If you have a blue badge you can park in areas that other drivers can’t.
But you must make sure that your blue badge is visible at all times.
You might also be exempt from paying car tax and some tolls or congestion charges if you have a blue badge.
If you’re travelling abroad, it’s worth checking that your blue badge is still valid.
Some countries are still undecided on whether they’re valid due to Brexit. Here’s what you need to know:
In 2021, nearly 2.4million people in the UK had a blue badge.
The Government changed the eligibility criteria for blue badge holders in 2019, which could have increased the demand for disabled parking spaces further.
The new criteria now includes people who have disabilities which aren’t visible, for example, dementia or anxiety disorders.
Out of the 824,000 blue badges issued in 2021, 18,000 blue badges were for people with non-visible disabilities.
It was recently found that 11 countries in the EU are undecided on the UK blue badge status in their country due to a Brexit hangover.
If you use your blue badge in one of these countries, you could face a parking charge.