Blue Badges
If you're disabled, a Blue Badge allows you to park legally near to places you need to visit.
The Blue Badge is for any eligible disabled person whether you're travelling as a driver, or as a passenger. It allows you to park free in some pay and display car parks and on single and double yellow lines in most streets for up to three hours.
Although this is a national scheme that operates throughout the UK and is recognised in Europe, it’s delivered locally by us. We only issue badges in accordance with the guidelines and regulations provided by the Department for Transport (DfT).
Apply
Blue Badges cost £10, for both new and replacement badges.
Please note: If you're unable to upload your documents or photograph to your online Blue Badge application, they can be emailed to bluebadge@warrington.gov.uk. Please include your full name and postcode when sending your documents to us.
If you're required to supply evidence of your disability benefit and need a letter dated within the last 12 months, please contact the disability benefits helpline.
We do not accept yearly update letters; please ask for your full entitlement letter which includes a points breakdown if you are in receipt of Personal Independence Payment. All benefit letters will need to show if your entitlement is either ongoing, indefinite or has an end date.
After submitting your application, you must then:
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Pay for your Blue Badge - Please add your surname to the reference box when making your payment
Please note: To make a payment online you need to be using a secure, up-to-date web browser: More information and how to update your browser.
Badges are renewed every three years with reminders sent out six weeks before your badge is due to expire. Renewing a badge remains your responsibility and you'll need the details of your current badge when applying for a renewal.
If we decide you need further assessment, an appointment will be arranged to see our independent physiotherapist for a face-to-face assessment.
Who can have a Blue Badge?
On the 30 August the government extended the Blue Badge eligibility criteria.
An individual's eligibility for a Blue Badge is considered in terms of being :
- Eligible without further assessment, previously known as automatic
- Eligible subject to further assessment, previously known as discretionary
Type 1: Eligible without further assessment
- Receives the Higher Rate of the Mobility Component of the Disability Living Allowance (HRMCDLA); or
- Receives 8 points or more under the “moving around” activity of the mobility component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP); or
- Receives the mobility component of PIP and has obtained 10 points specifically for Descriptor E under the “planning and following journeys” activity, on the grounds that they are unable to undertake any journey because it would cause them overwhelming psychological distress; or
- Is registered blind (severely sight impaired); or∙ Receives a War Pensioner's Mobility Supplement (WPMS); or
- Has been both awarded a lump sum benefit at tariffs 1-8 of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and certified as having an enduring and substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking
Type 2: Eligible subject to further assessment
People who may be issued with a badge after further assessment are those who are more than two years old and may be described as one or more of the following:∙
- A person who drives a vehicle regularly, has a severe disability in both arms and is unable to operate, or has considerable difficulty in operating, all or some types of parking meter; or
- A person who has been certified as having an enduring and substantial disability which causes them, during the course of a journey, to:
o Be unable to walk;
o Experience very considerable difficulty whilst walking, which may include very considerable psychological distress; or
o Be at risk of serious harm when walking; or pose, when walking, a risk of serious harm to any other person
Any of the above three types of difficulty whilst walking could potentially be caused by a physical disability, or by a ‘non-physical’ disability. In either case, the disability experienced by the applicant must endure for at least three years.
Having a certain condition or disability does not automatically entitle somebody to a Blue Badge.
In addition, children under the age of three may be eligible for a badge if they fall within either or both of the following descriptions:
- A child who, on account of a condition, must always be accompanied by bulky medical equipment which cannot be carried around with the child without great difficulty;
- A child who, on account of a condition, must always be kept near a motor vehicle so that, if necessary, treatment for that condition can be given in the vehicle or the child can be taken quickly in the vehicle to a place where such treatment can be given
Lost or stolen Blue Badge
If your badge is lost, stolen or damaged please report it online for a replacement. Before you receive your replacement you must pay £10.
Appeal against a decision
If your application has been refused, you can ask us to reconsider the decision in writing within 28 days. You can include any further information which may support a successful application. You will be asked to attend a mobility assessment with a physiotherapist. A decision may take longer if further evidence is required.
If the decision remains not to award a Blue Badge, we'll write to you with a full explanation. Whether the review is successful or not, the decision is final.
Please note: The rules about eligibility for a Blue Badge have changed considerably. Even if you've been issued with a Blue Badge in the past, this does not mean that you will be issued one again.
Remember: Never pay someone to apply for you!
Please ignore any websites or companies which offer to apply for a Blue Badge on your behalf for a fee. There's no need to pay to apply for a Blue Badge, you can do it yourself online via GOV.UK.
If you've been affected by a scam like this then contact Citizens Advice who can explain how to report the website/company and how to try and get your money back. Call 03454 040506 or visit the CAB website.