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The Parking Plate Needs Two Proofs — the VA Letter Is Only Half

The Disabled Veteran Handicapped plate turns on a 50%-or-more service-connected rating AND a separate written verification of physical impairment from a clinician. The first set is exempt from fees. One set only, and a VA physician may sign the impairment letter.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

What it's worth: First set exempt from fees, and the right to park in disability spaces

The division states the plate is for any person who can demonstrate being 50% or more service-connected disabled AND a physical impairment verified in writing by a licensed physician, commissioned medical officer, advanced practice nurse, physician assistant or podiatrist, licensed in this state or in a bordering state.
The required submissions are a qualification letter or benefits summary from the federal veterans department; a letter from that department or from the branch of service stating the person is 50% or more service-connected disabled; a copy of the verified written physical impairment letter; and a completed Persons with Disabilities Parking Privileges application (Form DR 2219).
The first set of plates is exempt from fees allowed by C.R.S. 42-3-213(1)(b)(II)(B). A second set includes issuance and material fees.
The number of plates allowed is one set only.
The division cites C.R.S. 42-3-104(5), 42-3-213, 42-3-204 and 42-3-304(3)(A) as the statutory basis.
The application goes to a county motor vehicle office.
Separately, the division states the Disabled Veteran Handicapped and Disabled Women Veteran plates permit qualified veterans to park in designated disability parking spaces.
The list of clinicians who may verify a disability for parking privileges expressly includes commissioned medical officers of the armed forces, the public health service and the federal veterans administration performing their lawful duties.
Placards are a separate route: three-year placards for permanent impairments and temporary placards for short-term disabilities, applied for online or on Form DR 2219 at a county office, with a turnaround the division gives as generally two weeks.
A distinct Remuneration-Exempt Disability Parking Placard exempts the holder from paying at parking meters, on a narrower test about fine motor control, reach and access to the meter itself.

Who is entitled to it

This record is about the person who served.
Your combined rating is at or above the level the plate keys on.
Your home is in this state.

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How to claim it

1Get the impairment letter as a separate document. The VA rating letter proves the disability is service connected; it does not verify the physical impairment the parking side turns on, and the division asks for both.
2Ask a federal veterans department physician to sign it if that is easier. The division names commissioned medical officers of that department among the clinicians who may verify a disability for parking privileges.
3File Form DR 2219 alongside the military plate application. Missing it is the most common reason a file is sent back.
4Expect one set and only one. Unlike the Fallen plates, this plate is capped at a single set, with fees on any second.
5Look at the remuneration-exempt placard separately if paying at a meter is the problem. It is a different instrument with a different test, and the parking plate does not include it.
6Consider the ordinary three-year placard as well if you are often a passenger. It moves between vehicles in a way a plate cannot.

Form: Persons with Disabilities Parking Privileges Application (DR 2219) plus Military License Plate Application (DR 2002)
File with: Your county motor vehicle office
Documents you will need: va benefit summary letter
Periodic recertification: Confirmed at intervals rather than annually.

CorrectionThe plain Disabled Veteran plate and the Disabled Veteran Handicapped plate are different plates with different files. The first is a fee waiver on a rating; the second adds a clinical impairment test and buys the parking. A veteran who holds the first and assumes it parks is mistaken.

Worth knowingA clinician licensed in a bordering state may sign the impairment verification. For a veteran living near a state line and treated across it, that removes a real obstacle.

Sources

authority · published policyDivision of Motor Vehicles — License Plates, Military (Disabled Veteran Handicapped)
operating · published policyDivision of Motor Vehicles — Parking Privileges for Persons with Disabilities

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