How to Get a Georgia Handicap Placard (and Who’s Eligible)

If you have a disability or are the spouse of someone with a disability, you can apply for a temporary or permanent Georgia handicap parking placard or plate.
Written by Andrea Barrett
Edited by Amy Bobinger
If you live with a disability, or you’re the spouse, guardian, or caretaker of someone with a disability, you can apply for a state-issued handicap parking placard or license plate through your country tag office by completing a
Georgia
Department of Revenue disabled parking application.
  • A disabled parking placard or plate is given to people with medical conditions that affect their mobility
  • Georgia offers two types of placard—temporary and permanent—both of which are valid for specific periods
  • Georgia has specific criteria for its disabled parking eligibility that must be met to qualify for a placard or plate
  • There is no charge for any state-issued handicap placards in Georgia, but the permanent Georgia handicap license plate has a $20 annual fee
  • You can apply for a disabled placard or plate in person at your local county tag office or by mail

What is a disabled parking placard or plate in Georgia?

If you have a medical condition that affects your mobility, you qualify to apply for a disabled parking placard. The requirements for this placard or license plate vary—anything from a broken leg to a heart condition can qualify. They are used by the Georgia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and come in two types:
  1. Temporary: Temporary permits are given to individuals with temporary disability and are valid for a set period of time. 
  2. Permanent: Permanent placards are for individuals with long-term disabilities. They must be renewed every four years but are meant for permanent use.
To legally use handicapped parking spaces in Georgia, the vehicle you’re using must display one of the following:
  • A temporary Georgia handicap placard (red in color and valid for up to 180 days)
  • A permanent Georgia handicap placard (blue in color and renewed every four years)
  • A special equipment Georgia handicap placard (gold in color and renewed every four years)
  • A Georgia disabled person’s license plate (available for those with permanent disabilities, as well as the spouse, child, ward, or legal guardian of someone with a disability)
  • A valid disabled parking plate or placard from any other US state

Who’s eligible for a disabled parking placard in Georgia?

Georgia has specific criteria for its disabled parking eligibility. You might qualify for permanent Georgia disabled license plates or placards if you meet one of the following qualifications:
  • You are hearing impaired to the degree that you have trouble understanding oral communication when someone is speaking to you in a conversational tone
  • You are unable to walk 200 feet without stopping to rest
  • You can’t walk without assistance from a crutch, brace, cane, prosthetic device, wheelchair, another person, or another type of assistive device
  • Your disability is expected to incapacitate you for 180 days or more
  • You are restricted by severe lung disease
  • You use portable oxygen
  • You have a heart condition that qualifies as a Class III or Class IV cardiac condition, according to the American Heart Association
  • You have a vision impairment that doesn’t achieve 20/200 vision with corrective lenses or that does achieve 20/200 vision but is impaired by a serious limit to your field of vision
  • Your ability to walk is seriously limited due to a neurological, arthritic, or orthopedic condition or due to pregnancy
Separately from its criteria for permanent disability, the state of Georgia considers a temporary disability to be a temporary limitation caused by an injury or surgery. If that describes your disability, apply for a temporary Georgia handicap placard. 
There are also special equipment handicap placards. These are available to drivers with specially installed hand controls to operate their car brakes or accelerators or those with a disability due to the loss of or loss of use of their arms. 

You’ll need a medical certification to apply for your Georgia handicap placard

Once you’ve figured out which type of placard or plate you should apply for, you can begin the application process. Before you do, you’ll need to get a medical certification from a licensed medical professional, such as a medical doctor, a doctor of osteopathic medicine, a podiatrist, an optometrist, or a licensed chiropractor. 
Remember that if you receive a temporary Georgia disabled parking placard, it’s only valid for up to 180 days. It can not be renewed, but you can re-apply to obtain another temporary placard if necessary. 
Permanent parking permits and plates need to be renewed every four years. There is no charge for any state-issued handicap placards in Georgia, but the permanent Georgia handicap license plate has a $20 annual fee

How to apply

When you’re ready to apply for your Georgia handicap parking placards or license plates, here’s what you’ll need to do:
  1. Locate your
    county tag office
    . Your handicap parking application must go through the local county tag office—not the state’s department of revenue—based on where you live in Georgia. You can submit the application in person or by mail
  2. Pick up a Georgia Department of Revenue disabled parking application. You can get these from your county tag office or download the
    MV-9D Disabled Person's Parking Affidavit
    and print it out. The application form has a section to be completed by the applicant and a licensed medical professional—and that section must be notarized.
  3. Submit the completed form. Once your licensed medical professional completes, signs, and notarizes the medical certification section, you need to submit the completed form and, if applicable, the $20 license plate fee. 

Renewing a disabled parking placard

Georgia’s permanent disability and special equipment placards must be renewed every four years. Follow these steps to renew your placard:
  1. Print out the
    initial application form
    you used before (or pick one up from the county tag office) and fill out sections A, B, and F.
  2. Send or deliver your completed form to your local county tag office, and the state will issue new valid placards. 
There is no need for a new medical certification or notarized signature upon renewal. 
Temporary disability placards in Georgia can not be renewed. However, you can apply again if you need a temporary placard beyond the 180-day cut-off. You just have to complete all the application steps you did the first time, including medical certification and a notarized signature from your doctor and chiropractor. 
To renew your Georgia disabled person’s license plates, you must take your renewal notice or an updated
tag and title application
and the disabled parking placard application to your county tag office. You’ll also need to provide other vehicle licensing documents, like
proof of insurance
, emissions testing documents, and tax documents. 
For more information, check out the
Georgia Department of Revenue
’s website.  

Guidelines for veterans with disabilities

Aside from the handicap placards and plates mentioned above, Georgia also has a special license plate honoring disabled military veterans—and if properly displayed on your vehicle, it allows you to use reserved handicapped parking spaces. 
To qualify for disabled veterans’ plates in Georgia, you must be an honorably discharged Georgia veteran who meets these criteria:
  • Rated 100% totally disabled by the US Veterans Administration
  • Rated less than 100% disabled but paid at the 100% rate due to unemployability
  • Entitled to receive a statutory Veterans Administration award for loss or permanent loss of use of one or both feet; loss or permanent loss of use of one or both hands; loss of sight in one or both eyes; or permanent impairment of both eyes
Additionally, the surviving spouses of qualifying deceased veterans are eligible, as long as they did not remarry, as are the surviving minor children of qualifying deceased veterans. 
Georgia will seek to verify applications for these plates by requesting the following:
  • A Veterans Administration entitlement letter indicating the specific disability; or 
  • A certified statement from your physician and discharge paperwork or proof of your term of active duty service and Georgia residency.
No fees are associated with this plate, and veterans with a 100% service-connected disability rating are exempt from ad valorem taxes on one vehicle.

FAQ

No, you cannot renew your placards online. You have to print the disabled parking application form and complete sections A, B, and F before returning it to your local county tag office. The form can be mailed or delivered in person.
There is no cost for handicap parking placards in Georgia, but disabled persons’ license plates cost $20 for the application fee and are attached to an annual $20 license plate fee. You must complete standard
vehicle registration
procedures along with the state’s handicap parking application in order to receive a set of disabled persons’ license plates.
Are you overpaying for car insurance?
Compare quotes and find out in 45 seconds.
Try Jerry

Easiest way to compare and buy car insurance

√
No long forms
√
No spam or unwanted phone calls
√
Quotes from top insurance companies
Find insurance savings