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In Texas, you apply for a disabled parking placard with form VTR-214 at your county tax assessor-collector’s office, and a doctor or other health care provider completes the disability statement. You qualify if you have a mobility problem that substantially impairs your ability to move around, or vision of 20/200 or worse in the better eye with correction (or a field of 20 degrees or less). A red placard covers a temporary disability for up to 6 months; a blue placard covers a permanent disability and is renewed every 4 years. The placard is only valid when the person with the disability is in the vehicle.
Who qualifies in Texas?
Under the Texas definition you qualify with either:
- A vision disability: visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with correcting lenses, or a field of vision whose widest diameter is 20 degrees or less; or
- A mobility problem that substantially impairs your ability to move around, such as paralysis, lung disease, cardiac deficiency, using a wheelchair, arthritis, a foot disorder, or another condition that means you need a brace, cane, crutch or other assistive device.
Red, blue or plates?
| Type | For | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|
| Red placard | Temporary disability | 6 months or less |
| Blue placard | Permanent disability | Renewed every 4 years |
| License plates with the International Symbol of Access | Permanent disability | Issued for your vehicle; ask your county office about renewal |
| Disabled veteran (DV) plates or placard | Qualifying service-connected disability | Separate application, form VTR-615 |
DV plates without the access symbol do not by themselves allow parking in disabled spaces; veterans who also meet the disability definition can apply for a placard or access-symbol plates.
How to apply
- Download form VTR-214, “Application for Persons with Disabilities Parking Placard and/or License Plate”.
- Complete your part, and have your doctor or health care provider complete the disability statement.
- Take or send it to your county tax assessor-collector’s office with any fee that applies. TxDMV’s page does not list the amounts, so check with your county office.
Renewing
- Red placard: if your disability lasts longer than six months, apply for a new one.
- Blue placard: complete page 1 of a new VTR-214 (no new doctor’s statement needed) and submit it with a copy of your original application or your expiring placard.
Using a placard in a teen or learner car
The placard belongs to the person with the disability, not the car. It is valid only when that person is driving or being driven. So:
- A teen driver with their own placard can hang it in any family car they drive, including on practice drives with a parent.
- A parent with a placard can use it when they are in the car as the supervising passenger.
- A teen cannot use a parent’s placard to park in a disabled space when the parent is not in the car. That breaks state law, with fines up to $1,250, up to 50 hours of community service, or both. The DL-7 handbook puts a first offense at $500 to $750.
What the placard lets you do
- Park in spaces designated for people with disabilities.
- Keep clear of the striped area beside a space and of curb ramps, even with a placard, because wheelchair lifts need that room.
- Use the statutory fee exemption at local and state government parking meters, subject to the municipal-airport exception. Federal parking fees are not covered. Posted time limits still apply unless a local ordinance extends the privilege; a placard does not permit parking where or when parking is prohibited.
General parking rules for new drivers are in US parking rules for new drivers, and the full licensing process is in Learning to drive in Texas. Compare other states in Disabled parking placards for new drivers: every state, California, Florida and New York.
Back to the hub: Driving with a medical condition or disability in the US.
Sources
- Texas Department of Public Safety, “Texas Driver Handbook” (DL-7, revised January 2026), chapter 7, Disabled Parking (dps.texas.gov)
- Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, “Disabled Parking Placards and Plates” (txdmv.gov)
- Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, form VTR-214, “Application for Persons with Disabilities Parking Placard and/or License Plate” (txdmv.gov)
- Texas Legislature, Transportation Code section 681.006(b) to (e), parking privileges and exceptions (tcss.legis.texas.gov)