How to get a handicap parking permit in Tennessee (TN)

Tennessee handicapped parking sign with details of the penalty for offenders

Eligibility
How to obtain a permit
Fee
Validity / expiration of permits
Renewals
Lost, stolen, or damaged placards
Where to hang the placard

All disabled individuals are eligible for placards. A disabled person is defined as

• one who is disabled by paraplegia, amputation of leg, foot or both hands, or other condition, certified by a physician duly licensed to practice medicine, resulting in an equal degree of disability (specifying the particular condition) so as not to be able to get about without great difficulty, including impairments that, regardless of cause or manifestation, confine such person to a wheelchair or cause such person to be so ambulatory disabled that he or she cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest and includes, but is not limited to, those persons using braces or crutches, arthritics, spastics and those with pulmonary or cardiac ills who may be semi-ambulatory;
• the owner of a motor vehicle with vision of not more than 20/200 with correcting glasses; or
• the owner of a motor vehicle who is so ambulatory disabled that he or she cannot walk 200 feet  without stopping to rest and who is seeking treatment and/or healing solely by prayer through spiritual means in the practice of religion in accordance with the creeds or tenets of the First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts. Such condition shall be certified by a Christian Science practitioner listed in The Christian Science Journal as resulting in a degree of disability so that such person is not able to get about without great difficulty.

Permanent and temporary placards are issued by the Tennessee Department of Motor Vehicles and participating county clerks. Applicants must submit Form RV-F1310301, which is available online or at the local county clerk’s office, and submit it in person or by mail to the local county clerk’s office. Contact information for local county clerks can be found here.

Form RV-F1310301 must be ompleted by a medical doctor licensed to practice medicine, a physician’s assistant or nurse practitioner acting in conjunction with a written protocol developed jointly by a physician, or a Christian Science Practitioner listed in the Christian Science Journal.

Applicants who are permanently confined to a wheelchair receive free placards. Otherwise, each year holders of permanent placards must pay $21.50. Temporary placards are issued for a fee of $10.

Permanent placards are valid for 2 years from the date they are issued. Temporary placards are issued for the estimated duration of the disability, but not in excess of 6 months.

Holders of permanent and temporary placards must follow the same process they did for the initial placard, except those with permanent placards do not have to be recertified by a medical doctor.

Permanent placards cost $3 to renew; temporary placards cost $10 to renew.

To replace a lost or stolen placard, applicants must submit the same application form as initially completed for the placard along with an affidavit. Those looking to replace damaged placards must send them along with the application.

The placard must be hung from the rear view mirror when the vehicle is parked in a designated parking space. It must be duly removed when the vehicle is in motion.

Difficulty

Source URL

Tennessee Code Annotated Sections 55-21-101 through 55-21-108
Information about Disabled Plates and Placards from Department of Revenue
Reference material for the disabled person license plate/placard application

Things You’ll Need
	Applicable Fee: $21.50 for a permanent disabled placard and $10.00 for temporary disabled placard
	Computer with Internet Access: Favorable but not mandatory
	Physician Certificate: Physician to certify disability in the application form
	Mail Original Documents: Original application to be submitted in person or by mail