Blue badge crackdown: AA says disability permits are being abused and calls on councils to do more to detect offences

Blue badges are being abused by parkers looking for a free stay in unallocated places, according to the AA, which wants councils to crackdown on the misuse. The motoring organisation claims the proportion of people holding them has reached a record one in 20 motorists, and said more action was needed to detect offences such as using fake or stolen blue badges.

The permits, which must be renewed every three years, help people with disabilities or health conditions access shops and services by enabling them to park closer.

The latest Department for Transport (DfT) data found a record high 5.2% of people in England had a blue badge as of March 31 last year, totalling around 3 million, an increase of 8% from a year earlier. The regions with the highest and lowest percentages of badge holders were the North East (6.1%) and London (3.5%) respectively.

In 2019, the eligibility criteria for blue badges was extended beyond people with visible disabilities, to include those with non-visible conditions such as Parkinson’s, dementia and epilepsy. More than two-fifths of the badges issued in 2024/25 were awarded without further assessment.

Depending on the location, blue badges often enable holders to park free of charge in pay-and-display bays and for up to three hours on single and double yellow lines. In London, they exempt holders from having to pay the congestion charge, which costs £18 per day.

But AA president Edmund King said the group had concerns over misuse of the permits, and said: “The blue badge scheme is a mobility lifeline for millions of legitimate users and their families. Our concern is not the absolute number of badges issued but the estimates that up to one in five badges may be used by someone other than the holder or authorised user.

“Fraud is an issue which can include family misuse, use after death, counterfeit badges and theft and resale of badges. We would welcome a crackdown on illegitimate use of badges to safeguard the deserving users.”

In 2011, the National Fraud Authority – a now-closed Home Office agency – estimated blue badge fraud to be worth around £46 million per year.

Several councils have reported prosecutions for blue badge misuse in recent months, including in Croydon, south London, which in January said seven offenders were ordered to pay a total of nearly £6,000 in a combination of fines, court costs and victim surcharges after using badges which were stolen, counterfeit or belonged to someone else.

And in December last year, Barking and Dagenham Council, east London, said four drivers were convicted of illegal blue badge use, with Gateshead Council, in Tyne and Wear, prosecuting a driver for using another person’s permit.

A Local Government Association spokesperson said: “Although the vast majority of badges are used correctly, there is a small minority who fraudulently use other people’s, either to save money by parking in disabled bays or through laziness, depriving someone with a genuine need. It is important to catch these criminals in the act.

“To help councils win the fight against blue badge fraud, residents must keep tipping councils off about people they suspect are illegally using a badge, bearing in mind people’s need for a badge might not be obvious.”

A DfT spokesperson added: “Exploitation and abuse of the blue badge scheme is completely unacceptable and is a criminal offence. Local authorities have been given improved powers to crack down on fraud and misuse in their area, and work closely with the police.”