Blue Badge Scheme

The Blue Badge Scheme provides parking concessions nationally and across Europe for people with a permanent and substantial disability, whether that person is the driver or a passenger.

The holder of a Blue Badge is permitted to park in areas normally subject to restrictions and this benefits those who are unable to walk great distances.

New Blue Badge

Apply online

On 1 January 2012 a new UK-wide application form came into use for all Blue Badge applications in Scotland, England and Wales. There are slight differences between the schemes in the 3 countries that are reflected in the online forms. Those resident in Scotland (including Midlothian) can apply online for a new Blue Badge:

• Apply for a Blue Badge online

Printed application forms

We recognise that many people do not have access to a computer, and paper copies of the application form have been prepared by the Travel Team for the residents of Midlothian.

The new Scotland-wide online form includes 7 sections, but any one applicant need not fill in more than 3 sections. Rather than printing one huge form with all 7 sections, 3 separate forms have been created for use in Midlothian.

Form A [printed on blue paper] for applicants who are eligible without further assessment. This includes those who can provide proof or identity and residency, and evidence of one of the following:-

• Registered blind (severely sight impaired)
• Higher Rate of the Mobility Component of the Disabled Living Allowance
• War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement
• Armed Forces and Reserved Forces (Compensation)Scheme Tariff 1-8

• Blue Badge Application Form A (PDF)
  

Form B [printed on lilac paper] for applicants needing further assessment, all those individual applicants not covered by Form A

• Blue Badge Application Form B (PDF)
  

Form C [printed on yellow paper] for organisational applicants (such as nursing or care homes)

• Blue Badge Application Form C (PDF)
  

Paper versions of forms A and B are widely available from Midlothian libraries, main Midlothian Council offices and health centres in Midlothian. A Paper version of Form C is only available upon request from the Midlothian Travel Team in Bonnyrigg, but can be downloaded above.

Send your completed paper application, along with one passport-style photograph and payment of £20 (cheque, not credit card or cash) to the Travel Team address.

Eligibility - who else can apply?

If you meet one of the 4 criteria listed above under "Form A", you will automatically qualify for a Blue Badge and need no further assessment (assuming all the written evidence required is provided and satisfactory). 

You may qualify for a Blue Badge if you meet any of the following criteria, but further assessment will be necessary before the issuing of a Blue Badge can be approved. This may involve attending an Independent Mobility Assessment to see a Council-appointed professional. All such assessments are currently undertaken at the Bonnyrigg Medical Centre, 2 or 3 times a month. Home visits are not possible. If any of the following apply, you should complete "Form B".

• If your disability is substantial and means you are unable to walk or you experience considerable difficulty in walking
• If you cannot walk far without severe discomfort, stopping or receiving support from another person
• If you have a temporary mobility impairment which makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for you to walk and which is likely to last for a period of at least 12 months
• If you have been supplied with a wheelchair via the NHS unit at Astley Ainslie in Edinburgh 
• If you are applying on behalf of a child under the age of 3 who has a condition requiring the transportation of bulky medical equipment at all times, or who must always be kept near a motor vehicles on account of a condition so that they can, if necessary, be treated for the condition in the vehicle or taken quickly in the vehicle to a place where they can be so treated
• If you have a severe disability in both upper limbs and regularly drive a motor vehicle, and have difficulty operating parking meters and pay and display machines

Blue Badges issued by Midlothian on or after 1 April 2009 have been subject to a charge of £20, the maximum possible under Scottish legislation. 

This standard charge will apply to new Blue Badges, renewed Blue Badges and replacement Blue Badges (if the original is lost or stolen and reported to the Police). 

Renewal blue badges

If you have an old style card Blue Badge, an invitation to renew your Blue Badge will be sent out by letter from Bonnyrigg during the first week of the month when your existing Blue Badge expires (all old style card Blue Badges are issued to expire on the last day of a calendar month). This will include either a Form A or a Form B to complete, as the new application forms include questions that did not feature in the previous local forms.

If you have a new style PVC Blue Badge, invitations to renew will be sent from Banbury approximately 4 weeks before the expiry date. New PVC Blue Badges can expire on any date of the month. 

Please remember to keep us advised of any address change so that your renewal invitation can be sent to the correct address. The most common reason why badge-holders fail to receive their renewal letter is that people forget to tell us when they move.

Send your completed application and renewal forms, along with one passport-style photograph and payment of £20 (cheque, not cash or credit card) to the Freepost address below (no stamp required).

Replacement blue badges

If you lose your Blue Badge, or suspect that it has been stolen, this must be reported to the Police. You will be given a reference number by the Police. You should then write a letter to the Travel Team quoting this reference number and describing the circumstances of the loss/theft.

Send this letter, along with one passport-style photograph and payment of £20 (cheque, not cash or credit card) to the Freepost address below (no stamp required). A replacement Blue Badge with the same expiry date as the original Blue Badge that has been lost/stolen.

Pay by Cash

You can pay by cash for a new, renewed or replacement Blue Badge if you come along to the office in Bonnyrigg in person. You will be issued with a receipt for the £20 - keep this safe as it is your proof of payment.

Office hours at Dundas Buildings in Bonnyrigg are:

• Monday to Thursday 09.00 -17.00
• Friday 09.00 - 15.30

If you are intending to call at Bonnyrigg towards the end of the working day, please arrive at least 30 minutes before closing time to give staff the opportunity to process your forms and payment before the office closes.

The office is closed on Public Holidays at New Year (2 days), Easter (Friday and Monday), September Weekend (Friday and Monday) and Christmas (2 days), and between Christmas and New Year. The office will be open on other local and public holidays in the Spring and Summer.

Map showing location of Dundas Buildings

View Larger Map

New style Blue Badge

From 1 January 2012 a new improved style of Blue Badge will be issued for all brand new, renewed or replacement Blue Badges. Old style Blue Badges already issued on card will be valid until the expiry date shown. The transition period from old to new style Blue Badges will take just over 3 years. The final card-style Blue Badges will expire at the end of January 2015.

The new style Blue Badges include various new features that are designed to prevent counterfeit production of fake badges such as digital photographs, holograms, microwriting, textured surfaces, complex artwork and enclosure in clear PVC. 

The introduction of the new style Blue Badges needs a sophisticated printing machine and means that production moves from the local authorities (such as Midlothian) to one central facility covering England, Scotland and Wales. It would be uneconomic for each local authority to buy its own means of producing the new style Blue Badges.

The new machinery is in Banbury (Oxfordshire) and represents a significant investment by the agency that won the tender to provide the new style Blue Badges. From January 2012 onwards, all Blue Badges will be produced in Banbury and despatched by Second Class Royal Mail from there direct to the badge-holder's home address in Midlothian. Badges will no longer be produced locally in Bonnyrigg. 

A Blue Badge time clock will be sent with each Blue Badge despatched from Banbury. These clocks are not required in Scotland, but you do need one if are travelling to England or Wales. Keep the clock safe for when you travel south of the border.

A report on the provision on disabled persons parking places in Midlothian is available to download.

• Disabled Persons Parking Places Report 2011