The Placard Is Free and Runs Eight Years — but the Self-Certification Door Is Very Narrow
There is no charge for a disability parking placard, and a long-term placard is valid up to eight years. Disability tags cost $10. Self-certification at a service centre is possible in exactly two situations — an obvious missing lower extremity, or use of a motorised wheelchair — and in every other case a medical practitioner must complete the form, which must then reach the Department within 60 calendar days of their signature.
Verified August 23, 2026
What this benefit is
There is no charge for a disability parking placard, and a long-term placard is valid up to eight years. Disability tags cost $10. Self-certification at a service centre is possible in exactly two situations — an obvious missing lower extremity, or use of a motorised wheelchair — and in every other case a medical practitioner must complete the form, which must then reach the Department within 60 calendar days of their signature.
What it's worth: Placard free; disability tags $10; long-term placard valid up to eight years
- The $10 figure is the tag fee stated on the Department's own application form, payable by cheque or money order. The placard itself carries no charge at all.
- The application form allows a request for tags, a placard, or both on the same sheet.
Who is entitled to it
- You served, so it is worth knowing what the Department will and will not take as proof.
- Your home is in the District.
Not sure whether that describes you?
Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.
How to claim it
- 1Check whether you are in the self-certification lane before booking a clinician. The form allows self-certification in person at a service centre only where the applicant is missing a lower extremity or is unable to walk without the aid of a motorised wheelchair.
- 2A VA rating, however high, is not on the form anywhere. Everyone outside that narrow lane needs a medical practitioner to answer the form's questions: mobility impairment or limitation, limitation in moving without aids, respiratory or other disease limiting mobility, and whether the impairment is temporary or long-term.
- 3Watch the 60-day clock, because it is the commonest reason an application is rejected. The form must be postmarked, hand-delivered or emailed within 60 calendar days of the practitioner completing their section.
- 4Route it correctly. For placards, the form is submitted online or by fax; for tags, it goes by post with the $10 payable to the DC Treasurer; for self-certification, in person at a service centre with the payment if tags are wanted.
- 5Renewing is a fresh application. A long-term placard runs up to eight years and renewal means a new form with a new practitioner certification, so start it before it lapses.
- 6Remember whose permit it is. The form makes the placard non-transferable and allows a designated driver to display it only when the disabled person is a passenger.
- Form
- Application for Disability Parking Tags & Placard
- File with
- Department of Motor Vehicles — online or by fax for placards, by post for tags
- Periodic recertification
- Confirmed at intervals rather than annually.
Sources
- authority · formDC DMV — Application for Disability Parking Tags & Placard, version 05.31.24: the self-certification limits, the practitioner questions, the 60-calendar-day submission window, the no-fee placard and the $10 tag fee, and the non-transferability and designated-driver conditions
- operating · published policyDC DMV — Disability Parking Placards/Permits: the service page confirming there is no charge for a disability placard or permit, that a long-term placard is valid up to eight years, and that an online application cannot be self-certified
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.