Voluntary Disabled Parking Registration Begins in Miami Beach

Miami Beach, FL – Complimentary disabled parking registration began this month on Miami Beach. The registration program is offered to residents and visitors who already possess a disabled parking placard or disabled license plate and wish to continue receiving special parking privileges next month when a planned enforcement change takes effect.

“We want to discourage people from knowingly breaking the law by using fraudulently obtained placards in Miami Beach,” explained Miami Beach City Commissioner Alex Fernandez, who sponsored the legislation. “Fraud creates an additional hardship for everyone who is already touched by disability. Our new registration requirement will help ensure the integrity of disabled parking placards by allowing our enforcement officers to aggressively pursue and punish those who selfishly exploit for personal gain parking resources that should be respected and reserved for individuals with disabilities.”

The voluntary Miami Beach registration program applies exclusively to municipal parking spaces. Registrants must appear in person at the Miami Beach Customer Service Center, 1755 Meridian Avenue (first floor). An application and consent form must be completed, signed and notarized. The consent form authorizes the city to verify information provided by the registrant with respect to the medical practitioner who approved the issuance of a disabled permit.

People who have a disabled veteran license plate, Florida toll exemption permit or a vehicle equipped with specialized equipment, such as ramps, lifts and foot or hand controls need not participate in the program to retain their free parking benefits for municipal garages, lots, facilities or on-street parking.

Disabled placard or disabled license plate holders who choose not to participate in the voluntary registration program will have to pay standard parking rates in municipal garages, lots and facilities. They will receive four hours of free on-street parking unless they exceed the maximum time in those on-street parking areas in which a maximum allowable parking time has been established and posted.

To apply for the voluntary registration program, applicants must bring the following documentation to the Miami Beach Customer Service Center:

• Disabled placard and registration.
• Vehicle registration.
• Driver’s license or state identification.
• Medical practitioner information, including the practitioner’s license number.

A notary public will be available at the Miami Beach Customer Service Center, open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a daily closure between 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

For additional information, visit www.miamibeachfl.gov/disabled-parking-program.

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