Disability Access Parking

Alabama no longer issues disability access license plates. Instead, disability access decals are issued that are placed in the upper left corner of qualifying license plates of individuals with long-term disabilities only. Disability access windshield placards continue to be issued to qualifying individuals with long-term or temporary disabilities.

The Application For Disability Access Parking Credentials is required to obtain disability access decals and placards. The application must be completed and signed by a qualified physician, certified registered nurse practitioner, or certified nurse midwife.

Disability access decals and long-term placards are issued for (a) persons with a disability which limits or impairs their ability to walk; (b) a parent, stepparent, or legal guardian of a person with disabilities; or (c) organizations that transport persons with a disability which limits or impairs their ability to walk (except that organizations are not eligible for placards).

The following criteria are used by a physician, certified registered nurse practitioner, or certified nurse midwife to determine a person’s eligibility for Disability Access Parking Privileges:

1. Cannot walk two hundred feet without stopping to rest
2. Cannot walk without the use of, or assistance from, a brace, cane, crutch, another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair, or other assistive device
3. Are 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
4. Use portable oxygen
5. Have 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
6. Are severely limited in their ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition.

Temporary Disability Access

A person with a temporary disability does not qualify for the issuance of any disability access parking decals. Only temporary placards are issued to people with a temporary disability that limits or impairs their ability to walk. An individual with a temporary disability may only obtain one temporary placard for a period not to exceed six months. A new application signed by a qualified physician, certified registered nurse practitioner, or certified nurse midwife will be required each time a temporary placard is issued for a new six-month period.

Long-Term & Permanent Disability Access

Disability access parking decals may only be issued to qualifying vehicles for individuals with long-term or permanent disabilities only. Additionally, a parent, stepparent, or legal guardian of a minor or an adult who is disabled (as defined above) may apply for a disability access
license decal and/or placard.

There is no fee to obtain a disability access decal or placard. To obtain a disability access parking license decal, the disabled person’s name must be included on the vehicle’s title and registration, or that person must be leasing the vehicle with an option to buy.

If a person with a long-term or permanent disability purchases any disability access parking decals, that person may also request one windshield placard. A person may purchase as many disability access decals as he/she has vehicles in his/her name, but if a person obtains any decals, that person may only request one placard. However, if a person chooses to obtain only placards, that person may request two placards.