Blue Badge scheme

If you are not automatically eligible for a Blue Badge, you need to provide proof of your disability / condition and supporting information.

Being eligible for a Blue Badge does not depend only on whether you do or don't have a particular diagnosis or condition, and we will need extra information to support your application.

Walking difficulties

To help us understand your situation, please provide as much information as possible when you apply, including:

• information about how difficult walking is for you on a journey
• details and history of your diagnosed condition or disability
• the longest distance you think you can walk without help from another person, or without severe discomfort

It can be difficult to work out the exact distance you can walk. There are some things that can help you:

• ask someone to walk beside you. The average adult step is just less than 1 metre, so if the person walking with you took 100 steps, you would have walked about 90 metres.

If you still find it difficult to work out the distance you can walk in metres, please tell us:

• the number of steps you can take, and how long, in minutes, it would take you to walk this distance
• about your walking speed
• the way that you walk, for example, shuffling or small steps etc.

We may ask you to go for an assessment with an occupational therapist, to decide whether you meet the eligibility criteria. 

If your disability isn't easy to see

If your disability isn't easy to see (sometimes known as a 'non visible' or 'hidden' disability), you will only be given a Blue Badge if we feel the badge will help to make a journey that:

• would not have been possible without it
• would only be possible with a lot of difficulty

You will need to provide:

Evidence of your disability

Evidence can include reports or documents that describe your needs or disability (not appointment letters), from a health or social care professional. 

If you are struggling to provide evidence of your disability, you can ask a health professional that you have been involved with to fill in the Blue Badge health or social care professional form. 

Please also be aware that this may slow down the process of getting your blue badge, and does not always mean that your application will be successful. 

Details about the difficulty you experience

Please provide as much detail as you can about how difficult it is for you to go from your car to your destination, for example, you:

• are unable to walk, drop to the floor, become deadweight
• are likely to wander off, or run away, without awareness of your surroundings and the risks
• are unable to follow instructions
• experience severe or overwhelming anxiety
• experience an overwhelming sense of fear of public / open / busy spaces
• are a serious risk to yourself or others
• become physically aggressive towards others, either not on purpose or without realising the effects of your actions
• other (please tell us more)

Tell us how likely you are to have the above difficulties, for example:

• never (not happened before)
• occasionally (only on some journeys)
• regularly (more often than not)
• always (every journey)

Coping strategies you use

Provide details of any coping strategies you use to help manage these difficulties.

For example travelling with another person such as a parent, carer, or personal assistant is a coping strategy. 

Disabilities in both arms

You will need to provide:

• a medical summary from your doctor or specialist that shows your name and address, and confirms your conditions
• a repeat prescription that shows your name and address, and confirms the medication you are taking

If you are applying for someone under the age of three

A parent or guardian must apply on behalf of a child under the age of three. 

You will need to provide:

• a letter from a medical professional involved in your child's treatment which confirms their medical conditions and any equipment they need