Drivers With Disabilities

This fact sheet explains the requirements for obtaining Person with Disability/Severely Disabled Veteran and Temporary parking placards and the change to the law.

WHAT IT IS
The placard is issued for use in any vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of not more than 9,000 pounds which is being operated exclusively by or for the benefit of a person with disability and may only be used when those persons are actually being transported in the vehicle.

HOW IT WORKS
Any vehicle displaying the placard hung from the front windshield rearview mirror being operated by or for a person with disability qualifies to park in areas so designated as being reserved for persons with disability. The placard will not entitle these vehicles to be parked in areas where parking is prohibited. When the vehicle is used by or for the person with disability, the placard will allow vehicles to park for a period of 60 minutes in excess of the legal parking period permitted by local authorities except where local ordinances or police regulations provide for the accommodation of heavy traffic during morning, afternoon and evening hours. NOTE: Only one placard may be issued to a qualified applicant.

In order to obtain a placard, Form MV-145A must be completed by the person with disability, certified by a health care provider or by a police officer (police officers may only certify numbers (1) and (4) listed below) and returned to the Department. The applicant must have his/her signature notarized on the application. The age of the applicant is not a factor, nor is the applicant required to be a licensed driver or have a vehicle registered in his/her name. One of the following qualifications must be met:
(1) is blind;
(2) does not have full use of an arm or both arms;
(3) cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest.
(4) cannot walk without the use of, or assistance from a brace, cane, crutch,  another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair or other assistive device;
(5) 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;
(6) uses portable oxygen;
(7) 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 the standards set by the American Heart Association;
(8) is severely limited in his or her ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological or orthopedic condition; or,
(9) is a person in loco parentis of a person specified in paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7) or (8) above.
A health care provider is defined as a physician, chiropractor, podiatrist, physician’s assistant or a certified registered nurse practitioner licensed or certified in Pennsylvania or a contiguous state. Health Care providers may only certify disabilities within their scope of practice

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