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

Childhood Cancer Lantern
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Maryland program

Temporary disability parking placard (free, up to six months)

A free temporary parking placard when a clinician certifies a qualifying disability. It can shorten the walk to treatment.

What it is

A free temporary parking placard when a clinician certifies a qualifying disability. It can shorten the walk to treatment.

Walking from ordinary parking can become difficult during treatment. A clinician checks the actual impairment and expected duration. Cancer alone is not the parking eligibility test.

Eligibility rules
  • The disability must be non-permanent, expected to last at least three weeks, and create hardship or injury risk without the permit.
  • A physician or physician assistant can sign form VR-210. If your child’s clinic is led by a nurse practitioner, ask the clinic to check with MVA whether that signature is accepted.
What you get
  • A free temporary placard for one to six months.
  • An extension of up to six more months with clinical approval.
What the help covers
  • The placard allows use of accessible spaces while valid. Its purpose is access for the person with the certified disability.
If you decide to apply
  1. Bring Maryland form VR-210 to the clinic and describe your child's difficulty walking.
  2. Ask an eligible clinician to assess and certify the impairment if the criteria fit.
  3. Submit the completed form to the Motor Vehicle Administration if you decide to proceed.

Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration · 1-410-768-7000 · Official page ↗

After you apply
  • The Motor Vehicle Administration issues the placard. Further temporary need requires clinical approval for an extension.
Good to know

The clinician must certify the disability and hardship or risk of injury without the permit. A diagnosis does not automatically qualify.

Other details
  • The application form is VR-210. MVA can be reached at 1-410-768-7000.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could treatment-related walking difficulties meet the temporary placard rules? What would getting and using one involve, and could the clinic assess our child and help with the form if it fits?”

Why I’m asking: If walking becomes difficult, a shorter trip from the car could make hospital visits easier.

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

Bring the form to a visit and post it in.

Your social worker

The clinic completes the medical certification.

The care team

A clinician certifies the impairment and how long it will last.

Who decides
The Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration, on a clinician's certification.
Ask the care team
“Can you complete the temporary disability parking form for my child? Walking across the car park is hard right now, and we are asking for the longest period you can certify.”

How to apply

First step: Ask the clinic to complete form VR-210 at the next visit.

  1. Ask the clinic to complete form VR-210 at the next visit.
  2. Ask for the longest period the clinician will certify.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Ask the clinic to complete form VR-210 and submit it.

What to gather

  • Form VR-210
  • The vehicle registration details

How long: One to six months, extendable for up to six more.

What a yes looks like

A placard in the post with an expiry date on it.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Ask what duration the clinician certified, since three weeks is the minimum the law asks for.

Watch out

  • Certified on mobility and duration, not on the diagnosis.
  • Ask for the longest period the clinician will certify; it can be extended for up to six more months.

The numbers and the rules

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

What it is worth

A free placard for one to six months, extendable for up to six more.

  • $0 — Fee for the placard
  • $6 — Maximum months of an additional period
  • $3 — Minimum weeks the impairment must be expected to last

Covers: Disabled parking spaces while the placard is valid

What it costs the family: Free.

The eligibility facts, as published

Condition
A certified non-permanent disability expected to last at least three weeks, causing hardship or a risk of injury without the permit
Certifier
A licensed physician, physician assistant or certified nurse practitioner, and for some categories a chiropractor, optometrist, podiatrist or physical therapist

The trap: This is certified on mobility, not diagnosis. The certifier has to say the impairment will last at least three weeks and that there would be hardship or a risk of injury without the permit.

Where I read this

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