Revised November 18, 2010

Parking placards for individuals with a significant mobility limitation

Section 66-3-16 NMSA 1978 provides that a resident of New Mexico who has a "significant mobility limitation" may apply for and be issued no more than two parking placards for display upon a motor vehicle that is either registered to or is transporting the person with a significant mobility limitation.

A person with a significant mobility limitation is one who:

1. cannot walk one hundred feet without stopping to rest;
2. cannot walk without the use of a brace, cane or crutch or without assistance from another person, a prosthetic device, a wheelchair or other assistive device;
3. is restricted by lung disease to such an extent that the person's forced respiratory volume, when exhaling for one second, when measured by spirometry, is less than one liter or the arterial oxygen tension is less than sixty millimeters on room air at rest;
4. uses portable oxygen;
5. has a severe cardiac condition; or
6. is so severely limited in the ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurologic or orthopedic condition that the person cannot ascend or descend more than ten stair steps.

Note:
An amputee who does not meet any of the six conditions above is no longer entitled to a handicapped plate or placard.

A parking placard may be permanent or temporary.

In the past, a permanent parking placard expired on the same date as the person's driver's license or identification card. However, Senate Bill 209 of the 2010 Legislative Session amended Sec. 66-3-16 NMSA 1978 to remove language linking the placard to the customer’s driver’s license or ID card.

As a result, effective June 7, 2010, every new permanent parking placard will now expire four years from the date it was issued (PQU#115).

Once approved for use of a permanent placard, the individual is not required to furnish further medical information.

A temporary placard may be issued for up to one year based on a physician's statement attesting to a temporary significant mobility limitation.

A current NM DL or ID is no longer required

Because a parking placard is no longer tied by statute to the individual's driver's license or ID, a current NM DL or ID is no longer required for issuance of a placard.

Proof of New Mexico residency is not required

Section 66-3-16 limits availability of New Mexico parking placards to residents of New Mexico. However, we do not require separate proof of New Mexico residency for issuance of a parking placard. The applicant's New Mexico address on the Certificate of Eligibility for Parking Placard (MVD-10383) is sufficient.

Required characteristics of parking placards

Section 66-3-16 requires that parking placards have the following characteristics:

1. a picture of the international symbol of access;
2. a hologram to make duplication difficult;
3. an imprinted expiration date; and
4. a full-face photograph of the holder on the inside of the placard covered by a flap.

MVD changed over to the current photo placard format in June, 2008 (PQU#59rev2).

Placards Issued by Other Jurisdictions

A parking placard issued to a person with a significant mobility limitation by another state or foreign jurisdiction shall be honored until the parking placard holder establishes residency in New Mexico.