Title 23—Highways--Volume 1
PART 1235—UNIFORM SYSTEM FOR PARKING FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
§ 1235.1   Purpose.
The purpose of this part is to provide guidelines to States for the establishment of a uniform system for handicapped parking for persons with disabilities to enhance access and the safety of persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk.
§ 1235.2   Definitions.
Terms used in this part are defined as follows:
(a) International Symbol of Access means the symbol adopted by Rehabilitation International in 1969 at its Eleventh World Congress on Rehabilitation of the Disabled.
(b) Persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk means persons who, as determined by a licensed physician:
(1) Cannot walk two hundred feet without stopping to rest; or
(2) Cannot walk without the use of, or assistance from, a brace, cane, crutch, another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair, or other assistive device; or
(3) Are restricted by lung disease to such an extent that the person's forced (respiratory) expiratory volume for one second, when measured by spirometry, is less than one liter, or the arterial oxygen tension is less than sixty mm/hg on room air at rest; or
(4) Use portable oxygen; or
(5) Have a cardiac condition to the extent that the person's functional limitations are classified in severity as Class III or Class IV according to standards set by the American Heart Association; or
(6) Are severely limited in their ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition.
(c) Special license plate means a license plate that displays the International Symbol of Access:
(1) In a color that contrasts to the background, and
(2) In the same size as the letters and/or numbers on the plate.
(d) Removable windshield placard means a two-sided, hanger-style placard which includes on each side:
(1) The International Symbol of Access, which is at least three inches in height, centered on the placard, and is white on a blue shield;
(2) An identification number;
(3) A date of expiration; and
(4) The seal or other identification of the issuing authority.
(e) Temporary removable windshield placard means a two-sided, hanger-style placard which includes on each side:
(1) The International Symbol of Access, which is at least three inches in height, centered on the placard, and is white on a red shield;
(2) An identification number;
(3) A date of expiration; and
(4) The seal or other identification of the issuing authority.
§ 1235.3   Special license plates.
(a) Upon application of a person with a disability which limits or impairs the ability to walk, each State shall issue special license plates for the vehicle which is registered in the applicant's name. The initial application shall be accompanied by the certification of a licensed physician that the applicant meets the § 1235.2(b) definition of persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk. The issuance of a special license plate shall not preclude the issuance of a removable windshield placard.
(b) Upon application of an organization, each State shall issue special license plates for the vehicle registered in the applicant's name if the vehicle is primarily used to transport persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk. The application shall include a certification by the applicant, under criteria to be determined by the State, that the vehicle is primarily used to transport persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk.
(c) The fee for the issuance of a special license plate shall not exceed the fee charged for a similar license plate for the same class vehicle.
§ 1235.4   Removable windshield placards.
(a) The State system shall provide for the issuance and periodic renewal of a removable windshield placard, upon the application of a person with a disability which limits or impairs the ability to walk. The State system shall require that the issuing authority shall, upon request, issue one additional placard to applicants who do not have special license plates.
(b) The initial application shall be accompanied by the certification of a licensed physician that the applicant meets the § 1235.2(b) definition of persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk.
(c) The State system shall require that the removable windshield placard is displayed in such a manner that it may be viewed from the front and rear of the vehicle by hanging it from the front windshield rearview mirror of a vehicle utilizing a parking space reserved for persons with disabilities. When there is no rearview mirror, the placard shall be displayed on the dashboard.
§ 1235.5   Temporary removable windshield placards.
(a) The State system shall provide for the issuance of a temporary removable windshield placard, upon the application of a person with a disability which limits or impairs the ability to walk. The State system shall require that the issuing authority issue, upon request, one additional temporary removable windshield placard to applicants.
(b) The State system shall require that the application shall be accompanied by the certification of a licensed physician that the applicant meets the § 1235.2(b) definition of persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk. The certification shall also include the period of time that the physician determines the applicant will have the disability, not to exceed six months.
(c) The State system shall require that the temporary removable windshield placard is displayed in such a manner that it may be viewed from the front and rear of the vehicle by hanging it from the front windshield rearview mirror of a vehicle utilizing a parking space reserved for persons with disabilities. When there is no rearview mirror, the placard shall be displayed on the dashboard.
(d) The State system shall require that the temporary removable windshield placard shall be valid for a period of time for which the physician has determined that the applicant will have the disability, not to exceed six months from the date of issuance.
§ 1235.6   Parking.
Special license plates, removable windshield placards, or temporary removable windshield placards displaying the International Symbol of Access shall be the only recognized means of identifying vehicles permitted to utilize parking spaces reserved for persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk.
§ 1235.7   Parking space design, construction, and designation.
(a) Each State shall establish design, construction, and designation standards for parking spaces reserved for persons with disabilities, under criteria to be determined by the State. These standards shall:
(1) Ensure that parking spaces are accessible to, and usable by, persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk;
(2) Ensure the safety of persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk who use these spaces and their accompanying accessible routes; and
(3) Ensure uniform sign standards which comply with those prescribed by the “Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways” (23 CFR part 655, subpart F) to designate parking spaces reserved for persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk.
(b) The design, construction, and alteration of parking spaces reserved for persons with disabilities for which Federal funds participate must meet the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards.
§ 1235.8   Reciprocity.
The State system shall recognize removable windshield placards, temporary removable windshield placards and special license plates which have been issued by issuing authorities of other States and countries, for the purpose of identifying vehicles permitted to utilize parking spaces reserved for persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk.