Blue badges

Blue Badge parking charges

Blue Badge holders are permitted to pay in all council car parks, hourly tickets can be transferred between short stay car parks and daily/weekly tickets can be transferred between long stay car parks.

Charges do not apply to vehicles parked in on-street pay and display bays. Please always check the car park charge board, private car parks may operate differently.

Applying and renewing

The current charge for a Blue Badge is ten pounds (£10).

Your Blue badge will always be issued through the Central Government partner and posted to your home address.

We do not issue Blue Badges directly.

You need to reapply for your Blue badge two months before it expires to allow enough time for any mobility assessments that may be required.

You can apply for a badge online, or over the telephone by calling 01325 405222 (Option 5).

Please avoid contacting our blue badge team to apply or renew a blue badge between the hours of 11.30am- 2.30pm. If you do contact us during these times, we might need to call you back to complete your blue badge application over the phone the next working day.

We can offer face to face appointments to those who need it, please call us to arrange this.

People who automatically get a Blue Badge

You automatically qualify for a Blue Badge if you are aged 3 or over and at least one of the following applies:

• you receive the higher rate of the mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance (DLA)[external link]
• you receive a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) [external link] because you can’t walk more than 50 metres (a score of 8 points or more under the ‘moving around’ activity of the mobility component)
• you are registered blind (severely sight impaired) [external link]
• you receive a War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement
• you have received a lump sum benefit within tariff levels 1 to 8 of the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation) Scheme and have been certified as having a permanent and substantial disability that causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking
• you receive the mobility component of PIP and have obtained 10 points specifically for descriptor E under the ‘planning and following journeys’ activity, on the grounds that you are unable to undertake any journey because it would cause you overwhelming psychological distress

If you have any score other than 10 points under descriptor E, in the ‘planning and following journeys’ activity of PIP you may still be eligible for a Blue Badge, but you do not automatically qualify. This includes if you have a higher score of 12. You will have to provide evidence to demonstrate your eligibility which will be assessed as part of your application.

You will have to provide evidence to demonstrate your eligibility which will be assessed as part of your application.

Blue Badges are usually issued for three years, but yours may be issued for less than three years if your benefit award is for a limited time.

People who may get a Blue Badge

You may be eligible for a badge if one or more of the following applies:

• you cannot walk at all
• you cannot walk without help from someone else or using mobility aids
• you find walking very difficult due to pain, breathlessness or the time it takes
• walking is dangerous to your health and safety
• you have a life limiting illness, which means you cannot walk or find walking very difficult and have a SR1 form
• you have a severe disability in both arms and drive regularly, but cannot operate pay-and-display parking machines
• you have a child under the age of 3 with a medical condition that means the child always needs to be accompanied by bulky medical equipment
• you have a child under the age of 3 with a medical condition that means the child must always be kept near a vehicle in case they need emergency medical treatment
• you are constantly a significant risk to yourself or others near vehicles, in traffic or car parks
• you struggle severely to plan or follow a journey
• you find it difficult or impossible to control your actions and lack awareness of the impact you could have on others
• you regularly have intense and overwhelming responses to situations causing temporary loss of behavioural control
• you frequently become extremely anxious or fearful of public/open spaces

You will need to provide evidence to support your application, the type of evidence will depend on your individual application. This could be:

• A patient summary from your GP surgery
• Information about treatment you receive
• Name and contact details for healthcare or associated professionals that you have been involved with
• Diagnosis letter

Correct use of a badge

It is against the law to:

• use someone's Blue Badge when they are not with you
• use a badge that isn’t valid
• use a forged or copied badge
• use a badge that has been lost or stolen

The named holder must be travelling in the vehicle with you, even if you are doing business for them.

The badge must be displayed with the expiry date and the badge serial number facing upwards (the photo and badge holder's name should face down).

Darlington Borough Council’s Civic Enforcement Officers will remove a badge that is being misused, this will be returned to Customer Services for investigation.

If you misuse a badge, you can be taken to court and you will be fined up to £1000 in addition to any parking fine you receive. 

To report misuse of a badge, please email [email protected] or contact 01325 405222 (option 5).

This means that, based on the information provided, we haven't been able to make a decision.

We will refer the case to an Occupational Therapist (OT) for an Independent Mobility Assessment. 

At present we are experiencing high demand for blue badge applications and renewals.

Unfortunately, this is affecting our ability to meet our timescales and we apologise for this.

We are taking steps to resolve this including reviewing our timelines and capacity.

We are continually reviewing outstanding applications, however please note that we currently have a delay of up to eight weeks.

There is no need to contact us regarding your application, we will get in touch with you once your application is ready for assessment.

This means that, based on the information provided, you do not qualify for a Blue badge.

An existing Blue badge does not guarantee you will still qualify for a new badge, and you should apply two months before it expires to allow time for assessment.

If customer services decline your application, you have the right to appeal.

You must do this in writing.

You will need to mention in your appeal why you feel you are entitled to a Blue badge.

Give specific information on the conditions that influence your mobility.

You will also need to say why you think your initial application was unsuccessful.

Email your appeal to: [email protected]. Use BLUE BADGE STAGE 1 APPEAL as the subject.

You can also post your appeal to:

Blue badge Stage 1 Appeals
Customer Service Centre
Town Hall
Feethams
Darlington
DL1 5QT

We will review your appeal within 20 working days.

If successful, we will refer the case to the Occupational Therapist.

They will then carry out an independent mobility assessment.

The application will then be progressed at the “refer to Occupational Therapist” stage above.

We will notify you of the result of your appeal in writing.

If you are not happy with the outcome of your stage 2 appeal, you can phone or write to the Local Government Ombudsman. [external link]

They’ll take another look at your application.

The Local Government Ombudsman
PO Box 4771
Coventry
CV4 0EH
Telephone: 0300 061 0614
Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm, closed weekends
Calls cost 12p per minute from a landline, and from 3p to 45p from a mobile.