Blue badges

You will automatically be eligible for a Blue Badge if you satisfy one of the following requirements:

• You are registered blind (note - being registered as partially sighted does not count)
• You are in receipt of the Higher Rate of the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance
• You are in receipt of 8 points or more under the “moving around” activity of the mobility component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
• You receive War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement (WPMS)
• You have received a lump sum benefit  at tariffs 1-8 of the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces compensation scheme (AFCS) and have been assessed by the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA) as having a permanent and substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking. Armed Forces Independence Payment (AFIP) awards are not included in the automatic eligibility criteria
• You regularly drive a vehicle and have a severe disability in both arms (note: only drivers with the most severe disabilities in both their arms will be eligible under this criterion. It will not apply to people who, for example, have difficulty carrying parcels or shopping)

If none of these apply to you, then you will be processed and assessed on an individual basis.

You can ask for or find guidance from this Blue Badge application guidance from the Government.

Before applying, ensure you have read our Blue Badge application guidance notes.

If you are a permanent resident of Norfolk then you can apply for a Blue Badge online

Apply online

or by:

• Visiting your local library, where you can use the computers or phones provided free of charge
• Downloading our Blue Badge paper application form:
  Applicants over three years old (read guidance notes)
  Applicants under three years old (read guidance notes)
  Applicants from organisations involved with the care of disabled people (read guidance notes)

If you would like us to send you an application form please call our Customer Service Centre on 0344 800 8020 or email us at information@norfolk.gov.uk.

If your application is successful we will send a Declaration form for you to sign and return to us with any supporting evidence and payment required.

Blue Badge Unit,
PO Box 3210
Norwich
NR7 7AB

Note that the fee for all successful applications is £10

If you are unable for any reason to get a passport-style photograph from a photo booth, then we can also accept emailed photos sent to bluebadgeunit@norfolk.gov.uk or any recent photograph that you would be happy for us to use, although these must be passport-style size.

You will also need to include copies of any relevant documents, for example, proof of the receipt of the Mobility Component at the higher rate of Disability Living Allowance (the evidence must be less than 12 months old and for the current period), or evidence of you being registered as blind.

Ensure you send copies of documents. Do not send original documents, particularly passports and birth certificates.

If we need further information to help us make a decision about your eligibility you may be asked to provide further evidence or attend for an Independent Medical Assessment.

We recommend that you apply for a new Blue Badge 12 weeks before your existing badge expires.

Blue Badge's can not be renewed, instead you have to make a new application.

Make a new application

• Online by debit or credit card via the Blue Badge Self Service system. Note you will require your application reference number for this system
• Via our Customer Service Centre, if you have made an application over the telephone on 0344 800 8020
• By cheque (made payable to Norfolk County Council - please write your application reference number on the reverse) and sent to:

NCC Social Care Centre of Expertise
PO Box 3210
Norwich
NR7 7AB

The timescale for issuing Blue Badges is 6 to 8 weeks from receipt of application. Please note that if you are renewing your Blue Badge the new badge will not be sent to you more than 2 weeks before the expiry date of your current badge.

We apologise for any inconvenience but we can only fast-track blue badge applications where the applicant is terminally ill.

Always use copies of documents to support your application.

We request that you do not send originals of your documents, particularly passports and birth certificates.

Photocopies do not have to be certified.

A Blue Badge is issued for a specific person, meaning it can be used in any vehicle you are travelling in.

This means you do not need multiple Blue Badges if you use multiple vehicles.

Complete the declaration form and return it to us at the address below.

If your current badge has less than six weeks left before its expiry date, you should apply for a new blue badge, rather than a replacement.

If the badge is found after you have declared it lost or stolen, it can no longer be used and should be returned to:

Blue Badge Unit
PO Box 3210
Norwich
NR7 7AB

When a Blue Badge holder dies, their badge can no longer be used, and must be returned to us.

Whoever is dealing with the practical matters of winding up the estate should contact us to advise us of the date of death.

Click here for information about how to register a death or call the Customer Service Centre on 0344 800 8020.

The badge should be returned to us with a covering letter to:

Blue Badge Unit
PO Box 3210
Norwich
NR7 7AB

• The badge expires
• The badge holder is no longer eligible or, in the case of an organisational badge, the organisation no longer exists or is no longer eligible
• It is a replacement badge for one that is lost or stolen and the original is found/recovered (in this case the original badge should be returned so that it can be securely destroyed)
• The badge is so damaged/faded that the details on it are illegible or it cannot be identified correctly or distinguished from a forgery
• The badge is no longer required by the holder (e.g. where they have become confined to the house) or another badge is inadvertently issued to the holder by another issuing authority
• The badge holder dies