Temporary Handicap Parking Permit for Pregnancy in Florida

A temporary handicap parking permit for pregnancy in Florida isn’t issued for pregnancy itself, but it is issued for pregnancy complications that seriously limit your ability to walk. Florida’s standard is functional, not diagnostic: if a medical condition prevents you from walking 200 feet without stopping to rest, and a licensed healthcare provider certifies it, you qualify.¹ The temporary placard costs $15 and is valid for up to six months.

Do Pregnancy Complications Qualify?

The word “pregnancy” doesn’t appear in the statute, and for expectant parents that’s actually helpful. Because the law looks at mobility rather than the underlying diagnosis, your provider doesn’t have to justify the cause of your limitation, only confirm that you have one.

The statute recognizes several categories a pregnancy complication can fall under:

Orthopedic, neurological, or arthritic conditions that severely limit walking. Severe pelvic girdle pain, for example, can fit here.
Cardiac conditions classified as Class III or IV under American Heart Association standards. Gestational cardiomyopathy or preeclampsia with significant activity restriction can fall under this standard.
Lung disease with respiratory capacity below one liter on spirometry, or resting arterial oxygen below 60 mm/hg. Pregnancy-related respiratory distress may meet this threshold.
Needing a brace, cane, crutch, other assistive device, or another person’s help in order to walk.¹

A routine, uncomplicated pregnancy generally won’t meet any of these. The real question for your situation is a conversation with your OB-GYN or midwife: if crossing a parking lot is painful or unsafe, ask whether they’re willing to certify the limitation. The state relies on their professional judgment.

The Application and Who Can Sign It

The form is HSMV 83039, “Application for Disabled Person Parking Permit,” available as a PDF on the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles website.² It has two halves: your personal information (full legal name as it appears on your Florida license or state ID, address, and license or ID number) and the medical certification.

More providers can sign than people often realize. Florida authorizes physicians, osteopathic physicians, chiropractors, podiatrists, optometrists, advanced practice registered nurses working under a physician’s protocol, and physician assistants to complete the medical portion.¹ For a pregnancy complication, your OB-GYN or the PA in their office is usually the most natural signer.

One detail trips people up: the certification must be signed and dated within the last 12 months. If your provider signs the form and you then sit on it, you may need a fresh signature before submitting.²

How to Submit the Form

Three options:

In person at your local county tax collector’s office or a license plate agency. This is the fastest route; staff usually hand you the placard on the spot.
By fax from your certifying provider’s office directly to the tax collector or license plate agency.
By mail to the tax collector in the county where you live. Processing depends on the office’s workload.

The form itself notes that you can submit either the original signed version or a copy.² If leaving the house is the whole reason you need the placard, having your provider’s office fax it on your behalf is a practical workaround.

Cost, Length, and What Happens Postpartum

A temporary placard is valid for up to six months, and your certifying provider sets the actual expiration date based on how long they expect your mobility to be limited.¹ For pregnancy complications, many providers set the date around the expected delivery or a few weeks after, depending on recovery expectations.

The fee is $15 regardless of whether the placard runs two months or six. A lost placard costs $1 to replace along with a new application and current medical certification. If it was stolen and you file a police report, the replacement fee is waived.¹

If your mobility limitation continues past six months, you can’t simply renew. You submit a new application with a fresh medical certification and pay the $15 again. For postpartum complications that linger after delivery, plan ahead so you aren’t caught without a valid permit.

Displaying and Using the Placard

When parked in a designated space, hang the placard from your rearview mirror with the permit number facing the windshield so it’s visible from outside. Take it down before driving; Florida’s official guidance says to remove it while the vehicle is in motion.³

The placard is tied to you, not to a vehicle, so you can use it in any car you’re riding in. But you have to actually be present. If your partner borrows your car and parks in a disabled space using your placard while you’re at home, that’s a violation, even if the errand is for you.⁴

Penalties Worth Knowing

Using someone else’s placard is a second-degree misdemeanor carrying up to six months in jail, a $1,000 fine, or both, and the placard is confiscated on the spot.⁴ Lying on the application is a first-degree misdemeanor, up to one year in jail, a $1,000 fine, or both; the same penalty reaches a healthcare provider who certifies someone they know doesn’t qualify.¹

After delivery, if you recover before the expiration date your provider set, stop using the placard. Continuing to park in disabled spaces once you no longer meet the medical criteria can be treated as fraudulent use. Return the placard to the issuing office or destroy it after it expires so it can’t be misused by someone else.

1
Florida Statutes. Florida Code 320.0848 – Persons Who Have Disabilities; Issuance of Disabled Parking Permits
2
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Application for Disabled Person Parking Permit
3
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Disabled Person Parking Permits
4
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Frequently Asked Questions