Blue Badge scheme

About the Blue Badge scheme

The Disabled Person's Parking Badge scheme, also known as the Blue Badge scheme, helps people who have an ongoing substantial disability or condition which can restrict and impair them.

You automatically qualify for a badge if you are aged 3 or over and meet at least one of the following:

  • Receive the higher rate of the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
  • Receive Personal Independence Payment (PIP) with:
    • 8 points or more under the ‘moving around’ activity of the mobility component
    • 10 points specifically for descriptor E under the ‘planning and following journeys’ activity (due to overwhelming psychological distress)
  • Are registered blind (severely sight impaired) · Receive a War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement
  • Have received a lump sum benefit within tariff levels 1 to 8 of the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation) Scheme and have a certified permanent and substantial disability affecting walking

You may qualify if one or more of the following applies:

  • Cannot walk at all
  • Cannot walk without help or mobility aids
  • Find walking very difficult due to pain, breathlessness, or time
  • Walking is dangerous to your health and safety and/or others
  • Have a life-limiting illness and an SR1 form (i.e. have a progressive disease and consequently you would not be surprised if they were to live for less than 12 months)
  • Have a severe disability in both arms, drive regularly, and cannot use pay-and-display machines
  • Have a child under 3 who:
    • Needs to be accompanied by bulky medical equipment or
    • Must be kept near a vehicle for emergency medical treatment 
  • Are a constant significant risk to yourself or others near vehicles or in traffic
  • Struggle severely to plan or follow a journey
  • Find it difficult or impossible to control your actions and lack awareness of their impact
  • Regularly have intense and overwhelming responses causing temporary loss of behavioural control · Frequently become extremely anxious or fearful of public/open spaces

You can apply for yourself, someone else or an organisation.

The Blue Badge is issued to a person, not a vehicle. The badge holder must be in the vehicle when it is being used unless they are being picked up or dropped off.

Read more about the rights and responsibilities of Blue Badge Holders here.

Where you can use a Blue Badge

A guidance booklet will be sent to you with your blue badge.

You can check where you can use your Blue Badge and which other European countries recognise it through the GOV.uk website. 

Relocation

If you relocate to another county in England, your Blue Badge will remain valid until its expiration date.

Once your badge has expired, you must apply for a renewal with the local council in your new area.

Apply for or renew a Blue Badge

Please note that the application process is the same for new applicants and for renewal applications.

You must check if you are eligible to apply for a Blue Badge on GOV.uk here. You can also use the service to reapply for a Blue Badge.

To apply for a Blue Badge, we require proof of identity, which can be a photo or scan of your passport, driving licence or birth certificate. If you are renewing a Blue Badge and we already have your ID on file, we will contact you to ensure it is still valid.

We also require proof of address for which we accept a letter dated within the last 12 months from a utility provider, bank, or building society.

The quickest and easiest way to apply is online.

If you are unable to apply online, please contact the Blue Badge Team at disabledcarparking@lincolnshire.gov.uk.

Do not pay anyone offering to help you complete the Blue Badge application form, as they are not affiliated with the scheme, and it could be a scam.

Within your application, we will ask you some questions about how you meet the criteria for a badge to be approved. You must provide us with medical evidence. This will be considered when we assess your application. Some examples include copies of your:

  • patient summary
  • prescriptions
  • diagnosis letters
  • clinical reports

If you have applied online and wish to send any supporting documents for your application, you can email these to us at disabledcarparking@lincolnshire.gov.uk or post them to Blue Badge Team, County Offices, Newland, Lincoln, LN1 1YL.

You can submit a digital photo with your Blue Badge application. If you are renewing your Blue Badge, we can use the same photo provided for your current badge if you confirm that the image still accurately represents you.

Apply for or renew a Blue Badge

What happens next?

We aim to assess applications within 12 weeks of receipt.

We may ask you to attend an Independent Mobility assessment (IMA) following the review of your application. A healthcare professional will look at your ability to carry out various mobility activities if we do. We will notify you if an IMA is to take place.

If your application is approved, we will contact you to arrange the £10 payment fee for your Blue Badge. 

If you have already provided payment details, we will take payment and order your badge once your application has been assessed and approved.

If you have provided us with an e-mail address, you will receive confirmation that your badge has been processed. Once you have received confirmation that your badge has been ordered, it will be with you within 5 to 10 days. 

Appeals

If you have been refused a Blue Badge and would like to appeal this decision, then you will need to contact our blue badge team through one of the following:

Please explain why you feel the decision is incorrect and any further details or supporting information that the team may not be aware of but may support your appeal.

We will then consider your appeal and respond within 2 weeks.

Report a lost or stolen Blue Badge

We will ask you to fill in a replacement form if your badge has been lost, stolen or damaged.

You must pay a £10 fee for the replacement badge. Once payment has been received, ordered and sent to you, please expect receipt within 5 to 10 working days.

You should report a stolen badge to the police. Blue Badges are valuable in the wrong hands.

If the badge was issued by us:

If the badge was issued by another organisation, please contact them directly.

If you have found a Blue Badge, please return it to Blue Badge Team, County Offices, Newland, Lincoln, LN1 1YL.

Report misuse of a Blue Badge

You can only let someone else use your Blue Badge if:

  • you are in the car with them
  • they are picking you up or dropping you off and they need to park close to where you need to go

If someone else is driving you, you must let them know the rules. Read more about the rights and responsibilities of Blue Badge Holders here.

If proven misused, we may ask for your Blue Badge back.

Report misuse of a Blue Badge

It is a criminal offence to use a Blue Badge if you are not disabled. You could be fined up to £1,000.

Further help

For further help, you can email us at disabledcarparking@lincolnshire.gov.uk.  

You can email us to: 

  • update your name 
  • update your address 
  • update your contact details 
  • report a death of a badge holder 

Expired Blue Badges 

Blue Badges are usually valid for up to 3 years. Attempting to use a Blue Badge once it has expired may result in a fine. 

You cannot extend a Blue Badge. You will receive a reminder to renew your Blue Badge 12 weeks before it expires, at which point you can renew through our website if a new one is required. 

If you are unable to renew online, please contact the Blue Badge Team at disabledcarparking@lincolnshire.gov.uk.

Application reference 

You can find your unique Blue Badge application reference in any correspondence you have received from the Blue Badge Team.

If you have made a renewal application and are expecting a replacement badge, but have not yet received one, please contact us at DisabledCarParking@lincolnshire.gov.uk, and we will check the status of your renewal.

Other services available

See below for other services provided by us that you may find useful: