crutch, prosthetic device, wheelchair, or help from another person.
- Loss of an arm, hand, foot, or leg, or the loss of use of any of those.
- A permanent disability severe enough that denying accessible parking would create hardship or risk of injury.
- Central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with correction, or a visual field contracted to 20 degrees or less in the better eye.
These criteria apply to both placards and the disability registration plates the state also offers.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 13-616 – Special Registration Plates for Individuals With Disabilities2MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration. Disability Plates and Placards
Permanent or Temporary
A permanent placard is valid until the holder’s death. It has no expiration date, and the MVA does not require periodic renewal. For loss of a limb specifically, applicants can self-certify their disability without a doctor’s signature on subsequent applications. Every other qualifying condition requires medical certification.3Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 13-616.1 – Parking Placards
A temporary placard covers a disability that is not permanent but would substantially impair mobility for at least three weeks. Your provider estimates how long it will last, and the placard is valid for that period, up to six months. You must return the temporary placard to the MVA within five calendar days after it expires. If the condition continues, you need a new application with fresh certification.4Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 13-616.2 – Temporary Parking Placards
How to Apply
Complete Form VR-210, “Application for Maryland Parking Placards/License Plates.” You fill in the personal information; your medical provider completes the certification section, indicates whether the disability is permanent or temporary, and provides their professional license number. For a temporary placard, the provider also estimates the duration.5Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. Application for Maryland Parking Placards/License Plates
Who Can Sign the Medical Certification
Maryland accepts certifications from a wider range of providers than most states. Any of the following, if licensed, can complete the medical portion:
- Physician
- Physician assistant
- Nurse practitioner
- Chiropractor
- Optometrist
- Podiatrist
- Physical therapist
Where to Send the Form
You have three options:
- Online through the MVA’s portal at mymva.maryland.gov. The MVA says this is the fastest option.
- By mail to Motor Vehicle Administration, 6601 Ritchie Highway N.E., Glen Burnie, Maryland 21062, Attention: Disability Unit, Room 202.
- In person at a full-service MVA office, where you can receive the placard on the spot.
There is no fee for either a permanent or temporary placard. If you do not also request disability registration plates, you can receive up to two placards. If you get the plates, you can receive one placard on top of them.3Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 13-616.1 – Parking Placards2MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration. Disability Plates and Placards
What the Placard Lets You Do
Accessible spaces are the obvious benefit, but Maryland law goes further at meters and time-limited zones.
At a parking meter, you can park for twice the meter’s maximum time, capped at four hours. If the meter already allows more than four hours, you get the full posted time with no extension. You also do not have to pay meter fees at any meter that does not meet ADA requirements.
In zones with a posted time limit but no meter, placard holders can park for unlimited periods.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 13-616 – Special Registration Plates for Individuals With Disabilities
The placard does not override every restriction. You still cannot park where stopping, standing, or parking is prohibited for all vehicles. Rush-hour restrictions, spaces reserved for emergency or service vehicles, and areas where parking would create a traffic hazard all still apply. In Baltimore City, residential permit parking restrictions remain in force. Disability parking at state-owned airports and on Baltimore County highways follows its own posted time limits rather than the general rules above.
How to Display It
When parked in an accessible space, hang the placard from the inside rearview mirror so it is visible from outside the vehicle. If the vehicle has no inside rearview mirror, place the placard on the driver’s side inside the vehicle, positioned to be seen through the lower windshield.3Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 13-616.1 – Parking Placards
Take it down before driving. Driving with the placard hanging from the mirror is a citable traffic violation carrying a fine of $70 to $110.6Maryland Judiciary. Traffic Fine Schedule The placard is assigned to you, not to a vehicle, so you can use it in any car, truck, or van you are driving or riding in, including rentals.
Penalties for Misuse
The main violations and their fines under Maryland’s traffic fine schedule:
- Parking in a disability space without a placard or plates: $140.
- Using a placard when the person it was issued to is not in the vehicle: $140.
- Fraud or misrepresentation in applying for or using a placard: $140 plus 12 points on your driving record, which alone can trigger a license revocation hearing.
- Unauthorized display of a temporary placard: $70.
- Failing to return an expired temporary placard within five days: $70.
These fines are from the Maryland Judiciary’s traffic fine schedule effective October 2025.6Maryland Judiciary. Traffic Fine Schedule The MVA can also revoke disability plates and placards if it determines someone committed fraud or no longer meets eligibility requirements.7Legal Information Institute. Maryland Code of Regulations 11.16.04.01 – Purpose
Replacing a Lost or Stolen Placard
If your placard is lost, stolen, or damaged, submit a new application to the MVA the same way you filed the original.3Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 13-616.1 – Parking Placards Do it promptly. Being on foot without a valid placard while someone else may be using yours creates problems on both ends.
Using a Maryland Placard in Other States
All states must recognize Maryland placards and plates for parking in reserved accessible spaces, and Maryland honors placards from other states in return.2MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration. Disability Plates and Placards Free or extended metered parking is a different matter. Each state writes its own meter rules, so the extra time Maryland gives you at a two-hour meter here does not follow you to Virginia or Pennsylvania. Check the local rules before you travel.