A Texas law is adding new license plate and placard requirements for disabled veterans

Starting this year, anyone parking in a disabled parking space must have a disabled person license plate or placard that features the international symbol of access. Senate Bill 792 went into effect on January 1st and disabled veterans who want to use disabled parking spaces in 2022 will need to apply for a disabled parking placard or a license plate with the ISA symbol. The bill sets new requirements for disabled veterans to obtain access to a disabled parking spot. The Deputy Director of the Vehicle Titles and Registration Division for the Texas DMV says the motivation behind the bill was to ensure there is sufficient disabled parking.

“The distinction is that prior to the effective date of this bill disabled veterans with disabled veteran license plates statutory could access disabled person parking. The change is that disabled veteran plates in of themselves no longer allow someone to access those disabled person parking places. They must obtain one of the license plates,” said Clint Thompson, Deputy Director of the Vehicle Titles and Registration Division, Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. The ISA placard and plate eligibility is based on a medical condition that meets the legal definition of a disability, such as vision and mobility impairments. “I think awareness is one of the biggest things that way the disabled veteran’s who just have the disabled veteran’s plates that need to continue to park in a disabled person parking spots to make sure that they have awareness of this change, and the requirements to obtain the ISA plates or the disabled person placard,” said Thompson. According to the Texas DMV, not all disabilities that qualify a veteran for disabled veteran license plates will qualify a veteran for a disabled veteran license plate featuring the ISA.