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On-street Blue Badge parking bays

It is an offence to park a vehicle which is not displaying a badge in an on-street Blue Badge parking bay. If you see this, you should report it to a traffic warden or parking enforcement officer, the local police or the local council.

Police officers, traffic wardens, local authority parking attendants and civil enforcement officers have the right to inspect Blue Badges.

It is an offence to refuse or fail to produce a badge for inspection, without reasonable excuse. This offence carries a maximum fine of £1,000.

• Local councils

Off-street car parks

The Blue Badge Scheme does not apply to off-street car parks, for example supermarket car parks.

Apart from local council car parks, most are likely to be privately owned and managed by the individual business.

In the case of local council off-street car parks, it is normally an offence to park in a disabled persons' parking bay without displaying a valid Blue Badge. Drivers who misuse such spaces may also have to pay an 'excess charge'.

There is a difference in privately owned car parks. Charges and conditions of use in off-street car parks are a contractual matter between the car park owner and the motorist. Enforcement of disabled persons' parking bays is therefore a matter for the individual owner or operator of the car park.

If you are a disabled motorist (or passenger) and you complain to, for example, a supermarket that a non-disabled motorist has parked in a bay reserved for disabled people, an employee of the store could ask the driver to move their car from the disabled bay but they will not be in a position to legally insist on it.

If you think that people are unfairly parking in disabled bays, speak or write to the management of the store or car park.