Blue Badge eligibility

There are two types of Blue Badge eligibility:

  • Type 1 - “Eligible without further assessment”
  • Type 2 - “Eligible subject to further assessment”.

Whether you fall into Type 1 or Type 2 eligibility, you will need to apply for a Blue Badge. 

We are unable to make comment on medical conditions or individual circumstances. 

Qualifying for a Blue Badge

You will automatically qualify for a Blue Badge if you:

  • receive the Higher Rate of the Mobility Component of Disability Living Allowance (HRMCDLA)
  • receive eight points or more under the 'Moving Around' descriptor of the mobility component of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or score 10 points under Activity 11, descriptor E in the 'planning and following a journey' part of the mobility component, which states 'you cannot undertake any journeys because it would cause overwhelming psychological distress'.
  • are registered blind (severely sight impaired)
  • receive a War Pensioner’s Mobility Supplement
  • have been awarded a lump sum benefit at tariff 1-8 of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and have been certified as having a permanent and substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking.

Eligibility requirements for a badge

You may be eligible for a badge if you:

  • have an enduring and substantial disability that causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking, which may include very considerable psychological distress; in this case you may be asked to have an independent mobility assessment
  • drive a vehicle regularly, have a severe disability in both arms and have considerable difficulty in operating all, or some, types of parking meter
  • are aged under three years and have to be accompanied everywhere by bulky medical equipment
  • are at risk of serious harm, or pose a risk of serious harm to any other person, when walking
  • are an organisation caring for disabled people meeting the eligibility criteria. This is entirely at our discretion.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments

We are aware that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) are dealing with a lengthening Personal Independence Payment assessment backlog. They have responded to this by providing temporary, short-term extensions to PIP claimants who are waiting for their benefits to be reviewed (typically 3-month extensions). 

If you are affected by this, you have two options when re-applying for your Blue Badge.

We can issue a Blue Badge with an expiry date that matches your current award expiry date, at the standard cost of £10. This badge cannot be extended if the award is then renewed or if your reassessment is further delayed. You will need to re-apply for a Blue Badge each time your award is expiring and a cost of £10 will be required each time a badge is issued.

Alternatively, you can make an application under the subject to further assessment route, where you will be assessed for eligibility in the same way applicants who are not in receipt of qualifying benefits are assessed. If you are successful under this route, you will be issued with a badge for 3 years.

We apologise if the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have incorrectly advised you that we are able to extend your current badge.

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