How do you get a handicap parking tag for a rental car?

[KyleRayner]

My DD does not drive but we still have a hang tag for her. If she's going to be out with friends, she takes the tag and uses it in their car. We have used it in rental cars for years. Our home state (Illinois) specifies the tag is to be used only by the person it was given to (i.e. I can't use it when I'm out alone) but I don't think I've seen mention of it being linked to a certain car.

Mary

Thanks Mary!

 

[videogal1]

When I have taken transport from off-site resorts or arranged for taxi or Mears shuttle transport to one of the parks I never know where I'll end up getting dropped off (sometimes the shuttles have assigned drop-off points that cannot be altered and are nowhere near an "official" pedestrian walkway) and I have frequently found myself following a tram, sort of like mama duck and baby duck, to my chosen park (once even zipping through EPCOT towing my luggage cart from the Vistana resort shuttle drop-off point somewhere in the outer reaches of the EPCOT parking lot to the Beach Club resort, where I spent a week before reversing the process and moving back to the Vistana for the final week...... It's been no more dangerous than negotiating your typical busy downtown intersection or crowded parking lot and there are frequently pedestrian walkways or tall barriers that run along the sides of the tramways that are sheltered from the flow of vehicle traffic. Think about it...If you take an ECV or power chair to the parks you're going to have to ride it to there from wherever you park and unload it, just as if you were walking in from the parking lot on your own two feet. For that reason I never park in the park handicapped spaces. One nice thing about renting an ECV from an off-site vendor and breaking it down and putting it in your car (enough room?) to use at the parks is that you can ride it to the park entrance from the farthest reaches of the parking lots, it only uses a little thumb power, allowing the rest of the party either to catch a tram and meet you at the park entrance or just to walk with you as you travel through the parking lot.

 

[videogal1]

I don't know why, but I always thought the tag that hangs from the rearview mirror was linked to the person and their vehicle. This way someone else couldn't benefit from using it in their vehicle.

If I'm wrong, and my mom has a tag for her car back home, we can just take that tag and hang it from the rearview mirror of the rental vehicle, no problem?

The first time I planned using a rental car from Alamo I had a very hard time getting info about how to get a temporary FL. handicapped placard, or even if I needed one, and I finally decided that for states not to recognize handicapped permits from other states would be just too silly (sort of like the Texas state law that defines a service dog as being trained only by a school recognized by the state of Texas...silly). Anyway, I was so paranoid about my placard being lost or stolen that I made a copy of it, laying the copy on the dash and using that as an identifying permit in my rental car. I also took the original just in case but left it in my luggage for safe keeping...

 

[KyleRayner]

The first time I planned using a rental car from Alamo I had a very hard time getting info about how to get a temporary FL. handicapped placard, or even if I needed one, and I finally decided that for states not to recognize handicapped permits from other states would be just too silly (sort of like the Texas state law that defines a service dog as being trained only by a school recognized by the state of Texas...silly). Anyway, I was so paranoid about my placard being lost or stolen that I made a copy of it, laying the copy on the dash and using that as an identifying permit in my rental car. I also took the original just in case but left it in my luggage for safe keeping...

Good to know, thank you!

 

[SueM in MN]

I don't know why, but I always thought the tag that hangs from the rearview mirror was linked to the person and their vehicle. This way someone else couldn't benefit from using it in their vehicle.

If I'm wrong, and my mom has a tag for her car back home, we can just take that tag and hang it from the rearview mirror of the rental vehicle, no problem?

If you have a license plate, that is tied both to the person and the vehicle.
A hangtag is tied only to the person (i.e. for the use of the person it was issued to).

The first time I planned using a rental car from Alamo I had a very hard time getting info about how to get a temporary FL. handicapped placard, or even if I needed one, and I finally decided that for states not to recognize handicapped permits from other states would be just too silly (sort of like the Texas state law that defines a service dog as being trained only by a school recognized by the state of Texas...silly). Anyway, I was so paranoid about my placard being lost or stolen that I made a copy of it, laying the copy on the dash and using that as an identifying permit in my rental car. I also took the original just in case but left it in my luggage for safe keeping...

ALL states recognize the handicapped parking permits issued by other states. They went thru a process of reciprocity - where each state made a law that they would agree to recognize other states that agreed to recognize their hangtags.
So, yes. If you have a handicapped parking permit issued to you from your home state, it will be recognized as valid by any other state.
There are some differences in what the handicapped parking permit allows (for example, in some states, people with a handicapped parking permit are exempt from paying the parking meter or can stay in a spot longer than other people parking in the area). This varies from state to state, so you can't assume that parking is free just because it is in your home state.

A copy of a permit would not be considered valid, so it's possible you could get a ticket using a copy. Probably not an issue on WDW property as long as you have your original with you, but I would not count on it preventing a ticket (although, you may be able to get the ticket dismissed by producing the original).

 

[lovetoscrap]

The application for a handicapped tag doesn't ask for any vehicle information. I don't think that it even asks for drivers license info-- many that need the tag don't drive at all.

HC tags are recognized in all states no matter what state they are from. They are for the PERSON that they are issued for. If it is hanging from your mirror and you park in a hc spot and that person is not with you then you can be fined. If they are with you but are not getting out of the car then you can't use a HC spot. As long as that person is in the car and leaving the vehicle you are fine.

I am not sure about the concept of only putting a copy of it on your dashboard. I would think that is not legal though. Maybe Sue knows? ETA-- Sue and I were posting at the same time!

There are specific instructions that the tag has to be hanging from your mirror and visible-- or you have to have the license plate with the hc designation on it. I would use the actual tag and keep the copy in my luggage in case of emergency (but not sure it would help anything to have a copy). I really doubt that it would be stolen-- I haven't heard of any cars being broken into in public lots to steal HC tags so the theives can get better parking! I have taken mine in rental cars or family and friend's cars quite often. It is just a matter of remembering it. I keep it in my purse when it is not hanging in the car. Generally I make sure to check the entire rental car for my posessions like sunglasses and any trash so there is really no way I could lose it. And even if you do, you just apply for a replacement-- the DMV has your record of the tag and will just reissue it when you get home.

I would really recommend that you use the original tag. Do you really want to get a huge fine/ticket for illegal parking and have to make a trip back to FL to go to court and plead your case and show your tag to avoid paying it?


For those that are asking about just using their scooter/wc to get from the regular parking to the park, keep in mind that it can be a long way and you could use a lot of battery power. Then you have the inconvenience of being your power cord and finding somewhere to plug in.

I drove to all the parks 2 years ago and parked in the HC spots. The most inconvenient was the MK/TTC. It is a long walk and as I recall there was an uphill part that was a pain. I can't imagine pusing a wheelchair up that.

DHS has the best HC parking, right across from the entrance, and AK and Epcot don't stand out in my mind so they must have been pretty easy.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Anyway, I was so paranoid about my placard being lost or stolen that I made a copy of it, laying the copy on the dash and using that as an identifying permit in my rental car.

Just for general knowledge - a copy (no matter how good) doesn't count as a valid handicap parking placard. If a law enforcement official can tell by looking or otherwise determines it's not "the" placard, the user can be ticketed/fined - yes, even with the real one in one's luggage.

 

[videogal1]

Just for general knowledge - a copy (no matter how good) doesn't count as a valid handicap parking placard. If a law enforcement official can tell by looking or otherwise determines it's not "the" placard, the user can be ticketed/fined - yes, even with the real one in one's luggage.

In 1990 a plain 8 1/2 X 11 sheet of paper, a black and white copy of a non-Florida hang-tag, complete with traceable serial numbers for the state of Texas was the only option offered by Alamo, which was why I took the original with me. The Disney parking lot minders had no problem with it...nineteen years ago...

None of these suggestions regarding a hang tag seem to be useful to anyone driving a convertible. The suggested remedy for this, though, was for me to put the hang tag in my glove box when I parked the car with the top down...