Florida Handicap Placard Rules: Where You Can Park
Where a Florida placard lets you park, what it does not permit, the penalties for misuse, and the rules that catch people out.
Where Your Placard Lets You Park
- Any space marked with the International Symbol of Access
- Metered on-street spaces, free of charge, for up to four hours, unless the meter is in a designated parking facility
- Spaces reserved for people with disabilities at any public or private facility open to the public
What It Does Not Permit
- Parking in a fire lane, a loading zone or across an access aisle
- Parking in a space reserved for a specific person or vehicle
- Ignoring time limits that apply to everybody, outside the metered exemption
- Use by anybody other than the permit holder, or by a driver transporting somebody other than the holder
It is the access aisle, and it exists so a wheelchair or a walker can be got out of a vehicle. Parking in it, even briefly, is the violation people are most often cited for.
Using Somebody Else's Placard
A placard belongs to the person it was issued to. A relative may drive them and use it while transporting them; using it to park while they are at home is misuse.
Florida treats this seriously. Misuse carries fines that run into the hundreds of dollars, and the permit can be revoked.
Displaying It
Hang it from the rear-view mirror while parked, with the expiration date visible from outside. Remove it before driving; a placard hanging while the vehicle is in motion is itself a citable obstruction.
See If You Qualify
A few questions about your condition. Free, about two minutes, and it tells you before you pay anything.