Tennessee Handicap Parking Laws: Placards, Plates, and Penalties

Tennessee handicap parking laws, set out in Title 55, Chapter 21 of the Tennessee Code, let residents with severe walking limitations get a placard or license plate that allows parking in designated accessible spaces and exempts them from most meters. Parking in one of those spaces without a valid permit is a misdemeanor carrying a mandatory $200 fine that a court cannot waive, and the vehicle can be towed. Using someone else’s placard, or making or selling fake ones, carries steeper penalties.

Who Qualifies for a Placard or Plate

Tennessee Code 55-21-102 defines who counts as a “disabled driver,” and the standard is specific rather than general. You qualify if you have paraplegia, an amputation of a leg, foot, or both hands, or the loss of use of those limbs. You also qualify if another medical condition leaves you unable to walk 200 feet without stopping to rest, or if you depend on a wheelchair, braces, or crutches. Lung and heart conditions that leave a person semi-ambulatory are included.¹

A separate category covers drivers whose corrected vision is 20/200 or worse in both functioning eyes. Tennessee also accepts certification from a Christian Science practitioner listed in The Christian Science Journal, as long as the underlying condition meets the same severity threshold.¹

You don’t have to be the driver. Passengers who meet the criteria can qualify, but the disabled person must be present in the vehicle whenever the parking privilege is used.²

How to Apply

Applications are filed with your local county clerk on the Department of Revenue’s Form RV-F1310301. The form has a medical certification section that a licensed physician must complete and sign. Tennessee also permits certification from a Christian Science practitioner for applicants who rely on spiritual healing, provided the documented disability meets the same statutory threshold.³⁴ You can submit the form in person or by mail. Once approved, the placard or plate is mailed to you or made available for pickup.

Permanent Placards

Permanent placards are for ongoing disabilities and expire every two years from the date of issuance. If you already have a vehicle registered in your name, the permanent placard is free. Without a vehicle registration, the fee is $26.50. Wheelchair-bound applicants pay nothing regardless of registration status. Renewal costs $3.00, and wheelchair-bound applicants and disabled veterans are exempt from that renewal fee as well. A replacement for a lost or damaged placard is $2.00.⁴

A renewal notice usually arrives about a month before your placard expires, but you can renew at the county clerk’s office even without one, and renewal does not require fresh medical certification.⁵

Temporary Placards

If your disability is expected to improve, such as after surgery or a serious injury, you can get a temporary placard valid for up to six months at a cost of $10.00. It can be renewed once with a new application and updated medical certification, for a maximum of twelve months. If you still need accommodations after that, your physician can authorize a permanent placard.⁶

Disability License Plates

You can apply for a disability license plate instead of, or in addition to, a placard. The plate costs $26.50 plus any applicable county clerk fees. Unlike a placard, the plate is tied to a specific vehicle and cannot move between cars, so if you ride in more than one vehicle, a placard is the more practical option.⁴

Disabled Veteran Plates

Tennessee provides one free registration and license plate to disabled veterans for a vehicle registered in the veteran’s name or jointly with a spouse. Veterans with a 100% permanent total service-connected disability, as determined by the VA, are also exempt from registration fees. A second plate is available for the regular registration fee plus half the standard plate production fee. Veterans with these plates get the same parking privileges as any other placard or plate holder.⁷²

Where You Can Park and How to Display the Permit

A valid Tennessee placard or plate lets you park in any designated accessible space. It also exempts you from paying at metered spaces, municipal parking lots, and lots owned or leased by state universities for visitors and non-credit program attendees. The exemption covers the disabled person and any driver operating the vehicle under their direction while the permit holder is a passenger.²

When you park in an accessible space, hang the placard from the rearview mirror with the expiration date and identification number facing outward. If the vehicle has no rearview mirror, put it on the dashboard with those details visible through the windshield. Take the placard down before you drive. A hanging placard can block your line of sight, and Tennessee law prohibits driving with an obstructed view. Disability plates stay mounted on the rear like any other plate, so there’s nothing to remove at each stop.

What Happens if You Park in an Accessible Space Without a Permit

Parking in an accessible space without displaying a valid disability plate or placard is a misdemeanor under Tennessee Code 55-21-108. The fine is $200 and cannot be suspended or waived. A court may also order up to five hours of community service assisting the disability community, such as monitoring accessible parking spaces or supporting a disability service organization.⁸

The vehicle can also be towed at the owner’s expense. It must be released to the owner on demand and payment of reasonable towing and storage charges, provided the demand is made during the towing company’s operating hours.⁸

It is also a violation to park so that any portion of your vehicle encroaches into an accessible space in a way that could prevent a wheelchair user from getting in or out of a properly parked car. That covers the familiar situation of a vehicle parked over the line or blocking the access aisle. Enforcement applies equally on public streets and private lots, so a shopping center gets the same treatment as a public roadway.⁸

Using Someone Else’s Placard or a Fake One

Using another person’s disability placard when you don’t qualify yourself is a separate misdemeanor. A law enforcement officer can confiscate the placard on the spot. To recover it, you must show by a preponderance of the evidence that you actually met the requirements of Tennessee Code 55-21-103 at the time of the stop.⁸

Selling, copying, duplicating, or manufacturing a disability placard is a Class A misdemeanor, with a minimum fine of $1,000 and possible jail time at the court’s discretion.⁸

Agencies that transport disabled clients can receive placards for fleet vehicles, but only for vehicles actively used to transport those clients. Using an agency placard for any other purpose forfeits every placard issued to the agency.⁹

Out-of-State Placards in Tennessee

Tennessee law authorizes the Department of Revenue to enter reciprocal agreements so that out-of-state disability placards and plates receive the same parking privileges as Tennessee-issued permits.² Visitors can generally use their home-state placard at any Tennessee accessible space, but local rules on meter exemptions and time limits can vary, so check the signage where you park.

Contesting a Citation

To fight a handicap parking ticket, request a hearing with the municipal or county traffic court listed on the citation. The most common successful defense is showing you had a valid placard that simply wasn’t properly displayed at the time. Courts weigh photographs, witness accounts, and your documentation when deciding whether to dismiss.

Placard confiscation cases work differently. The burden is on you to show by a preponderance of the evidence that you qualified for the placard when it was taken. If the permit holder was genuinely present in the vehicle and the officer misread the situation, bringing that person to the hearing along with their medical documentation is the most direct way to resolve it.⁸

Charges for manufacturing or selling counterfeit placards are Class A misdemeanors, and a conviction means at least a $1,000 fine and possible jail time. Legal representation is worth considering in those cases.

1
Justia. Tennessee Code 55-21-102 – Part Definitions
2
Justia. Tennessee Code 55-21-105 – Parking Privileges
3
Justia. Tennessee Code 55-21-103 – Distinguishing Registration, License Plates, Placards
4
Tennessee Department of Revenue. Application for Disabled Person License Plate, Placard, or Decal
5
Tennessee Department of Revenue. HP-8 – Handicap Placards Expire
6
Tennessee Department of Revenue. HP-9 – Renewal of a Temporary Disabled Placard
7
Justia. Tennessee Code 55-4-256 – Disabled Veterans
8
Justia. Tennessee Code 55-21-108 – Unauthorized Use of Disabled Parking or Placard
9
FindLaw. Tennessee Code 55-21-103 – Disabled Drivers and Passengers