About Handicapped Parking Requirements

Parking lots of buildings, shopping malls, businesses, apartments or any other establishment are supposed to be equipped with handicapped parking spaces.  Handicapped parking spaces are designed to give disabled individuals special parking privileges, such as allowing disabled individuals to park close to entrances.

Eligibility for Handicapped Parking

To be eligible for handicapped parking, you must be disabled according to the legal definition for disability.  A person must have visual impairment or mobility issues that causes him to have difficulty moving around.  Such mobility issues are paralysis, wheelchair confinement, arthritis, lung disease or a medical condition resulting in a person having to use a cane, walker, crutch or brace.

Authorized Parking Spaces

Vehicles with a handicapped license plate or a handicapped sticker are the only vehicles authorized to park in handicapped spaces.  If a handicapped space indicates that only vehicles with blue handicapped placards are allowed to park in the designated area, then vehicles with red handicapped placards are not authorized to park there.  Vehicles with a disabled veteran license plate do not have any parking restrictions.

Handicapped Parking Spaces Standards

Handicapped parking spaces standards are set by federal and state laws.  The law requires that all handicapped parking spaces be identified with a sign or with a handicapped logo painted within the space.  All handicapped parking spaces should be located close to a ramp or leveled entrance, and all spaces should be rectangular with the dimensions of 14 feet wide by 20 feet long.