Blue Badge application

icanhandthemback

*MT*, I do understand. My hip locks sometimes and the pain takes my breath away. I am literally stuck until I can free it. I had a spinal fusion 40 odd years ago and it has affected my lower spine, hips and pelvis enormously. Most of it cannot be treated though. I had one particular Dr tell me that once I aged I'd be in pain like anybody else; that was encouraging! 🤣

Oh heck, it’s bind getting old 😩

MT, I do understand. My hip locks sometimes and the pain takes my breath away. I am literally stuck until I can free it. I had a spinal fusion 40 odd years ago and it has affected my lower spine, hips and pelvis enormously. Most of it cannot be treated though. I had one particular Dr tell me that once I aged I'd be in pain like anybody else; that was encouraging! 🤣

icanhandthemback

Are those having to show all this information in receipt of DLA or PIP. I didn't have to show any of this. I am currently under the hospital for more problems relating to my spine but I have gone years in between treatment as there is little they can do. I have really strongly negative reactions to the painkillers so that is difficult too. Perhaps I could video the distress I suffer when it hurts so much!!

Or mine, when my knees lock up mid walk which can be agonising 😩

M0nica

*MT62*, always apply, the worst they can do is say 'no', but there is no chance of getting a 'yes' unless you apply

How true!

MT62, always apply, the worst they can do is say 'no', but there is no chance of getting a 'yes' unless you apply

Are those having to show all this information in receipt of DLA or PIP. I didn't have to show any of this. I am currently under the hospital for more problems relating to my spine but I have gone years in between treatment as there is little they can do. I have really strongly negative reactions to the painkillers so that is difficult too. Perhaps I could video the distress I suffer when it hurts so much!!

MT62

PamelaJ1

MT64 as icanhandthemback pointed out it is an offence to park in a disabled bay if the BBholder is not getting out.

Yes I thought that also.
I am mt62 ☺️

I agree. The leaflet that accompanied my mum's blue badge was very clear that using a disabled space / Blue Badge is NOT allowed if the disabled person is not getting out of the vehicle.

TwiceAsNice

I applied for a blue badge in 2025 because my spinal stenosis had worsened so badly I could barely walk . I didn’t hear anything for a long time then out of the blue I was asked to supply medical clarification from my doctor. This was just before I was given a date for an operation I had waited 14 months for.

After the operation, once so had recovered I didn’t need a blue badge but it would have been so helpful to me to have had a temporary one . Towards the end of the waiting time I couldn’t go anywhere as I could hardly walk

Glad that went well for you TAN

My glamorous DD2 was once accosted by an angry woman demanding to see her picture on the blue badge. I’ve actually posted her reply on a previous thread, but it was far from polite!

I used to take my DFiL to appointments in his car and his blue badge.
I was glad he didn't have far to walk. I would park at a parking meter but not pay. I don't remember ever feeling I was preventing anyone else from parking.

I think the system is abused and I guess the issue must be carefully monitored. Does anyone check up on eligibility once the cars are parked?

I applied for a blue badge in 2025 because my spinal stenosis had worsened so badly I could barely walk . I didn’t hear anything for a long time then out of the blue I was asked to supply medical clarification from my doctor. This was just before I was given a date for an operation I had waited 14 months for.

After the operation, once so had recovered I didn’t need a blue badge but it would have been so helpful to me to have had a temporary one . Towards the end of the waiting time I couldn’t go anywhere as I could hardly walk

I don’t even bother going into town now.
If you can find a parking space, it’s only 40 mins. So 15 minutes to get to the bank, 10 minutes to queue, could be longer, then 15 minutes to walk back to my car.
I have only got half way through applying (waiting for both knees to be replaced). That would easily take me up to 3yrs. If people are saying they don’t give people them for temporary conditions, I am totally wasting my time then.
I do have to add I have all my paperwork from the surgeon.
So do I just fill in all the same?

PamelaJ1

MT64 as icanhandthemback pointed out it is an offence to park in a disabled bay if the BBholder is not getting out.

Yes I thought that also.
I am mt62 ☺️

I gave up trying to renew my blue badge last time as although there was no change I had to supply all sorts of details that I no longer have available. I am now housebound unless I’m going to hospital appointments when an ambulance or sitting car is provided.

DH had to submit a full list of his medical conditions. One provide by the surgery, who were obviously used to it.

It ran , in continuous text, to almost one side of a sheet of A4, because absolutely everything was on it, it was most impressive. He got his blue badge almost by return of post.

I reserve my judgement as to whether the council employee faced with this stream of medical diagnosis in medical language understood more than one word in ten. I certainly didn't.

We had to show the medication packets at the council office. OH just puts new ones in with older meds but he had thrown away the new packet and used the old ones. A doctors list or pharmacy list was not accepted so we had to go across the road to the pharmacy where they printed new labels and stuck them over the old labels which were then accepted. Bonkers!!

Age UK in our area are very helpful in filling in forms. Blue Badge and attendance allowance

MT64 as icanhandthemback pointed out it is an offence to park in a disabled bay if the BBholder is not getting out.

madeleine45, in Southampton those people in having cancer treatment are given an exemption from parking charges. My son didn't actually use one because his Dad would drop him off and then return to pick him up but it was certainly offered.
4allweknow, a passenger waiting in the car in the parking space is considered perfectly legally and acceptable. The car is in the parking space waiting for the disabled person to return to a place they can easily access. If the disabled person didn't have a driver but drove themselves, the car would still be parked in the disabled parking space and there is little difference. What you aren't allowed to do as a disabled driver is take a friend/relative to the hospital who doesn't have a badge and sit in the car waiting for them to return. The Badge is for you, not all and sundry. Personally I would be happy to park a little further from the entrance as long as there was room to open my car door and there is something I can hold on to if I get wobbly or stuck. Sometime a joint slips and I to hold on because I don't balance well enough to stand on one leg!
MT64 you are not allowed to leave the disabled badge holder in the car whilst you stop! The badge holder can lose their badge for this abuse.

4allweknow

My experience of a Blue Badge highlighted to me how much it can be abused. DH in wheelchair, receiving cancer treatment. I would drive him to hospital and if very lucky would find a disabled space. Unloaded wheelchair, got husband out and into hospital entrance. As per the rules where I live, as I was not the Blue Badge holder I had to move my car out of disabled space and find a standard space. Walk back to hospital and take DH to appropriate department. Then do reverse when appointment finished. At times all the disabled spaces were filled and remained filled for considerable lengths of time. Yes some drivers would be the badge holder but in the main it was the passenger. Constantly saw people arrive, park, take someone to appointment and just wait leaving car in disabled space. Same at shops. Very few people dropped the badge holder off and then parked in standard space. I can see why some authorities have quite an involved system. I'd appreciate my LA having more involvement in getting people here to understand and apply the rules.

You are one of the considerate people.
Super market, 4 x 4 car pulls into the disabled bay, bloke jumps out of the car, I see the badge, the zimmer frame in the boot & elderly mother/may of been an older wife, sister, in the front seat waiting for him to return.
I’ll be slated for saying I know, ‘invisible disability’ & all that.
Quite honestly, I think if he thought it’s quicker to shop himself than faff getting the woman out, why didn’t he just park in a normal bay & let someone else park there that does need to be closer to the store🙄
I am probably in the wrong, saying this. He could be the carer (if so why not take her into store? Is he allowed to shop whilst disabled passenger is left in the car, who knows 🤷‍♀️

As others have said, it depends where you live and the rules your local authority have in place for applications and renewals.
Blue badges cover many conditions and it is reasonable to assume that some people's health may improve and they no longer fulfil the criteria. It is prudent therefore for checks to be made.

Tenko

My mum has a blue badge and someone from Age uk came to mums and helped fill out the form , and we were successful. Unfortunately I often can’t get a space in a disabled parking space as they’ll all full .
Mums in a wheelchair but I need a wider space to get the wheelchair alongside my car .

Yes, that is the other problem. And certainly at our hospital, it is a lack of parking for everyone, not just the disabled.

When my brother and I took Mum to hospital a few months ago we managed to park in a wide enough 15 min drop-off space to get her out, but obviously the car then had to be parked in a normal narrow space (finding one of those at our hospital is like winning the lottery!), but to get Mum back in the car afterwards we had to move the car out of the space far enough to get the door fully open and help her in, which meant we were blocking the traffic in the carpark for at least mins!

My husband is struggling to walk far now, but having experienced how hard it was just to renew my mum's Blue Badge, I can't imagine he will possibly able to get one of those until he is a lot worse. But he is on the verge of no longer being able to do what we have usually done up until very recently for hospital visits, which was to park down in town and walk to the hospital from there, a 10 - 15 min uphill walk.

Overthemoongran

I was refused my blue badge when it came to renewal time as they thought mine was a temporary condition (it’s not), but they don’t issue them for temporary conditions, so why would they have issued my initial badge? Also I can walk, but need a wide bay as my knees won’t bend very well, so I need to open the door fully. I was told that blue badges aren’t given in these circumstances. I countered this with why are parents and child bays wider? Because they need to open the doors wide to get the child in and out, so what’s the difference? After an appeal I got my badge, but now I’m dreading the next renewal.

I think if supermarkets would only make all parking bays wider, a lot of us would manage, not feel like we have to be like contortionists to get out.
Best is our new lidl, bays have shadows on either side, so you can open doors wide open- that’s every bay. So hats off to Lidl.

My mum has a blue badge and someone from Age uk came to mums and helped fill out the form , and we were successful. Unfortunately I often can’t get a space in a disabled parking space as they’ll all full .
Mums in a wheelchair but I need a wider space to get the wheelchair alongside my car .

I was refused my blue badge when it came to renewal time as they thought mine was a temporary condition (it’s not), but they don’t issue them for temporary conditions, so why would they have issued my initial badge? Also I can walk, but need a wide bay as my knees won’t bend very well, so I need to open the door fully. I was told that blue badges aren’t given in these circumstances. I countered this with why are parents and child bays wider? Because they need to open the doors wide to get the child in and out, so what’s the difference? After an appeal I got my badge, but now I’m dreading the next renewal.

Our Asda, disability spots are like gold dust. People park up, no blue badge, & nothing is done to prevent them from parking.
I’ve never bothered applying for one. Waste of time!