1. (a) Purpose. Transportation Code, Chapters 504 and 681, charge the department with the responsibility for issuing specially designed license plates and identification placards for disabled persons. For the department to perform these duties efficiently and effectively, this section prescribes the policies and procedures for the application, issuance, and renewal of disabled person license plates and placards.

2. (b) Issuance.

   1. (1) Disabled person license plates.

      1. (A) Eligibility. In accordance with Transportation Code, §504.201 the department will issue specially designed license plates displaying the international symbol of access to permanently disabled persons or their transporters instead of regular motor vehicle license plates.
      2. (B) Specialty license plates. The department will issue disabled person insignia on those specialty license plates that can accommodate the identifying insignia and that are issued in accordance with §217.28 of this subchapter (relating to Specialty License Plates, Symbols, Tabs, and Other Devices).
      3. (C) License plate number. Disabled person license plates will bear a license plate number assigned by the department or will bear a personalized license plate number issued in accordance with §217.28 of this subchapter.

   2. (2) Windshield identification placards. The department will issue removable windshield identification placards to temporarily or permanently disabled persons and to the transporters of permanently disabled persons. A person who has been issued a windshield identification placard shall hang the placard from a vehicle's rearview mirror when the vehicle is parked in a disabled person parking space or shall display the placard on the center portion of the dashboard if the vehicle does not have a rearview mirror.

      1. (A) A placard issued to a person with a permanent disability will be white on a blue shield in color.
      2. (B) A placard issued to a person with a temporary disability will be white on a red shield in color.

3. (c) Initial application.

   1. (1) Place of application. The following persons may file an application for disabled person license plates or identification placards with the county tax assessor-collector in the county in which the applicant resides:

      1. (A) the owner of a registered vehicle that is regularly operated by or for the transportation of a disabled person; and
      2. (B) a disabled person who is not a vehicle owner.

   2. (2) Application form. The application must be made on a form prescribed by the director and must, at a minimum, include the name, address, and signature of the disabled person, and:

      1. (A) the first four digits of the applicant's driver's license number or the number of a personal identification card issued to the applicant under Transportation Code, Chapter 521; or
      2. (B) an out-of-state current driver's license number issued to a non-resident individual serving in the United States military at a military installation in this state.

   3. (3) Accompanying documentation.

      1. (A) In accordance with Transportation Code, §504.201 and §681.003, and unless otherwise exempted by law or this section, an initial application for disabled person license plates and an identification placard must be accompanied by evidence that the operator or regularly transported person is disabled.

      2. (B) The evidence must take one of the two following forms.

         1. (i) The evidence may be in the form of a disability statement, as it appears on the application for disabled person license plates or identification placards, which has been correctly completed and signed in the presence of a notary.
         2. (ii) The evidence may also be in the form of a written prescription that includes the disabled person's name, a statement that the disability is either temporary or permanent, a statement whether the person's disability is mobility related as described by Transportation Code, §681.001(5)(B) or (C), and the signature of a physician. The prescription must be written on a prescription form or on the physician's letterhead. In the case of a mobility problem caused by a disorder of the foot, the evidence may be signed by a podiatrist on the podiatrist's letterhead.

      3. (C) An initial application for disabled person license plates or identification placards must be signed by a physician:

         1. (i) licensed to practice medicine in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, or Oklahoma;
         2. (ii) authorized by law to practice medicine in a health facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs; or
         3. (iii) practicing medicine in the United States Military on a military installation.
      4. (D) If the initial application for disabled license plates or identification placards is based on a mobility problem caused by a disorder of the foot, it may be signed by a podiatrist licensed to practice podiatry in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, or Oklahoma.
      5. (E) If the initial application for disabled license plates or identification placards is based on vision impairment, it may be signed by an optometrist licensed to practice optometry or therapeutic optometry in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, or Oklahoma.

      6. (F) If the initial application for disabled license plates or identification placards, and the person resides in a county with a population of 125,000 or less, it may be issued by:

         1. (i) a licensed registered nurse or physician assistant acting under the delegation and supervision of a licensed physician in conformance with Occupations Code, Chapter 157, Subchapter B; or
         2. (ii) a physician's assistant licensed to practice in this state acting as the agent of a licensed physician under Occupations Code, §204.202(e).
   4. (4) Exemption from accompanying documentation. The department will issue disabled person identification placards to an organization that regularly transports disabled persons in vehicles it owns or controls if the organization is prohibited by law from disclosing the identities of its clients. The application may be made in the name of the organization. In addition, accompanying documentation described in paragraph (3) of this subsection will not be required. The organization must present an "Exempt" Texas Vehicle Registration Receipt issued in accordance with §217.43 of this subchapter (relating to Exempt and Alias Vehicle Registration) for each disabled person identification placard requested.

   5. (5) Issuance of disabled person license plates and identification placards to certain institutions.

      1. (A) In accordance with Transportation Code, §504.203 and §681.0032, the department will issue disabled person license plates or a blue permanently disabled person identification placard for display on a van or bus operated by an institution, facility, or residential retirement community that is licensed under Health and Safety Code, Chapter 242, 246, or 247.
      2. (B) The van or bus must be used for the transport of residents of the institution, facility, or residential retirement community.

      3. (C) A qualified institution, facility, or residential retirement community must meet the following requirements to obtain disabled parking insignia.

         1. (i) An application for disabled person license plates or an identification placard must be presented. Accompanying documentation described in paragraph (3) of this subsection is not required.
         2. (ii) A Texas Vehicle Registration Receipt issued in accordance with §217.22 of this subchapter (relating to Motor Vehicle Registration) must be presented for each van or bus for which disabled person insignia is requested.
      4. (D) If the Vehicle Registration Receipt indicates that the van or bus is not owned by the eligible institution, facility, or residential retirement community that is requesting disabled person identification insignia, then the institution, facility, or residential retirement community must submit a written statement that the van or bus is in the possession and control of the eligible institution, facility, or residential retirement community and is operated by the institution, facility, or residential retirement community for the transportation of its disabled residents.

4. (d) Renewal.

   1. (1) License plates. Disabled person license plates are valid for a period of 12 months from the date of issuance, and are renewable as specified in §217.22 of this subchapter.

   2. (2) Identification placards.

      1. (A) Place of renewal application. Prior to the expiration of a disabled person identification placard, an applicant must apply for renewal to the tax assessor-collector of the county in which the owner resides.
      2. (B) Accompanying documentation. To renew a permanently disabled person identification placard, an applicant must present the placard that is expiring, a receipt showing that a disabled person placard was previously issued to the applicant, or a copy of the previous identification placard application. If a previous application, placard, or receipt is not available, the applicant must reapply as described in subsection (c) of this section.

   3. (3) Temporarily disabled person identification placards. Temporarily disabled person identification placards are valid for six months from the month of issuance or until the termination of the applicant's disability, whichever occurs first.

      1. (A) Termination of disability. If a person's disability ends prior to the expiration of the identification placard, the placard shall be destroyed.
      2. (B) Renewal. If a person's temporary disability extends for more than the six-month period for which the placard was issued, the person must reapply for a new identification placard as described in subsection (c) of this section.

5. (e) Replacement.

   1. (1) License plates. If disabled person license plates are lost, stolen, or mutilated, the owner may obtain replacement license plates by applying with a county tax assessor-collector.

      1. (A) Accompanying documentation. To replace permanently disabled person license plates, the owner must present the current year's registration receipt and personal identification acceptable to the tax assessor-collector.
      2. (B) Absence of accompanying documentation. If the current year's registration receipt is not available and the county cannot verify that the disabled person license plates were issued to the owner, the owner must reapply in accordance with subsection (c) of this section.
   2. (2) Disabled person identification placards. If a disabled person identification placard becomes lost, stolen, or mutilated, the owner may obtain a new identification placard in accordance with subsection (c) of this section.

6. (f) Transfer of disabled person license plates and identification placards.

   1. (1) License plates.

      1. (A) Transfer between persons. Disabled person license plates may not be transferred between persons. An owner who sells or trades a vehicle to which disabled person license plates have been issued shall remove the disabled person license plates from the vehicle. The owner shall return the license plates to the department and shall obtain appropriate replacement license plates to place on the vehicle prior to any transfer of ownership.
      2. (B) Transfer between vehicles. Disabled person license plates may not be transferred between vehicles.

   2. (2) Identification placards.

      1. (A) Transfer between vehicles. Disabled person identification placards may be displayed in any vehicle driven by the disabled person or in which the disabled person is a passenger.
      2. (B) Transfer between persons. Disabled person identification placards may not be transferred between persons.

7. (g) Seizure and revocation of placard.

   1. (1) After a law enforcement officer seizes a placard under Transportation Code, §681.012, the officer shall promptly provide the department with the following items:

      1. (A) the original seized placard;
      2. (B) a copy of the citation issued under Transportation Code, §681.011(a) or (d); and
      3. (C) a brief summary of the events giving rise to the citation.

   2. (2) The person to whom the seized placard was issued may petition for a hearing under Chapter 206, Subchapter D of this title (relating to Procedures in Contested Cases).

      1. (A) If the department has not received the items specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the department will return the original seized placard or issue a replacement placard to the petitioner.
      2. (B) If the department determines from written evidence that the citation was dismissed or withdrawn, the department will return the original seized placard or issue a replacement placard to the petitioner.

      3. (C) If the department has received the items specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection and if the citation has not been dismissed or withdrawn, the department may negotiate a settlement providing for return of the seized placard or issuance of a replacement placard, including an agreement by the petitioner to abide by all laws regarding placards. If a settlement is not reached, the department will refer the matter to the State Office of Administrative Hearings for a hearing.

         1. (i) If it is determined after a hearing that no offense was committed under Transportation Code, §681.011(a) or (d), the department will return the original seized placard or issue a replacement placard to the petitioner.
         2. (ii) If it is determined after a hearing that an offense was committed under Transportation Code, §681.011(a) or (d), the revocation will continue and the petitioner shall not obtain a new placard for one year from the date of the offense.
         3. (iii) At any time after the matter has been referred to the State Office of Administrative Hearings, the attorney for the department may dismiss the case for insufficient evidence or negotiate a settlement providing for return of the seized placard or issuance of a replacement placard.

Source Note:The provisions of this §217.24 adopted to be effective March 4, 2010, 35 TexReg 1761.