Appealing a parking ticket if you have a Blue Badge

This advice applies to Scotland. See advice for See advice for England, See advice for Northern Ireland, See advice for Wales

It's worth appealing your parking ticket if you were parked correctly, or if you got a ticket because of your mobility problems. 

A Blue Badge lets you use certain on-street parking spots that are close to your destination. If you’re not sure whether you were parked in line with the Blue Badge rules, check where you can park on mygov.scot.

You'll need to send proof of your Blue Badge with your appeal. This could be a scanned copy of your badge or your badge serial number.

Ask for a letter from your council confirming you're a Blue Badge holder, if you've lost your badge. 

A CCTV camera didn’t see your badge

You'll probably get a letter if this happened. It will include photos of your car when it was parked.

You should appeal if you displayed your Blue Badge correctly.

To help prove that you used your Blue Badge, when you appeal include:

  • a copy of your blue badge

  • a letter from anyone who was with you confirming that you displayed your Blue Badge – they should write ‘Witness statement’ at the top

  • a copy of any photos sent with the parking ticket if you can see your badge – make sure you circle it on the photo.

See when to appeal a parking ticket for what to do next.

You couldn't get to your car because of mobility problems

If the reason you have a Blue Badge - for example because you can't walk very far - means you couldn't get back to your car in time, it's worth appealing. 

This is because The Equality Act 2010 means parking companies can't discriminate against you because of your mobility problems. 

To show it was hard for you to get back to your car in time, when you appeal include:

  • details of what happened

  • a letter from anyone who was with you, confirming what happened – they should write ‘Witness statement’ at the top

Make sure you explain that you're appealing under The Equality Act 2010, because you think you've been discriminated against.

See when to appeal a parking ticket for what to do next.

The parking attendant thought you displayed your Blue Badge incorrectly

You should appeal if you think you displayed it correctly

To help prove that you displayed your badge correctly, when you appeal include:

  • a letter from anyone who was with you, confirming that you displayed your badge correctly – they should write ‘Witness statement’ at the top

  • a description of how you displayed your badge, for example if it was on the dashboard and displayed with a clock

See when to appeal a parking ticket for what to do next.

You broke the parking rules by mistake

It's still worth appealing - the Equality Act 2010 means Blue Badge holders must be treated with understanding and can’t be discriminated against.

Make sure you explain in your appeal why you misunderstood the parking rules, including if:

  • your disability made it hard for you to understand the rules, for example a sign was a long way away and you can’t walk far to read it

  • the signs or road markings weren’t clear, for example if it was dark and they were badly lit

See when to appeal a parking ticket for what to do next