Apply for a Blue Badge

Choosing your assessment

If you are not automatically eligible you will need to select if your condition:

• affects your physical ability to walk
• is non-visible affecting your mental health, cognitive ability or results in sensory and processing difficulties affecting your ability to make a journey safely
• a combination of both of the above

Your eligibility is not determined by diagnosis; we assess the severity of the disability or condition and its impact on walking ability and taking a journey.

Physical assessment

Select a physical assessment if you:

• cannot walk (you can't take a single step)
• experience very considerable difficulty whilst walking caused by excessive pain, breathlessness or walking style
• severe disability in both arms and are unable to operate, or have considerable difficulty in operating, all, or some types of parking meter

Conditions like a broken leg or recovery from surgery don’t qualify for a Blue Badge as your condition must be expected to last for at least 3 years and not be expected to improve. Strokes and heart attacks require at least 6 months of recovery before we can consider you for a badge.

Non-visible assessment

Select a non-visible assessment if you:

• are constantly a significant risk to yourself or others near vehicles, in traffic or car parks
• struggle severely to plan or follow a journey
• find it difficult or impossible to control your actions and lack awareness of the impact you could have on others
• regularly have intense and overwhelming responses to situations causing temporary loss of behavioural control
• frequently become extremely anxious or fearful of public and open spaces

Non-visible conditions

A non-visible conditions isn't always easily seen, such as:

• mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, personality disorders and obsessive compulsive disorders
• autism, ADHD
• sensory and processing difficulties
• cognitive impairment like dementia, traumatic brain injury and learning disabilities

This is not an exhaustive list, and other disabilities and conditions would be included which are not listed above.

There are some non-visible disabilities and conditions that would be better suited to the physical assessment, such as Parkinson’s, arthritis, breathing conditions such as COPD and heart problems as although these are non-visible, they may have a greater impact on your mobility.

Evidence required

You need to provide evidence of your diagnosis or condition. This can include diagnosis letters, records of ongoing treatments or clinic visits, specialist consultations or referrals, patient summaries, Education Health and Care Plans (EHCP), care plans from social care teams, social housing letters or assessment reports from local authorities, letters from other professionals involved in your care, and risk assessment plans completed by schools or care workers.

Last updated 17 March 2025