If you have a permanent and significant disability a Blue Badge helps you to park closer to where you need to go either as a driver or passenger. A Blue Badge is not issued for temporary illnesses or conditions whilst awaiting surgery or treatment.
Am I eligible for a Blue Badge?
You will need to provide proof of automatic eligibility, such as:
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP) - you must receive 8 points or more under the 'Moving around' section
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA) - at the higher rate of the mobility component
- Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) award - at tariffs 1 to 8
- War Pensioner's Mobility Supplement
You also could:
- be registered blind (You will need to provide a copy of your Certificate of Vision Impairment (CVI))
- have a terminal illness (You will need to provide a copy of your DS1500)
We will need to assess your application if you apply due to a:
- medical condition that severely affects your ability to walk short distances
- medical condition that severely affects both arms
More advice on eligibility is provided by the Can I get a Blue Badge guide.
Due to the nature of non-visible (hidden) conditions we’ll assess your application by looking at your needs.
Having a certain condition or disability does not mean you will automatically get a Blue Badge.
Automatic eligibility
You will be automatically eligible if within your PIP mobility assessment, you scored 10 points in “Planning and following a journey”. Specifically, the 10 points which says:
“Cannot undertake any journey because it would cause overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant.”
If you did not score this you can still apply but will need to be assessed.
Assessed eligibility
We will need to assess your application if you apply due to a non-visible (hidden) condition, that causes you to severely struggle with journeys between a vehicle and your destination, and either:
- is a constant significant risk to yourself or others near vehicles, in traffic or car parks
- severely struggle 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/open spaces
If one or more of these statements are relevant to you you’ll need to provide evidence before you apply.
There are special rules in place for children under the age of 3 who:
- must always be accompanied by large medical equipment (such as feed pumps, ventilators, suction machines etc)
- need to be near a vehicle at all times so they can be treated or quickly taken to treatment (this is could be due to a highly unstable medical condition)
More advice on eligibility is provided by the Can I get a Blue Badge guide.
Some organisations may be eligible for a Blue Badge if they both care for and transport disabled people who would themselves meet one or more of the eligibility criteria for an individual Blue Badge and there is a clear need for an organisational badge rather than using the individual Blue Badges of the people who will be travelling.
You will need to provide evidence before you apply.
More advice on eligibility is provided by the Can I get a Blue Badge guide.
How to apply
When you apply you will be required to provide documents from our list of accepted proofs and photographs so we can check the information within your application form.
You can only apply for a Blue Badge online.
If you can't apply online at home, computers are available at any of our libraries or Solihull Connect walk in centres.
If you need any help with your application please call our Blue Badge team on 0121 704 6000 (Option 1).
How to pay for your Blue Badge
Once we have completed the necessary eligibility checks and processed your application, if approved we will contact you to provide you with the reference number to enable you to make payment. This can be done either:
- Online via our secure payment method by clicking the link below
- By calling the Blue Badge team on 0121 704 6000 (Option 1) and quoting your reference number.
You should only pay at this stage if you meet the automatic criteria listed above.
Other useful information
If your Blue Badge is lost or stolen call us on 0121 704 6000 (Option 1).
For stolen Blue Badges you will also need to contact West Midlands Police who will provide you with an incident number.
The cost of a replacement Blue Badge is £10.
Blue Badge misuse undermines the underlying benefits of the scheme. If you suspect someone of misusing a Blue Badge, you can report this to us confidentially either by emailing the following information to bluebadges@solihull.gov.uk or by calling the blue badge team on 0121 704 6000 (option 1).
When reporting suspected blue badge misuse please provide as much of the following information as possible to allow us to complete a full investigation:
- The blue badge reference number and expiry date
- Registration of the car in which the badge is being used
- The date, time and location of the suspected misuse
- As much information as possible about the person who is suspected of misusing the badge
Examples of badge misuse include:
- using a genuine badge where the registered user is not present
- using the badge of a deceased person
- using a lost or stolen badge
- using a fake or amended badge
It is a criminal offence for a badge holder or anyone else to misuse a blue badge, doing so could lead to a fine of up to £1,000 on conviction under section 117 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. When issued a blue badge remains the property of the issuing local authority and they can ask for a badge to be returned if it is being misused.
Guidance for Blue Badge Holders
The booklet that you received with your Blue Badge provides guidance on how you should use your badge. If you are being driven by someone else, they should be aware of this guidance too. Please remember:
- Do not allow other people to use the badge to do something on your behalf, such as shopping or collecting something for you.
- You must never give the badge to friends or family to allow them to park for free, even if they are visiting you.
- You should not use the badge to allow non-disabled people to take advantage of the benefits while you sit in the car.
- It is 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.
- Do not use the badge when it is has expired and is out of date.
If you would like to contact us you can do so by:
- Emailing: Bluebadges@solihull.gov.uk
- Telephone: 0121 704 6000 (option 1)
By post:
Blue Badge Team
Solihull Connect
Bluebell Centre
West Mall
Chelmsley Wood
B37 5TN