Apply for a Person with Disability Special Registration License Plate

There are five types of special registration license plates for people with disabilities. 

How to apply for a disability special registration license plate

Complete the Person With Disability Registration Plate Application

Send your application to:

PennDOT
Bureau of Motor Vehicles
1101 S. Front Street
Harrisburg, PA 17104-2516

Types of disability special registration license plate

There are five different types of disability license plates you can apply for. 

PennDOT shall issue a special plate for a car or truck with a gross weight of 14,000 pounds or less. The plate shows the vehicle is used by a person with a disability.

Benefits:

  • When the vehicle is used by or for the person with a disability, the plate will allow vehicles to park for a period of 60 minutes in excess of the legal parking period permitted by local authorities, except where local ordinances or police regulations provide for the accommodation of heavy traffic during morning, afternoon, and evening hours.
  • Any vehicle displaying the registration plate being operated by or for a person with a disability qualifies to park in areas so designated as being reserved for persons with disability.
  • Upon request of a person with a qualifying disability, local authorities may erect a sign(s) on the highway as close as possible to the person's residence indicating that the place is reserved for a person with a disability.

The department shall issue a plate with the international symbol for access for people with disabilities. It goes on the plate of a motorcycle.

Benefits:

  • When the vehicle is used by or for the person with a disability, the plate will allow vehicles to park for a period of 60 minutes in excess of the legal parking period permitted by local authorities, except where local ordinances or police regulations provide for the accommodation of heavy traffic during morning, afternoon, and evening hours.
  • Any vehicle displaying the registration plate, being operated by or for a person with a disability, qualifies to park in areas so designated as being reserved for persons with disability.
  • Upon request of a person with a qualifying disability, local authorities may erect a sign(s) on the highway as close as possible to the person's residence indicating that the place is reserved for a person with a disability.

If a veteran applying has a disability certified by their service unit or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, PennDOT will issue a special registration plate. The plate shows the vehicle belongs to a disabled veteran.

PennDOT will issue a special plate for a veteran with a 100% service-connected disability. This includes certification from their military unit or the VA.

A veteran may also self-certify by providing a legible photocopy of their Letter of Promulgation, Awards Letter, Single Notification Letter, or Summary of Benefits Letter, provided the documents indicate a 100 percent service-connected disability.

Benefits:

  • When the vehicle is used by or for the person with a disability, the plate will allow vehicles to park for a period of 60 minutes in excess of the legal parking period permitted by local authorities, except where local ordinances or police regulations provide for the accommodation of heavy traffic during morning, afternoon, and evening hours.
  • Any vehicle displaying the registration plate, being operated by or for a person with a disability, qualifies to park in areas so designated as being reserved for persons with disability.
  • Upon request of a person with a qualifying disability, local authorities may erect a sign(s) on the highway as close as possible to the person's residence indicating that the place is reserved for a person with a disability.

A veteran with a 100% service-connected disability, certified by their service unit or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office Administrator, can get a decal from PennDOT. The decal will have the international symbol for disability access and the words "disabled veteran." It is for display on the registration plate of their motorcycle.

A veteran may also self-certify by providing a legible photocopy of their Letter of Promulgation, Awards Letter, Single Notification Letter, or Summary of Benefits Letter, provided the documents indicate a 100 percent service-connected disability.

Benefits:

  • When the vehicle is used by or for the person with a disability, the decal will allow vehicles to park for a period of 60 minutes in excess of the legal parking period permitted by local authorities, except where local ordinances or police regulations provide for the accommodation of heavy traffic during morning, afternoon, and evening hours.
  • Any vehicle displaying the decal on the registration plate, being operated by or for a person with a disability, qualifies to park in areas so designated as being reserved for persons with disability.
  • Upon request of a person with a qualifying disability, local authorities may erect a sign(s) on the highway as close as possible to the person's residence indicating that the place is reserved for a person with a disability.

Eligibility requirements

Pennsylvania's Persons with Disabilities placards and registration plates are universal and accepted in all 50 states.

Persons with Disabilities Parking Placard and Registration Plate Eligibility Requirements:

  1. is blind;

  2. does not have full use of an arm or both arms;

  3. cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest;

  4. cannot walk without the use of, or assistance from, a brace, cane, crutch, another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair or other assistive device;

  5. is restricted by lung disease to such an extent that the person's forced (respiratory) expiratory volume for one second, when measured by spirometry, is less than 1 liter or the arterial oxygen tension is less than 60 mm/hg on room air at rest;

  6. uses portable oxygen;

  7. has a cardiac condition to the extent that the person's functional limitations are classified in severity as Class III or Class IV according to the standards set by the American Heart Association;

  8. is severely limited in their ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition;

  9. is a person in loco parentis of a person specified in paragraph 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 above.

  10. is the parent, including adoptive parent or foster parent, of a child or adult child provided that the person has custody, care or control of the child or adult child and the child or adult child satisfies paragraph 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8; OR,

  11. is the spouse of a person specified in paragraph 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8

 Any person meeting any of the above criteria must have the disabled person's disabilities certified by an authorized health care provider, law enforcement, or a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office Administrator. A health care provider is defined as a physician, chiropractor, optometrist, podiatrist, physician's assistant, or a certified registered nurse practitioner licensed or certified to practice in this commonwealth or in a contiguous state.

Health care providers may only certify disabilities within their scope of practice and must be licensed or certified in PA or a contiguous state: New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, or Ohio.

Police officers may only certify disability codes 1 (blind) and 4 (cannot walk without the use of, or assistance from, a brace, cane, crutch, another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair or other assistive device).

A Person in Loco Parentis is charged by law with the natural parent's rights, duties, and responsibilities acting on behalf of a child in place of the child's natural parents. In addition, a parent, including an adoptive or foster parent who has custody, care or control of the child or adult child or a spouse, may sign on behalf of the child, adult child, or spouse (applicant) provided the applicant meets eligibility requirements 1 through 8.

In order to be issued a severely disabled veteran parking placard, the disability must be service-connected and certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office Administrator (Philadelphia or Pittsburgh) or service unit in which the veteran served. A veteran may also self-certify by providing a legible photocopy of their Letter of Promulgation, Awards Letter, Single Notification Letter, or Summary of Benefits Letter, provided the documents indicate a 100 percent service-connected disability.