Is applying for a blue badge really that difficult??

I found it straightforward, I applied online and just had at attach my pip award. I think if I had to have medical letters stating how far I can walk etc I probably would have found it harder to be honest, I do not get given copies of test results and xray copies from my hospital appointments, they don’t show in the nhs all and I’ve been told by admin staff that I must send a request and I get a print out of all my hospital records, I found that system a lot harder to navigate as id need to be doing these requests regularly to get a copy of results.

I didn’t send any evidence in for my pip claim because nothing came back in time, getting copies of my hospital medical history took six months, and it feels like a lot of unnecessary expense having to make requests for printouts, dwp contacted my doctors and that kind of made my applications for pop easier than if I’d have to gather medical evidence myself proving how my health affects me.

If your in-laws don’t have disability benefits and also don’t have anything from their doctors stating they can’t walk far etc then I can kind of understand why they think it’s a faff if they don’t know how to access all this stuff, but I’d say due to how long it takes, it’s better to start the ball rolling.

It was a very long wait though, took about four months for my initial BB application and my renewal took about six months due to what the council said is a massive backlog.

Apply here

I have completed it for someone, it was easy

Very useful to park closer to places, when caring for someone with poor mobility

https://www.gov.uk/apply-blue-badge

We are in West Wales. We didn't need to gather any evidence. We completed the form including the details of our GP and then we had to go to the council office a few weeks later for DM to have her photo taken and we were given the badge there and then.

I am quite surprised at everyone claiming ‘it’s easy’!
It’s straightforward if you are used to completing online forms. But not everyone is. And there’s a lot of information to submit.

You apply online via gov.uk.

We completed one for my 86 year old mum’s blue badge and it took about an hour. There was absolutely no way she could have done it herself.

There were a lot of questions about health conditions and mobility issues, how far can you walk unaided etc. Also she tends to downplay her medical conditions so would probably not have listed them all and been refused!

We uploaded pictures of her medical diagnosis letters - she wouldn’t have been able to do that herself. You also have to upload proof of address and a photo of yourself, NI number, evidence of any benefits. So we had to find all those documents for her.

She used to be a lot more computer literate but over the past 10 years has found it all become very confusing.

But the blue badge does make attending appointments a lot easier so it was worth it.

I applied in January this year for my husband - he lacks patience and focus when it comes to forms - and found it fairly straightforward, if tedious. Luckily he’s pretty organised and had kept all the documentation from the hospital consultant regarding his disability and treatment regime, plus various prescriptions for the changing mountain of medication he’s had to take over the last couple of years. I uploaded everything I thought was relevant.

It was finally granted in August after a face-to-face consultation with an occupational therapist, so it took just over six months from start to finish. It was a bloody pain in the arse to do and the waiting was frustrating, but it was definitely worth it. Oh, and it was a £10 fee, non-refundable.
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The majority do. I'm glad you are the exception. My parents, my in-laws, my brother's in-laws are all struggling though. Sadly, cognitive ability starts to deteriorate from about 70 for most. We've had to help all the old people on our families with stuff like this as they've been like rabbits in headlights despite being previously very capable.

I got one.

application process fairly easy, forms quite quick.

not in benefits or anything at the time (but had been in an accident and could not walk at all).

they did an in person assessment which was fine.

A family member clearly needed one, put off applying for a long time. Struggled with the forms but did recount the level of detail they put into it and supporting evidence they sent. Finally sent it off and to everyone’s disbelief it was refused straight away. They were blocked from reapplying for 6 months or something

A specialist support worker from an organisation that helps with their condition then filled it out (still to a few sessions and hours). This time, after a few months, they were approved!

Took a long time and things like this do feel much harder to do for a lot of people in the position where they need them.

Please don’t assume we all get bamboozled. I’m 80, I have a blue badge, full knee replacement, neuropathy in my feet which affects my balance, etc., etc. I’ve just reapplied to have it renewed. Online. By myself. The online application is a bit time consuming, but it can be saved and returned to.

I think it might vary between councils…. I am in England (south) and didn’t have to pay the £10 until such time as they’d accepted and confirmed he was eligible to have one (& jumped through photo ID hoops). They sent me an email when it had all been ironed out and then I had to pay. Badge arrived about 10 days later.

Make sure they both apply if they go out independently.

Since each council administers it differently, I stand corrected that some charge in advance.

I've just checked my council, and they're still pay if successful, so I guess it just depends where you live

Northamptonshire is terrible. They seem to refuse everyone first time or if reapplying for an expired one.

That’s not correct everywhere in England. Here you have to pay £10 on application and it’s refunded if you are not successful

This appeared while I was typing but the pension letter thing is interesting. That could save a lot of hassle!

In some ways that could be correct.

My DD was entitled to a blue badge automatically in Scotland, but isn’t in England as it’s slightly different.

Looking again, I think a birth certificate would also work as id. No idea where that is (she’s a hundred and hasn’t needed it in decades) but presumably we could apply for a copy so that might be the way to go.

My mum was like that - felt guilty applying for benefits, so she never did.

There comes a point when you realise you can’t make them, and they’re not going to change, so you just have to let them get on with their lives. And listen to the moaning about parking at the hospital WHEN IT’S SOMEONE ELSE WHO DRIVES YOU THERE AND YOU WON’T APPLY FOR A BLUE BADGE!!! 😁

My mum should have a blue badge (she’s been eligible for ages but we haven’t got round to applying). When I looked into it last I think it was an application through a .gov website (which then gets passed across to the local authority to issue the blue badge) and required photo id in the form of a passport or driving licence. As she’s severely sight impaired her driving licence is long out of date and her last passport expired in the 1980s (the last time she went abroad was to Ireland and her Freedom Pass sufficed for that but it’s not enough, it seems, to get a blue badge). A new passport would be useful (and free, given her age) but applying for one means knowing where and when her parents were born and that’s lost in the mists of time. I know I should get my act together but somehow I never quite do.

I just did this for my elderly uncle. The form was straightforward. You do need to provide evidence - I had lots of hospital letters as evidence and the GP wrote me a letter too. Hardest thing was the proof of ID as (per lots of elderly people) he doesn’t have photo ID is a driving licence or passport and they wouldn’t accept a bus pass (even though they issued it!) Managed to get round it with his NI number being on a pensions letter. Process took about 3 months from start to finish. Has definitely made going to hospital appointments and doctor’s appointments a lot easier when I take him.

Actually I think they hsve a team dedicated to blue badges tooo

Contact your local AgeUK helpline ask for a their form filling service

If you are on certain rates of PIP you get it automatically, this is how I got mine.

I tried to get one while I was still appealing my PIP decision (it took 18 months) and I was refused despite GP letters etc and an NHS wheelchair. It really can be a nightmare to get one if you are not on benefits. It does vary from place to place as each council have their own rules and decision makers.

I'd obtain the forms and do as much of the application for them if you can - having to write down exactly how broken you are into an application form is mentally a very rough thing to do and my DLA/PIP renewals always end up with me having a breakdown due to the stress of it all. I don't even claim for MH issues and it still affects me that deeply.

My experience was that it was really straightforward. I truthfully put that the main reason was ‘old age’ which meant my aged parent relies me to drive home to the docs and hospital appointments and he just can’t walk more than about 20 paces because of how incredibly old he is!