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The Parking Placard Turns on Walking, Not on a Rating — But It Costs Nothing, and Meters Are Free

A disability plate or placard is issued on a medical certificate that the applicant’s ability to walk is impaired in one of seven listed ways. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles charges no additional fee for either. A vehicle displaying a placard or a disability plate parks free at a meter and for twice the posted time limit. A veteran certified 100% disabled may be issued the placard at no fee alongside the disabled-veteran registration.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

A disability plate or placard is issued on a medical certificate that the applicant’s ability to walk is impaired in one of seven listed ways. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles charges no additional fee for either. A vehicle displaying a placard or a disability plate parks free at a meter and for twice the posted time limit. A veteran certified 100% disabled may be issued the placard at no fee alongside the disabled-veteran registration.

What it's worth: No additional fee for the plate or placard; free metered parking and twice the posted time limit

  • The meter privilege is stated by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles on its own page as applying to a permanent placard, a temporary placard or a disability registration plate.
  • The record is listed for everyone because the statutory test is medical, not military. It is here so that a rated veteran does not assume the rating is the ticket.

Who is entitled to it

  • You live in this state.

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.

From what you have told us so far, you appear to qualify.

How to claim it

  1. 1Check yourself against the seven tests in §521(1) before booking the appointment: cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest; cannot walk without another person or a brace, cane, crutch, prosthetic device, wheelchair or other assistive device; forced expiratory volume in one second under one litre or arterial oxygen tension under 60 mm/Hg on room air at rest; uses portable oxygen; a cardiac condition classed 3 or 4 on the American Heart Association scale; severely limited walking from an arthritic, neurological or orthopedic condition; or recovering from childbirth.
  2. 2Get the certificate signed by a licensed physician, physician associate, nurse practitioner or registered nurse — §521(5)(A) accepts all four, which matters if the wait for a physician appointment is long.
  3. 3Ask the certifier to mark the disability permanent if it is. A permanent designation means you are not sent back for proof at renewal; a duration designation cannot exceed six years and the credential expires when it does.
  4. 4Pay nothing. The Bureau states on its own disability plates and placards page that no additional fees are required for disability plates or placards.
  5. 5If you are a veteran certified permanently disabled and receiving 100% service-connected benefits, ask for the placard when you take the disabled-veteran registration — 29-A M.R.S. §523(2) says a disability placard may be issued at no fee on request.
  6. 6Use the meter privilege, which is the part most people never claim: a vehicle displaying a permanent placard, a temporary placard or a disability registration plate may park at a meter without charge, and for twice the time otherwise allowed.
  7. 7Expect a short contact-details form every few years even for a permanent condition. The Bureau asks for the top portion of the PS-18 only, and says there is no need to go back to the medical provider for that update.
  8. 8Hang the placard only when parked. The statutory definition is a removable windshield placard, and the Bureau treats driving with it hanging as a view obstruction.
Form
PS-18, Application for Disability Plates/Placard
File with
Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Secretary of State
Documents you will need
va benefit summary letter
Periodic
Re-confirmed from time to time.
CorrectionA service-connected rating is not a parking placard. §521 does not mention veterans, disability rating or the federal veterans department anywhere — the test is a clinician’s certificate about walking. A veteran rated 100% for a condition that does not impair walking is outside it, and a veteran rated 30% who cannot walk 200 feet is inside it.
Worth knowingThe no-fee language in §523(2) waives the fee, not the certificate. Nothing in either section says the 100% certification replaces the clinician’s attestation, so bring both.
Worth knowingA spouse, parent or legal guardian can hold the disability PLATE under §521(2)(B) when the person with the disability lives in their household and depends on that vehicle. That paragraph covers plates; the placard paragraph is written for the person with the disability and for organisations that transport them.

Sources

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.