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The Disabled Placard Has No Veteran Route — and a DV Plate Will Not Park You

Disabled plates and placards here run on a six-limb medical test certified by a practitioner. There is no veteran shortcut and no rating that substitutes. Only a vehicle showing a disabled person’s plate or placard may use a space reserved for a disabled person — a disabled veteran plate is not one of those credentials. The paper placard is free; a durable one is $2.50.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

Disabled plates and placards here run on a six-limb medical test certified by a practitioner. There is no veteran shortcut and no rating that substitutes. Only a vehicle showing a disabled person’s plate or placard may use a space reserved for a disabled person — a disabled veteran plate is not one of those credentials. The paper placard is free; a durable one is $2.50.

What it's worth: No veteran route — medical certification only; paper placard free, durable $2.50

  • The qualifying conditions are: cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest; cannot walk without a brace, cane, crutch, another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair or other device; restricted by lung disease to a stated standard; uses portable oxygen; a cardiac condition to a stated standard; or severe limitation in walking from an arthritic, neurological or orthopedic condition.
  • The certification form must be completed by a licensed physician, physician assistant, physical therapist or nurse practitioner.
  • Permanent placards do not expire and need no re-certification; a temporary placard lasts up to six months and cannot be renewed, though a new one may be applied for with a fresh certification.
  • A person may hold as many disabled plates as they have vehicles, but only one placard — or two placards if they hold no disabled plates.
  • There is no fee for an initial or replacement paper placard; a durable placard is $2.50, limit two.
  • A vehicle displaying a disabled person’s plate or placard may park without charge for reasonable periods in metered zones and restricted parking areas, but not in zones marked for emergency use.

Who is entitled to it

  • The placard runs on medical certification, whoever you are.
  • Your home is in Utah.

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

  1. 1Do not wait for a veteran-specific form; there is not one. The route is the TC-842 certification signed by a licensed physician, physician assistant, physical therapist or nurse practitioner.
  2. 2Note who may sign. A physical therapist or nurse practitioner is enough, which is often faster than getting on a physician’s list.
  3. 3Choose plate or placard deliberately. Plates go on as many vehicles as you own; you get only one placard alongside them, or two if you take no plates at all.
  4. 4Take the paper placard unless you need the durable one — the paper version is free to issue and free to replace.
  5. 5If you hold a disabled veteran plate, apply for this as well. The reserved-space privilege is written to the disabled person’s plate or placard, and the veteran plate is not one of them.
Form
TC-842, Disabled Person and Physician Disability Certification
File with
Motor Vehicle Division — any local office, or by post to Salt Lake City
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
CorrectionThis is a published ABSENCE of a veteran route, kept because the assumption is so common. Nothing on the division’s disabled parking page turns on service, a rating or a discharge, and the reserved-space rule names only the disabled person’s plate or placard. A veteran holding a disabled veteran plate and nothing else may not use a reserved accessible space.
Worth knowingThe one-placard rule bites hardest on veterans who already took disabled plates. Two placards are only available to someone holding no disabled plates at all, so a veteran with plates on two cars still gets a single hangtag between them.
Worth knowingParking privileges granted to residents here are extended to visitors holding equivalent credentials from other states, Canada or Mexico.

Sources

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