MVA Handicap Placard: Form VR-210, Cost, and Eligibility

To get an MVA handicap placard in Maryland, you file Form VR-210 with the Motor Vehicle Administration after an approved healthcare provider certifies that you meet one of the state’s qualifying disability conditions. Placards are free. You can submit online through myMVA, by mail to the Disability Unit in Glen Burnie, or in person at most MVA branches. A permanent placard is blue and lasts for life; a temporary placard is red and lasts up to six months.¹

Who Qualifies

Maryland law sets specific medical criteria, and your provider certifies which one applies to you. You qualify if you:

Cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest.
Need a brace, cane, crutch, wheelchair, prosthetic device, or another person’s help to walk.
Have lost a foot, leg, hand, or arm, or have permanently lost the use of one.
Have severe lung disease, with a forced expiratory volume under one liter per second or a resting blood oxygen level below 60 mm/Hg.
Have cardiovascular disease rated Class III or IV under American Heart Association standards.
Have severe visual impairment: corrected central acuity of 20/200 or worse in your better eye, or a visual field of 20 degrees or less.
Have another permanent condition that so severely limits your ability to walk that denying the placard would cause hardship or risk of injury.

A temporary placard covers conditions that are not permanent but will substantially limit your mobility for at least three weeks, such as a broken leg or post-surgical recovery.¹

Permanent or Temporary

The blue permanent placard has no expiration date and no periodic renewal. The red temporary placard is valid for up to six months, and if your condition persists past that, you submit a new application with fresh medical certification. You can request one or two temporary placards at a time.¹

Filling Out Form VR-210

Every application uses Form VR-210. You complete Section A with your personal information. Your healthcare provider completes Section C with the disability certification, notes whether the condition is permanent or temporary, supplies a medical license number, and signs. For a temporary placard, the provider uses disability code 10.²

Two applicants skip the medical certification entirely: someone applying under the loss-of-limb code (code 6), and a 100% service-connected disabled veteran with a VA letter confirming that status.²

Who Can Sign the Medical Certification

Any of the following Maryland-licensed providers can certify your disability on the form:

Physician (including doctors of osteopathy)
Physician assistant
Certified nurse practitioner
Chiropractor
Optometrist
Podiatrist
Physical therapist³

Where to Submit the Form

Maryland offers three submission routes, and the online option is the fastest because mailed and in-person paperwork still routes to the central Disability Unit for processing.

Online through myMVA. Your provider can complete the certification directly in the portal, and you submit from the same account. You can also fill out the paper VR-210 with your doctor, scan it, and upload it through myMVA.
By mail to Motor Vehicle Administration, 6601 Ritchie Highway N.E., Glen Burnie, Maryland 21062, Attn: Disability Unit, Room 202.
In person at any full-service MVA office except the Oakland location.¹

Cost and How Many You Can Have

Placards are free. Disability license plates, by contrast, carry a $40 tag replacement fee.²

With a permanent disability, you can hold one placard, one disability plate, one placard plus one plate, or two placards. Up to two motorcycle disability plates can be added to any of those combinations. With a temporary disability, you can receive up to two temporary placards.²

Using the Placard Once You Have It

The person with the disability must be in the vehicle whenever the placard is used for accessible parking. You can drive yourself, or someone else can drive you, but the placard cannot be lent to a family member or friend running errands without you. The narrow exception is a driver transporting a dependent or someone who relies on that driver for transportation, where the passenger meets the disability criteria.²

Carry your Disability Certification Card whenever you use the placard. It is issued alongside the placard and proves the permit belongs to you if a law enforcement officer asks.

A valid placard also lets you park without time limits in zones that normally restrict how long you can stay, and it exempts you from state and local parking meter fees.³

Replacing a Lost, Stolen, or Damaged Placard

Complete only Section A of Form VR-210 and mark it as a replacement. You do not need a new medical certification. Submit the same way you would a new application. The MVA voids the old placard number once the replacement is issued.²

Penalties for Misuse

Parking in an accessible space without a valid placard or disability plate carries a $140 fine. Stopping or standing briefly in a restricted disability zone costs $58.⁴

Fraud or misrepresentation when applying for or using a placard can result in a fine of up to $500 and revocation. That includes borrowing another person’s placard, using a deceased person’s placard, or lying on the application. The MVA can also revoke a placard if it determines you no longer meet the eligibility requirements.⁵

1
MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration. Disability Plates and Placards
2
Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. VR-210 Application for Maryland Parking Placards and License Plates
3
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 13-616 – Special Registration Plates for Individuals with Disabilities
4
Maryland Courts. Traffic Fine Schedule
5
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 13-616.2 – Temporary Parking Placards