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Blue Badge Application Form - Guidance Notes

  • Jim Allison BSc, Inst LE, MBIM; MA (Consumer Protection & Social Welfare Law)
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9 years 10 months ago - 9 years 10 months ago #121157 by Jim Allison BSc, Inst LE, MBIM; MA (Consumer Protection & Social Welfare Law)
Blue Badge Application Form - Guidance Notes was created by Jim Allison BSc, Inst LE, MBIM; MA (Consumer Protection & Social Welfare Law)
Blue Badge Application Form - Guidance Notes


Personal details

You will be asked for some personal details to help your local authority deal quickly with your application. It will also help to prevent fraud. This will include:

your National Insurance Number
your driving licence number if you have a driving licence
your surname at birth or your surname on an Adoption Certificate
details of the town and country where you were born
Your surname, town and country of birth should be those noted on your birth certificate or on your adoption certificate.

You will also need to provide a passport style photograph as this will appear on the back of the badge. Your photograph will not be on display when the badge is used in the vehicle. The photograph can be submitted with your on-line application if you have a digital photograph that can be uploaded. Alternatively, you can send a signed photograph to your local authority. The photograph must be the same standard as those supplied for use on passports and your name should be shown clearly on the back.

See the section on Digital photos and logos below.

Badge details

If you already have a Blue Badge, you will be asked to supply the badge number, expiry date and the name of the issuing local authority. These can all be found on the front of the badge.

You can apply for a new badge some months in advance of the expiry date of the current badge. The start date of the new badge, however, will not be until after the current badge has expired as you cannot have more than one valid badge at any one time.

Vehicle details

You will be asked to provide the Vehicle Registration Numbers of the three vehicles in which you are most likely to use a Blue Badge. This information helps local authorities with their enforcement of the Blue Badge scheme but please note that you can use a Blue Badge in other vehicles too.


Proofs of address and identity

Identity:

Within the application form, your local authority will let you know what you need to provide in relation to proof of identity.

You may be asked to send them a photocopy or a certified photocopy of one of the following with your application: your birth/adoption certificate, marriage/divorce certificate, civil partnership/dissolution certificate, valid driving licence or passport.

A certified copy is a photocopy of a document that has been verified as being true by a person who holds a certain position of responsibility.

The individual certifying the documents should include the text: "This copy is a true likeness of the original" alongside their signature. They should also print their name and occupation alongside this information.

If your application is successful, you may be asked to show one of these documents when you collect the badge from your local authority, although many local authorities now send out Blue Badges by post to the applicant's home address.

Address:

At the end of the application form, your local authority will let you know what you need to in relation to proof of address.

You may be asked to send in a Council Tax bill or other document bearing your name and address. Depending on your authority this may be an original document, a photocopy or a certified photocopy. Originals will be returned at the end of the application process.

You will not need to submit this document if you have ticked the appropriate box in Proofs of Address and Identity Section, which gives your consent for the local authority to check your address on their Council Tax records or electoral register. Your local authority, however, may not allow these last two options as it will depend on their local systems.

If you are completing the application form on behalf of someone under the age of 16, you should give your consent for the local authority to check school records to confirm the applicant's residency.

Any original documents sent in as proof of entitlement will be returned to the applicant as quickly as possible, once they are no longer needed by the issuing authority.


Registered as blind (Severely Sight Impaired)

If you are registered as severely sight impaired (blind), you will be asked to state the name of the local authority or borough with which you are registered. In many cases, you will be registered with the same authority to which the application for a badge is being made. If this is not the case, local authorities will check with the named authority that you are registered as severely sight impaired.

The formal notification required to register as severely sight impaired (blind) is a Certificate of Vision Impairment (CVI), signed by a Consultant Ophthalmologist, which states that you are severely sight impaired (blind). However, registration is voluntary.


In receipt of the Higher Rate of the Mobility Component of the Disability Living Allowance


Please complete this section if you receive the Higher Rate of the Mobility Component of the Disability Living Allowance (HRMCDLA). You will have had an award notice letter from the Pension, Disability and Carers Service (PDCS). You will also have been sent an annual uprating letter stating your entitlement. This uprating letter can be used as proof of receipt of HRMCDLA if your award letter is more than 12 months old. If you have lost your HRMCDLA award letter or your uprating letter, then please contact the PDCS for a current award letter by:

Telephone: 08457 123 456
Textphone: 08457 22 44 33
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This helpline is open from 7.30am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday, and further details can be found online at: www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/Fina...llowance/DG_10011925

Any original documents sent in as proof of entitlement will be returned to the applicant as quickly as possible, once they are no longer needed by the issuing authority.

In receipt of Mobility Component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

Meets a 'Moving Around' descriptor for the Mobility Component of Personal Independence Payment

Section 2c

Please complete this section if you receive Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and your decision letter states that you meet one of the following 'Moving Around' descriptors within the Mobility Component:

You can stand and then move unaided more than 20 metres but no more than 50 metres. [This gives you a score of 8, the lowest score for automatic right to a Blue Badge)

You can stand and then move using an aid or appliance more than 20 metres but no more than 50 metres. [This gives you a score of 10.]
You can stand and then move more than 1 metre but no more than 20 metres either aided or unaided. [This gives you a score of 12.]
You cannot, either aided or unaided, stand or move more than 1 metre. [This gives you a score of 12.]
Your decision letter, or your annual uprating letter if your decision letter is more than twelve months old, can be used as proof of receipt of the relevant PIP award. If you have lost your PIP decision letter, then please contact DWP for a PIP decision letter by:

Telephone: 08458 503 322
Textphone: 08456 016 677
This helpline is open from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, and further details can be found online at www.gov.uk/pip


Meets the 'Planning and Following Journeys' descriptor for the Mobility Component of Personal Independence Payment (Scotland and Wales only)

Section 2d

Please complete this section if you receive Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and your decision letter states that you meet one of the following 'Planning and Following Journeys' descriptors within the Mobility Component:

You cannot follow the route of a familiar journey without another person, [an] assistance dog or [an] orientation aid. [This gives you a score of 12.]
Your decision letter, or your annual uprating letter if your decision letter is more than twelve months old, can be used as proof of receipt of the relevant PIP award. If you have lost your PIP decision letter, then please contact DWP for a PIP decision letter by:

Telephone: 08458 503 322
Textphone: 08456 016 677
This helpline is open from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, and further details can be found online at www.gov.uk/pip


In receipt of a War Pensioner's Mobility Supplement

Please complete this section if you receive a War Pensioner's Mobility Supplement (WPMS). You should have an official letter from the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency demonstrating receipt of the grant. You must enclose the original, a photocopy or certified photocopy of this letter as proof of entitlement as requested.

If you have lost this letter, then the Agency can be contacted via the free-phone enquiry number: 0800 169 22 77.

Any original documents sent in as proof of entitlement will be returned to the applicant as quickly as possible, once they are no longer needed by the issuing authority.


In receipt of a tariff within 1-8 (inclusive) of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme

Please complete this section if you receive a lump sum benefit under the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation) Scheme within tariff levels 1-8 (inclusive) and have been assessed and certified by the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency as having a permanent and substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking. You will have been issued with a letter from the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency confirming the level of your award and also confirming that you have been assessed as having a permanent and substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking. You must enclose the original, a photocopy or certified photocopy of this letter as proof of entitlement as requested.

If you have lost this letter, then the Agency can be contacted via the free-phone enquiry number: 0800 169 22 77.

Any original documents sent in as proof of entitlement will be returned to the applicant as quickly as possible, once they are no longer needed by the issuing authority.


Applicants with walking difficulties

Please complete this section if you have a permanent and substantial disability which means you cannot walk or which means that you have very considerable difficulty walking. A permanent disability is one that is likely to last for the duration of your life. Medical conditions such as asthma, autism psychological / behavioural problems, Crohn's disease / incontinent conditions and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.) are not in themselves a qualification for a badge. People with these conditions may be eligible under this criterion, but only if they are unable to walk or have very considerable difficulty in walking, in addition to their condition.

Applicants are asked to describe the nature of their disability and give an estimate of the maximum distance they can walk without assistance or severe discomfort. It can be difficult to accurately work out the distance you can walk. There are several things that can help you:

Ask someone to walk with you and pace the distance you walk.
The average adult step is just under 1 metre. For example, if the person walking with you took 100 steps, you would have walked about 90 metres (or 100 yards).
The average double-decker bus is about 11 metres (or 12 yards) long.
A tennis court is about 24 metres (or 26 yards) long.
A full-size football pitch is about 100 metres (or 110 yards) long.
If you still find it difficult to work out the distance you can walk in metres, please note:

The number of steps you can take, and how long, in minutes, it would take you to walk this distance.

About your walking speed.
The way that you walk, for example, shuffling or small steps etc.
Your local authority may ask you to have a mobility assessment with a medical professional, such as a physiotherapist or occupational therapist, in order to determine whether you meet the eligibility criteria. You may have had a mobility assessment in the last 12 months which covered your walking ability and you can give details of this in the relevant section of the form (any further information - see below for more detail).


Applicants with disability in both arms

Please complete this section if you have a severe disability in both arms. You will need to show that you drive a vehicle regularly, that you have a severe disability in both arms and that you are unable to operate, or have considerable difficulty operating, all or some types of on-street parking equipment. You will need to satisfy all three conditions above in order to obtain a badge. Local authorities may make arrangements to meet applicants applying under this criterion.


Applicants under the age of three

Please complete this section on behalf of:

children under three years of age who have a medical condition which means that they must always be accompanied by bulky medical equipment which cannot be carried around with the child without great difficulty; or
children under three years of age who have a medical condition which means that they need to be kept near a vehicle at all times, either for treatment, or for transportation to a location where treatment can be performed.
A parent or guardian must apply on behalf of a child under the age of three.

The list of bulky medical equipment referred to above may include:

ventilators
suction machines
feed pumps
parenteral equipment
syringe drivers
oxygen administration equipment
continuous oxygen saturation monitoring equipment
casts and associated medical equipment for the correction of hip dysplasia
A local authority may issue a badge if the equipment is always needed and cannot be carried without great difficulty.

Examples of highly unstable medical conditions that mean children who have them may need quick access to transport to hospital or home are:

tracheostomies
severe epilepsy/fitting
highly unstable diabetes
terminal illnesses that prevent children from spending any more than brief moments outside and who need a quick route home
Please note that the above lists are not exhaustive to allow for new advances in technology and treatment equipment.


Applications from Organisations

An organisational badge may be issued to organisations whose responsibility includes the care and transportation of disabled people who would themselves meet the eligibility criteria for a badge should they apply individually. Eligible disabled persons are defined as a person who is over two years old and:

receives the Higher Rate of the Mobility Component of the Disability Living Allowance; or
is registered blind (severely sight impaired); or
receives a War Pensioner's Mobility Supplement; or
receives a lump sum benefit under the Armed Forces and Reserved Forces (Compensation) Scheme within tariff levels 1-8 (inclusive) and has been assessed and certified as having a permanent and substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking; or
drives a vehicle regularly, has a severe disability in both arms and is unable to operate, or has considerable difficulty in operating, all or some types of parking meter; or
has a permanent and substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking.
In addition, eligibility covers children under the age of three who fall within either or both of the following descriptions:

a child who, on account of a condition, must always be accompanied by bulky medical equipment which cannot be carried around with the child without great difficulty;
a child who, on account of a condition, must always be kept near a motor vehicle so that, if necessary, treatment for that condition can be given in the vehicle or the child can be taken quickly in the vehicle to a place where such treatment can be given.
Organisational Badges will therefore only be issued to an organisation which both:

Cares for and transports disabled people who would meet one or more of the eligibility criteria for a individual Blue Badge; and
Has a clear need for an organisational badge rather than using the personal Blue Badges of people it is transporting.
In all circumstances, badges will be supplied to organisations or departments (e.g. Social Service Department) rather than to individual staff members.

All employees of the organisation who will be using the badge should be reminded that they must only use the badge for the purposes of transporting disabled people in their care who meet one or more of the eligibility criteria for a badge. These employees should be reminded that if they use the badge to take advantage of the concessions when there are no passengers in the vehicle who are eligible for a badge they will face a fine of up to £1,000.

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 who would meet one or more of the eligibility criteria for a badge. Such operators are, of course, able to use an individual's Blue Badge when carrying that person as a passenger.


Further information and declarations

Depending on your eligibility category, you will be able to enter any further relevant information that has not already been covered elsewhere in the application form.

Mandatory declarations must be completed by all applicants, since they underpin the terms of applying for a Blue Badge. Please take the time to read and understand these declarations, since not ticking those that are relevant to your applicant may result in your local authority being unable to accept your Blue Badge application.

You may wish to tick the optional declarations in order to speed up your application and improve the service you receive from your local authority. In doing so, you will be providing specific consent to your authority to allow them to share information about you with relevant departments and service providers within the authority.

Payment

Your local authority will only issue successful applicants with a Blue Badge once payment of the required fee (if any) has been received. You will be informed at the end of the application what fee is payable in your local authority area.


Digital photos and logos

Photos

The Blue Badge will include a digital photograph which will form part of the badge design. The digital photograph will also be stored on the national database for identification and enforcement purposes.

This means that, aside from a few specific circumstances, each application for an individual badge will need to be accompanied with a digital photograph of the badge holder.

If you wish to attach a digital photograph to your application the information below sets out some guidelines.

Photographs used for Blue Badges are expected to be in accordance with passport standards. Further details of these requirements can be found here:-

www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/...nformation/DG_174152

In order to ensure consistency of approach, there are some additional criteria that will apply to digital photographs uploaded onto BBIS. These are as follows;

Photographs should be in colour
The permitted image types for the photograph are .JPG or .GIF
The maximum size of the image is 200kb.
The dimensions of the photograph on the badge will be 274 pixels (wide) x 354 pixels (high) @ 200dpi (depth of pixels per inch)

This equates to 1.37 inches (wide) by 1.77 inches (high) or 35mm (wide) by 45mm (high)
Photos can be attached as above or differently provided the alternative retains the same 'aspect ratio'. The aspect ratio is the relationship between the height and width rather than the actual values. Therefore, instead of ensuring that each picture is 274 x 354, the photo would need to have a height that is 1.29 times the width (plus or minus a couple of pixels).

For example, we could accept an image which is 500 x 645 (so long as the file size is below the maximum allowed) .

This means that when the photograph is scaled to the required dimensions on the badge itself, the photo isn't stretched as the height and width are increased / decreased by the same amount to fit.

A tolerance of + / - 0.15 is acceptable for the 'aspect ratio'

This means that the height divided by the width must result in a value of between 1.14 to 1.44

This could lead to a slight distortion on the displayed photo but this will be not be significant.

The above criteria will produce high quality images that will show up well on the badge. It is also important that there is a plain background (in accordance with passport regulations - see above) in order that the supplementary photo image is rendered correctly.

The necessary digital image could be produced from a number of sources;

From a digital photograph taken on digital camera
From a physical photograph that can be scanned onto your computer using a scanner
Organisation logos

You will be asked to supply the company logo of your organisation if you are applying for an organisational badge. The criteria for these are largely the same as those for photo on individual's badges.

Images can be in colour or black + white (in accordance with the company logo)
The permitted image format is .JPG or .GIF
The maximum size of the image is 200kb.
The dimensions of the logo/image on the badge will be 274 pixels (wide) x 354 pixels (high) @ 200dpi (depth of pixels per inch)
This equates to 1.37 inches (wide) by 1.77 inches (high) or 35mm (wide) by 45mm (high)
The same rules regarding aspect ratios apply as for photos.
Uploading Proofs

Your local authority may allow the upload proofs of address, identity and entitlement where these are available as digital images.

The permitted proof document image formats are: PDF, PNG, GIF, JPG and JPEG and the size must not exceed 50 kbytes. In order to reduce the size of documents, black and white images should be used. Multi-page documents must be contained in a single file, e.g. if two pages of a letter are required they must be in a single file, not two separate files.

PLEASE READ THE SPOTLIGHTS AREA OF THE FORUM REGULARLY, OTHERWISE YOU MAY MISS OUT ON IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Last edit: 9 years 10 months ago by Jim Allison BSc, Inst LE, MBIM; MA (Consumer Protection & Social Welfare Law). Reason: Added information.
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