Apply for or renew a Blue Badge

A Blue Badge means that you can park closer to your destination to help access goods and services and in more places for a longer period of time. In some cases, parking is free.

When using a Blue Badge, make sure that it is clearly displayed on your dashboard. If you are using it in a location with a maximum stay, you will need to display and set your clock to the time you left your vehicle.

Eligibility

The scheme is open to both drivers and passengers with severe mobility problems caused by visible and non-visible disabilities. To be eligible for a Blue Badge you need to meet a number of criteria set out by the government.

Find out who is eligible for a Blue Badge.

In order to assess eligibility for a badge, you may be asked to attend a health clinic for a mobility assessment.

Apply for or renew a Blue Badge

Applying for a Blue Badge is free, but if your application is successful you will need to pay £10 to cover the cost of the badge itself.

Each Blue Badge is valid for up to 3 years, and the application process takes between 6 and 12 weeks. We will contact you about our decision. Please wait 12 weeks before contacting us to check the progress of your application, as this can cause delays.

You can apply to renew your Blue Badge up to 12 weeks before the expiry date of your current Blue Badge.

Help and assistance 

If you have questions about completing your application, please call our Parking Services team on 01225 477133.

We do not provide paper application forms; if you need assistance applying online, visit your local council office where we will be happy to help. Make an appointment first by calling 01225 394041. Find information on our offices on our Contact Us pages. 

Please bring the following information and documents to your appointment:

• Blue Badge reference number if you already have one and are reapplying
• Name (current and any previous name/s)
• Proof of identity: valid passport, valid driving licence or birth certificate, marriage certificate or divorce certificate
• Date of birth
• Telephone number – mobile and landline where held
• Email (not essential)
• National Insurance number
• Medical conditions (with supporting evidence where held)
• Doctor or specialist name – with contact details including address and telephone number
• All medication – including dosage, frequency taken and prescription if possible
• Name and evidence of any qualifying benefit: PIP, DLA or registered blind
• entitlement. (PIP/DLA entitlement notice must be dated within the last 12 months. If applying under PIP we require a copy of the points breakdown)
• Recent passport-style photograph – head and shoulders with a neutral background. We can take a photo for you at our local office if needed

 

We can also offer assistance over the telephone. Call 01225 477133 to arrange an appointment. You will need to send other information and evidence by email to Blue_Badge@bathnes.gov.uk or by post to Parking Services, Bath & North East Somerset Council, PO Box 5197, Bath BA1 0UF.

For data protection reasons, we can only discuss an application with the applicant, unless they give us verbal or written permission, or if someone has Lasting Power of Attorney for health and welfare to act on their behalf. Please email or post a full copy (all pages) of the Lasting Power of Attorney document for health and welfare to the addresses above. We are unable to accept Lasting Power of Attorney documents for property and financial matters.

How to use a Blue Badge

A Blue Badge is only for the use and benefit of the Blue Badge holder. It must only be displayed if the Blue Badge holder is travelling in the vehicle as a driver or passenger, or if someone is collecting them or dropping them off and needs to park at the place where the Blue Badge holder is being collected or dropped.

When the badge is used, it must be clearly displayed on the dashboard of the vehicle, with the front (showing the wheelchair user symbol) facing outwards, so that the expiry date, serial number and issuing authority are easily visible through the windscreen. Where there is a maximum stay limit, you must also display your clock, set at the time that you left your vehicle.

Other people are not allowed to use the badge to do something on behalf of the Blue Badge holder such as shopping or collecting something for them.

Blue Badge holders must

• never give the badge to friends or family to allow them to park for free, even if they are visiting you
• not use the badge to allow non-disabled people to take advantage of the benefits whilst you sit in the car

It’s a criminal offence to misuse a badge. This includes people other than the badge holder taking advantage of the parking concessions provided under the scheme.

Bath & North East Somerset Council badge holders can use their badge for four weeks after expiry within the Bath & North East Somerset Council area only. This grace period applies to on-street parking and parking in council-operated car parks (charges may still apply). Please note this does not apply to private parking locations.

Where you can use a Blue Badge

You can use your Blue Badge to park for free in the following parking locations:

Free parking with no time limit

For free parking with no time limit, you'll need to find one of the following parking locations:

• On-street parking in Pay and Display zones (time is restricted for non Blue Badge holders)
• Resident parking zones
• Advisory disabled persons parking bays
• Disabled persons bays located at the Charlotte Street car park outer entrance area only (charges apply in the main Charlotte Street car park area).
• Bath Park & Ride car parks (with bus use only)

Free parking with time limit

If you have a Blue Badge, you can park for free on single and double yellow lines where no loading ban applies for a maximum of 3 hours (no return for 1 hour).

On-street parking areas where all motorists can park for free but only for a limited time

Badge holders may park for free and generally without time limit. However, if signs show there is also a time limit for badge holders, you must comply with the time limit shown and display your parking clock set to show the quarter hour period when you arrived at the bay.

Locations where parking charges apply

• All Bath city car parks
• Bath Park & Ride sites if you don't use the bus

Blue Badge holders and resident parking zones (RPZ)

We will provide Blue Badge holders living within a RPZ with a free 12 month resident parking permit for their own vehicle.

This is only valid for the zone within which they live to allow them to leave their own vehicle parked at home in a resident parking bay or dual use bay whilst they travel in a different vehicle with their Blue Badge.

Badge holders can contact Parking Services on 01225 477133 to request a free permit. Please note that if the Blue Badge holder has a change in vehicle, the permit will need to be updated or replaced depending on the emissions of the replacement vehicle. Contact Parking Services by email at blue_badge@bathnes.gov.uk or call 01225 477133. A £10 administration charge is payable for any change.

If you have an existing resident parking permit and are/become a Blue Badge holder and request a free permit, we are unable to provide a refund for the permit already purchased.

WarningPrivately-run car parks will have their own policies on Blue Badge parking. You will need to check signage for specific parking conditions before you leave your car in a private car park. Please do not assume you can park for free, even with a Blue Badge.

If your Blue Badge gets lost or stolen

If your Blue Badge gets lost or stolen, please email us at Blue_Badge@bathnes.gov.uk or write to Parking Services, Bath & North East Somerset Council, PO Box 5197, Bath, BA1 0UF.

Please note that there is a charge of £10 to replace your Blue Badge, whatever the reason.

If your Blue Badge was stolen

In the case of a stolen badge, please take the following action:

• report the theft to the police who will give you a crime reference number
• tell us your crime reference number and describe how you think your badge was stolen.

Return a Blue Badge

You must return your Blue Badge to us if:

• the badge has expired
• your medical condition or mobility improves and you are no longer eligible
• a replacement badge has been issued
• your Blue Badge was lost or stolen and replaced, and the original is recovered
• the badge has become illegible
• the badge is no longer required
• the badge holder has passed away

How to return a Blue Badge

Please return the Blue Badge to any of our offices or Information and Advice Services, or post it back to us at: Parking Services, Bath & North East Somerset Council, PO Box 5197, Bath BA1 0UF.

Please include a brief summary of your reason for returning the badge when doing so.

If you change your name or address

You must let us know if your address changes. Please email Blue_Badge@bathnes.gov.uk with your current badge number and evidence of your new address, dated within the last 12 months. Examples of acceptable documentation include:

• a valid driving licence
• a council tax bill
• a doctor's or hospital letter
• a letter or tenancy agreement confirming you are a long-term tenant at the address

There is no need to change your badge if your name changes. Should you wish to change the name on your badge, and therefore require a replacement, a charge of £10 will apply.

To update the name on your Blue Badge, please email Blue_Badge@bathnes.gov.uk with your current badge number, attaching a copy of the document(s) confirming the change - for example, a copy of your marriage certificate, divorce certificate, or Deed Poll. Alternatively, you can post these to Parking Services, Bath & North East Somerset Council, PO Box 5197, Bath BA1 0UF.

Blue Badges for organisations

An organisation may be eligible for a Blue Badge if they:

• care for, or assist, people who need a Blue Badge; and
• transport people who need a Blue Badge

We will decide whether the organisation has a clear need for an organisational badge, rather than using the individual badges of the people it is transporting.

An organisational badge must only be displayed when someone who would be eligible for a Blue Badge in their own right is being transported.

It is unlikely that taxi or private hire operators and community transport operators would be eligible for an organisational Blue Badge as they are not usually concerned with the care of disabled people.

Click here to apply as an organisation

Appeal an unsuccessful application

WarningWe apply the statutory guidelines to the material you supply when you apply for a Blue Badge. Staff involved in the original decision, the 'first stage review' and the appeal process all follow this process to ensure the decision-making process is consistent and fair for all applicants.

If you feel that not all of your information was taken into account when you applied, we can review your application.

Write a letter to the Parking Services Team, asking for a 'first stage review' of the decision, which must be received within 28 days of the date of your refusal letter. 

In your letter, you must clearly state why you are disputing the decision and include any new supporting medical evidence or outstanding documentation. 

Send your letter to: Parking Services, Bath & North East Somerset Council, P.O. Box 5197, Bath BA1 0UF

Discrepancy in material supplied

If there is any discrepancy in material supplied or apparently supplied, we will contact you in writing, by phone or by email (as long as there's a reasonable possibility of resolving the discrepancy). 

First stage review 

Your application will be reviewed by a Review Officer who may also consult the Blue Badge Processing Officer for further information, but their decision will be independent. 

They will recheck your entitlement by considering the material supplied with your application against the current criteria, and they will also consider any further information you may have provided in your request for a review. 

You should receive a decision in writing within 10 working days wherever possible. 

Review by Head of Service 

If your application is refused at the initial application and at the 'first stage review', you can appeal to the Head of Service in writing, whose decision will be final.

The Head of Service will only consider the review if it seems that the information provided could be interpreted differently, or if sufficient new medical evidence is received to support the appeal. 

If you are still unsuccessful, you can apply again from 6 months after the date of the final decision, or immediately if you suddenly become eligible through one of the automatic qualifying criteria (provided the relevant proofs are supplied).

Send your letter to: Parking Services, Bath & North East Somerset Council, P.O. Box 5197, Bath BA1 0UF

Beware of Blue Badge Scams

We are aware of websites which claim to help people with their application for a Blue Badge and charge for this service. These websites are not affiliated with any organisation or the council. You do not need to use such services to apply for a Blue Badge. Please avoid their use and do not put your personal data or money at risk.

Report a case of Blue Badge misuse

We take the misuse of Blue Badges seriously. If you suspect that a Blue Badge is being illegally misused, please contact us at Blue_Badge@bathnes.gov.uk or call 01225 477133.