Apply for or renew a Blue Badge
Find out how to apply for a Blue Badge, the documents you'll need and answers to frequently asked questions.
If you contact our team, we’re happy to help with your enquiry. We have a zero-tolerance policy to verbal abuse or aggressive behaviour. Therefore, we’ll stop dealing with your enquiry if you’re aggressive to our staff.
Applying for a Blue Badge
Please apply online whenever possible and contact us online in the first instance. This will help us keep within our timescales and ensure best customer service delivery. We appreciate your patience.
Applications can take up to 12 weeks to process once all required documents have been received. Please note that your application will be delayed if you do not submit the correct documents. The information we request needs to be included before we can start to assess your application.
If your application is approved by an officer, the Blue Badge will be ordered as quickly as possible, and may take up to 2-3 weeks to arrive through the post.
Please be aware that Blue Badges are not made at Hove Town Hall. They are ordered and dispatched through the post directly to your home address.
To find out what you need to include, please read the below information.
- Apply for a Blue Badge online - you will still need to send us documents to prove that you are eligible
- Download a Blue Badge application form to apply for a Blue Badge by post
To apply you will need:
- proof of your disability
- proof of your identity
- proof of your address
- a photograph of you - please email this where possible
If you are sending documents by post, please only send photocopies. Brighton & Hove City Council cannot be held responsible for documents that are lost in the post.
We will usually email you or write to you by post if more information is needed.
You may need to have an eligibility assessment as part of the application process. We'll arrange an appointment for you by phone as quickly as possible. You will be booked in for a walking assessment at Hove Town Hall which normally lasts up to 30 minutes.
Replacing a Blue Badge
You can request a replacement for a lost, stolen, or damaged Blue Badge. There will be a £10 fee, unless you have a crime reference number for a stolen badge.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a Blue Badge?
You may be eligible for a Blue Badge if you have any enduring (lasting for at least 3 years) and substantial disability that means you:
- drive a vehicle regularly, have a severe disability in both arms and are unable to operate, or have considerable difficulty in operating, all, or some types of parking meter
- have been certified by an expert assessor as having an enduring and substantial disability which causes you, during the course of a journey, to be unable to walk, experience very considerable difficulty whilst walking, which may include very considerable psychological distress
- may be at risk of serious harm when walking - or pose, when walking, a risk of serious harm to any other person
How do I renew my Blue Badge?
Please note that it remains the responsibility of the badge holder to be aware of when the badge is expiring, and to ensure it is renewed in time.
Our team send out renewal letters as a reminder explaining what is needed to renew. If you have not received a renewal letter 4 weeks before your badge is due to expire, please contact our team below.
Each renewal is treated like a new application, to make sure we only issue Blue Badges to those who meet the criteria.
If you have moved address within the last 3 years and have not informed us, then we may not hold your current contact details. Please contact us if your details have changed.
What do I do if the Blue Badge is no longer required?
If the Blue Badge is no longer required it must be returned to Brighton & Hove City Council.
You can return it by post to the below address. Please include a covering note explaining why the badge has been returned.
The customer service counter is open for general enquiries.
Contact us
To contact us you can:
- post documents to; the Blue Badge Team, G39 Hove Town Hall, Norton Road, Hove, BN3 3BQ.
- telephone 01273 296 270 - Please call us on this number during our operating hours of 9:30am to 1:30pm Monday to Friday. If the line is busy, leave a clear voicemail with your name, contact details and your reason for calling - a member of staff will phone you back within the next 48 hours.
- send us a message here.
Report a hate incident
Report hate incidents in a confidential safe space.
Contact Possibility People who will listen to you and take you seriously.
Phone 01273 894040, open 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday.