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Disabled Parking in Virginia — Free Placards, and the DV Plate That Does Not Park

Virginia placards are free and last five years, and after the first one a renewal needs no practitioner certification if disabled parking plates have already been issued. The trap is Va. Code § 46.2-739(A): plain DV plates are barred in terms from using reserved accessible spaces. The plate that parks is the separate DV disabled parking plate under subsection B.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

What it's worth: Free — the Department states that temporary and permanent placards for citizens carry no charge

§ 46.2-1241(A): on application of a person with a disability that limits or impairs his ability to walk, or that creates a concern for his safety while walking, the Commissioner shall issue a permanent removable windshield placard, on a certification signed by a licensed physician, licensed podiatrist, licensed chiropractor, licensed advanced practice registered nurse, or licensed physician assistant.
§ 46.2-1241(A)(1): the Commissioner shall provide for renewal every five years; a renewal application may require the applicant to certify that the disability is permanent, but need not be accompanied by a practitioner’s certification — and "no physician's, podiatrist's, chiropractor's, advanced practice registered nurse's, or physician assistant's certification of an applicant's disability shall be required for the renewal of any disabled parking placard of an applicant to whom disabled parking license plates have been issued under § 46.2-731."
§ 46.2-1241(B): a temporary placard is valid for the period the practitioner determines the disability will last, not to exceed 12 months, and a practitioner may certify up to 15 days in advance of a medical procedure. The Department mails the temporary placard to the applicant.
§ 46.2-1241(E): the placard hangs from the rearview mirror while parked, or sits on the dashboard on the kerb side where there is no mirror, and may not be displayed while the vehicle is in motion.
§ 46.2-739(A): DV plates "shall not permit the vehicles upon which they are displayed to use parking spaces reserved for persons with disabilities that limit or impair their ability to walk."
§ 46.2-739(B): the separate DV disabled parking plate displays the international symbol of access and does authorise use of reserved spaces, but the application must be accompanied by a certification signed by a licensed physician, podiatrist, chiropractor, advanced practice registered nurse or physician assistant.
The Department of Motor Vehicles states that "Temporary and permanent placards for citizens are free of charge", and that a veteran applying for disabled veteran plates bearing the International Symbol of Access submits form VSA 10 with either a MED 10 signed by a medical professional plus a VSA 54 from the Veterans Administration, or a VSA 54 signed by both.

Who is entitled to it

The placard follows the person with the disability.
A family member with a qualifying condition applies on the same terms — nothing here turns on military service.
Your home is in Virginia.

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

1Know which of the two DV plates you have. The plain red, white and blue DV plate is barred by statute from reserved accessible spaces. The one that parks carries the international symbol of access and is issued under a different subsection.
2A rating alone will not get you the parking plate. Subsection B asks separately for a practitioner’s certification that walking is limited or impaired, and the Department wants that on form MED 10 or on a VSA 54 signed by a medical professional as well as by the Veterans Administration.
3The placard costs nothing. The Department says so in terms, so do not let anyone charge you for one.
4Renew every five years. That is the statutory cycle for a permanent placard, and the placard is void past its expiry date.
5On renewal, ask whether a new practitioner signature is really needed. The statute says none is required at all where disabled parking plates have already been issued under § 46.2-731, and allows the Department to ask only for a self-certification of permanence otherwise.
6If the disability is temporary, the practitioner writes the period on the form and the placard runs for that period, capped at 12 months. A certification may be signed up to 15 days before a scheduled procedure.
7Hang it from the mirror when parked and take it down before driving. Displaying it in motion is prohibited.

Form: MED 10 for a placard; VSA 10 with MED 10 and/or VSA 54 for DV disabled parking plates
File with: Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles
Documents you will need: va benefit summary letter
Periodic recertification: Confirmed at intervals rather than annually.

CorrectionA DV plate is not a parking permit in Virginia. The statute says so directly. Veterans are ticketed over this every year because the plate looks like the whole answer and is not.

Worth knowingThe renewal relief is worth knowing about because it saves an appointment. Where disabled parking plates have already been issued, the statute forbids the Department from requiring a practitioner certification to renew the placard at all.

Worth knowingVirginia is unusually broad about who may certify. A podiatrist, a chiropractor, an advanced practice registered nurse and a physician assistant are all named in the statute alongside a physician.

Sources

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