Minnesota Handicap Parking Permit: Eligibility, Fees, and Display

To get a Minnesota handicap parking permit, submit the state’s Application for Disability Parking Certificate with the medical certification section signed by a qualifying licensed health professional. File it at any deputy registrar motor vehicle office or by mail to Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS). Temporary and short-term certificates cost $5; long-term and permanent certificates are free.

Who Qualifies

Minnesota law lists ten conditions, and you only need to meet one. They cover people who cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest, cannot walk without a significant risk of falling, or cannot walk without help from another person, a walker, cane, crutches, braces, a prosthetic device, or a wheelchair. They also cover respiratory disease that limits forced expiratory volume to less than one liter per second, arterial oxygen tension below 60 mm/Hg on room air at rest, and reliance on portable oxygen.

You also qualify with a Class III or Class IV heart condition under American Heart Association standards, the loss of an arm or leg without a usable artificial limb, a disability that would be aggravated to a life-threatening degree by walking 200 feet under normal conditions, or legal blindness. The condition can be permanent or temporary, and that distinction decides which certificate you receive.¹

The Application and Medical Certification

You need one form: the Application for Disability Parking Certificate. You fill in your personal and vehicle information, and a licensed health professional completes the medical certification section, naming the qualifying condition and marking whether the disability is permanent or temporary. For a temporary disability, the professional writes in how long it’s expected to last. That duration determines the certificate type you’ll be issued.²

Only five types of professionals can sign: physicians, physician assistants, advanced practice registered nurses, physical therapists, and chiropractors. No other provider’s signature will be accepted. A health professional who fraudulently certifies a patient as disabled commits a misdemeanor and faces a $500 fine.¹

Where to File

You can bring the completed application to any deputy registrar motor vehicle office in Minnesota or mail it to DVS at 445 Minnesota Street, St. Paul, MN 55101-5164. Filing in person has a practical edge: many deputy registrar offices issue a temporary certificate on the spot, so you have something to hang while the permanent one arrives by mail.²

Certificate Types and Fees

Which certificate you get depends on how long your health professional expects the disability to last.

Temporary (1 to 6 months): $5. Typical for post-surgical recovery.
Short-term (7 to 12 months): $5. For a longer healing period.
Long-term (13 to 71 months): No fee. Extended conditions that aren’t classified as permanent.
Permanent (6-year validity): No fee. Conditions that won’t improve.

Long-term and permanent are easy to confuse. A long-term certificate covers a disability expected to last more than a year but that may eventually resolve; a permanent certificate is for conditions that won’t change and runs for six years before renewal.³

Disability License Plates as an Alternative

If your disability is permanent, you can apply for disability license plates instead of a hanging certificate, or in addition to one. The vehicle must be owned or primarily operated by the disabled person or by a custodial parent or guardian. An employer who furnishes a vehicle exclusively to a permanently disabled employee can also apply.⁴

The initial application uses the same medical statement as the parking certificate, and DVS issues a 30-day temporary permit while the plates are manufactured. The tradeoff is flexibility. Plates are tied to one vehicle; a hanging certificate moves with you into any car. If you often ride in different vehicles, the certificate is the more flexible choice.⁴

How to Display It and Where You Can Park

Hang the certificate from the rearview mirror so it’s visible from the front and the rear of the vehicle. If you can’t reach the mirror because of your disability, or the vehicle doesn’t have one, place it on the dashboard instead. Nothing can cover or obscure it.¹

Take it down before you drive. Leaving it hanging while the vehicle is moving violates the Minnesota law against objects that obstruct the driver’s view through the windshield.³

With a valid certificate or disability plates displayed, you can park in any space marked with the international symbol of access. You can also park at metered spaces without paying the meter, with no time restriction unless the city has separately posted a time limit on official signs. State law lets municipalities set a maximum of four hours at short-duration meters during enforcement hours, so check posted signs before walking away.¹

The disabled person must be in the vehicle. Someone else can drive you and park in an accessible space, but only when they’re actually transporting you and the space is within a reasonable distance of your drop-off. Lending the certificate to a friend or family member who parks in an accessible spot without you in the car is illegal, however quick the errand.¹

Renewing or Extending a Certificate

When a permanent certificate approaches its six-year expiration, you can usually renew without a new medical signature. The commissioner may waive the health professional’s statement for applicants who previously filed one certifying a permanent disability. DVS randomly selects some renewal applicants for re-certification, so you may still be asked for a current medical statement.¹

If your health professional extends the expected duration of your disability, say by upgrading a long-term condition to permanent, there’s no fee for the new certificate. The professional still has to sign the medical statement and note that it’s an extension of a previously certified disability.²

Penalties for Misuse

Using a disability certificate or plates in violation of the law is a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $500. That covers borrowing someone else’s certificate, using one after it was canceled, and parking in an accessible space while the disabled person isn’t in the vehicle. The commissioner can also cancel the certificate or plates entirely for improper use, fraudulent applications, or failure to comply with program requirements. Certificates are canceled when the holder dies or moves out of Minnesota.¹

Using Your Certificate Out of State

Every state recognizes out-of-state disability parking certificates and license plates, so your Minnesota certificate works when you travel, and visitors can use their home-state placards here.³ The basic privilege transfers, but individual cities and states set their own time limits, meter rules, and documentation expectations. A quick call to the destination state’s motor vehicle agency before a trip can prevent an avoidable ticket.

1
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 169.345 – Parking Privilege for Physically Disabled
2
Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Application for Disability Parking Certificate
3
Minnesota Council on Disability. Disability Parking
4
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 168.021 – Plates for Physically Disabled Persons