Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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Indiana program

Temporary disability parking placard

A temporary parking placard can shorten the walk when your child meets Indiana's physical-disability rules.

What it is

A temporary parking placard can shorten the walk when your child meets Indiana's physical-disability rules.

Treatment can make getting from the car difficult. The clinician must certify a qualifying physical limitation. Having cancer or being in treatment does not by itself establish placard eligibility.

Eligibility rules
  • The current State Form 42070 needs certification of a qualifying limitation by an authorized clinician. The child does not need a driver's license.
  • The placard expires on the certified date or after one year, whichever comes first.
  • The test is a physical limit: needing a wheelchair, walker, braces or crutches, or a severe restriction on walking. A doctor, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, chiropractor or podiatrist can certify it. Cancer alone is not the test.
What you get
  • A temporary disability parking placard for $5.
  • Use of disability parking while the certification remains valid.
What the help includes
  • BMV offers branch and mail application routes. The correct identity or guardian-authority documents and certification depend on the application.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the clinic whether your child's walking limitations meet the placard rules and whether it can complete State Form 42070.
  2. With your social worker, check the current form, identity or guardian documents and $5 fee. BMV accepts eligible requests at a branch or by mail.

Clinic and Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles · Official page ↗

After you ask
  • The clinician records the condition and end date on State Form 42070.
  • The printed expiration date controls how long the placard can be used.
Good to know

The test is your child's physical limitation. Finishing treatment does not by itself show that walking is easy again.

Other details
  • Your answers here do not assess walking ability or the need for a mobility aid.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“If walking is difficult for my child, would a temporary placard fit? What limits should we understand, and could the clinic help with certification if it does?”

Why I’m asking: I want to make the trip from the car manageable on difficult clinic days.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Get the form signed at clinic and take it to a branch with $5.

Your social worker

The clinic signs the certification.

The care team

The health care provider certifies the condition and the end date.

Who decides
The Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
Ask your social worker
“Can someone sign State Form 42070 for a temporary parking placard at our next visit?”

How to apply

First step: Ask the clinic to complete State Form 42070 at the next visit, then take it to a motor vehicle branch.

  1. Ask the clinic to sign State Form 42070 at the next visit.
  2. Take it to a motor vehicle branch with $5.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: With your social worker, check the current form, identity or guardian documents and $5 fee. BMV accepts eligible requests at a branch or by mail.

What to gather

  • The completed State Form 42070
  • $5
  • Appropriate child identity and guardian-authority documents; the child does not need a driver's license.

How long: Issued at the branch counter.

What a yes looks like

A placard with an expiry date on it.

What a no looks like, and the next move

If the certification is the reason, ask the clinician to describe the walking difficulty in the provider section.

Watch out

  • The test is a qualifying functional limitation certified under the current BMV criteria; mobility aids are not the only qualifying condition.
  • It ends on the certified date or after a year, whichever comes first. Renew before a long treatment block.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

A temporary placard for $5, valid to the certified date or one year, whichever is first.

  • $5 — Temporary placard fee

Covers: Disabled parking while the certification lasts

What it costs the family: $5.

The eligibility facts, as published

Medical
Temporary eligibility includes a qualifying physical disability requiring a wheelchair, walker, braces or crutches; loss of use of one or both legs; or severe mobility restriction from pulmonary, cardiovascular, arthritic, orthopedic or neurological conditions. Temporary blindness or visual impairment has a separate certification route. Cancer alone is not the test. Authorized certifiers include physicians and specified military or federal medical officers, Indiana chiropractors, podiatrists, advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants; visual impairment uses an Indiana optometrist or ophthalmologist.
Duration
to the certified date or one year, whichever comes first

The trap: Temporary eligibility includes a qualifying physical disability requiring a wheelchair, walker, braces or crutches; loss of use of one or both legs; or severe mobility restriction from pulmonary, cardiovascular, arthritic, orthopedic or neurological conditions. Temporary blindness or visual impairment has a separate certification route. Cancer alone is not the test. Authorized certifiers include physicians and specified military or federal medical officers, Indiana chiropractors, podiatrists, advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants; visual impairment uses an Indiana optometrist or ophthalmologist.

Where I read this

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