Who qualifies for a Blue Badge

Blue Badge permits are available for people who:

• have severe mobility problems or difficulty walking
• are severely sight impaired
• are children under 3 who need essential medical equipment which is too heavy to carry around
• experience very considerable difficulty when walking, which may include very considerable psychological distress
• be at risk of serious harm, or pose a risk of serious harm to other people, when walking

Check your eligibility for a Blue Badge using the gov.uk eligibility tool.

Anyone over 2 years old automatically qualifies for a Blue Badge if they:

• are registered blind
• receive a War Pensioner's Mobility supplement
• receive the higher rate of the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance
• have received a lump sum benefit from the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces Compensation Scheme (within tariff levels 1 to 8) and have been certified as having a permanent and substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking
• receive a Personal Independence Payment showing 8 or more points in the 'moving around' or 10 points in the "planning and following a journey" (descriptor E) part of the Mobility assessment for Personal Independence Payment.

Anyone over 2 years old may be eligible for a Blue Badge, if they:

• have a permanent and substantial disability which means they can't walk, or which makes walking very difficult
• experience very considerable difficulty when walking, which may include very considerable phychological distress
• be at risk of serious harm, or pose a risk of serious harm to other people, when walking
• drive a motor vehicle regularly and have a severe disability in both arms, making it very difficult or impossible to operate parking meters
• have a terminal illness that seriously limits their ability to walk and have been issued with a DS1500 by a medical practitioner or McMillan welfare nurse.

If you're a parent of a child who is younger than 3 years old, you may also apply for a Blue Badge.

Your child must have a specific medical condition which means that they:

• must always be accompanied by bulky medical equipment which is very difficult to carry around, or
• need to be kept near a vehicle at all times to get emergency treatment for a condition when necessary

If you receive the lower rate of the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA), we will asses your application on its own merit. We may ask you to provide further information from a family GP or ask you to attend an independent assessment to clarify if you qualify for a badge. It's only the higher rate of mobility that gives you automatic entitlement to a badge.

If you receive the Daily Living component of the Personal Independence Payment, we will assess your application on its own merit. We may ask you to attend an independent assessment to clarify if you qualify for a badge. It's only the eligible descriptors of the 'moving around' or 'planning and following a journey' activity of the Mobility component that gives you automatic entitlement to a badge.

If you used to qualify for the higher rate mobility component of DLA but don't qualify for a Personal Independence Payment following reassessment, you'll be able to keep your existing badge until it expires. If at that point you don't have an appropriate Personal Independence Payment award, you will be able to apply and see if you qualify for a badge under any of the other criteria.