Vermont's Disabled Persons
Plates & Windshield Placards

Application for either (special) disabled registration plates or disabled windshield placards may be made to this Department by any person residing within the state of Vermont. An organization may apply for and receive special registration plates and placards for a vehicle registered in the applicant's name if the vehicle is primarily used to transport persons who have an ambulatory disability or are blind.

The placards are issued  to a person who is blind or has an ambulatory disability. One set of plates is issued (without additional fees) for a vehicle registered to a person who is blind or has an ambulatory disability. Disabled registration plates and disabled windshield placard application forms are available on request at the Department of Motor Vehicles. A "Universal Medical Form" must be completed and signed by a licensed physician, certified physician assistant, or licensed advanced practice registered nurse. The Department will file the form for future reference and issue the placard or plate if the applicant is found to qualify. A new medical application must be submitted to the Department every four years in the case of placards and at every third registration renewal for plates (but in no case greater than every four years). When a licensed physician, certified physician assistant, or licensed advanced practice registered nurse has previously certified to the Department that an applicant's condition is both permanent and stable, a special registration plate or placard may be renewed by the applicant without submission of a form signed by a licensed physician , certified physician assistant, or licensed advanced practice registered nurse.

An "ambulatory disability" means an impairment which prevents or impedes walking. A person is considered to have an ambulatory disability if he or she is a person who:

1. cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest; or 

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

3. 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 one liter, or the arterial oxygen tension is less than 60 mm/hg on room air at rest; or 

4. uses portable oxygen; or 

5. 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 standards set by the American Heart Association; or 

6. is severely limited in his or her ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological or orthopedic condition.

"Blind" means the visual impairment of an individual whose central visual acuity does not exceed 20/200 in the better eye with corrective lenses or whose visual acuity, if better than 20/200, is accompanied by a limit to the field of vision in the better eye to such a degree that its widest diameter subtends an angle of no greater than 20 degrees.

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See below for TEMPORARY Disabled Parking Placards

Vehicles with special registration plates or removable windshield placards from any state or which have a handicapped parking card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles may use the special parking spaces when the card or placard is displayed on the (interior) rear-view mirror or the plate is legally mounted on the vehicle as provided by the laws of Vermont or the state where the vehicle is registered.

A person who is blind or who has an ambulatory disability may park without fee for an unlimited period in a parking zone which is restricted as to the length of time parking is permitted. This does not apply to zones in which parking, standing or stopping of all vehicles is prohibited, or which are reserved for special vehicles, or where parking is prohibited by any parking ban. As a condition to this privilege, the vehicle must display the special handicapped plate or placard.

A person, other than a person with a disability, who for his or her own purposes parks a vehicle in a space for persons with disabilities will be fined for each violation and will be liable for towing charges. He or she will also be liable for at least a portion of the storage charges, and an artisan's lien may be imposed against the vehicle for payment of the charges assessed.

Persons who are temporarily disabled with an ambulatory disability may complete an application for a temporary removable windshield placard. The placard will be valid for a period of up to six months and must displayed in the lower right side of the windshield. These applications must be signed by a licensed physician, certified physician assistant, or licensed advanced practice registered nurse. The validation period of the temporary placard will be established on the basis of the written recommendation from a licensed physician, certified physician assistant, or licensed advanced practice registered nurse.