Apply online
You can apply online on the GOV.UK website.
You will need to pay Oldham Council a £10 administration fee.
Ways to pay the administration fee:
Online
It is easy to pay online using your debit card. Make a payment (select Blue Badge Service from miscellaneous payments)
By Telephone
You can pay the administration fee by calling the payment team during office hours and selecting option number two:
- Phone: 0161 770 6611
Who is it for?
You can apply for a Blue Badge if you are:
- Blind
- Receiving Personal Independent Payment (PIP), with a score of 8 or higher, in the moving around category of the mobility component
- Receiving a war pensioners’ mobility supplement
- In receipt of a lump sum payment within tariff levels 1-8 of the Armed Forces compensation scheme
- Permanent and substantially disabled, which makes walking impossible or very difficult. This needs to be assessed by an independent mobility assessor, unless eligibility is self-evident.
- Receiving a grant towards your own vehicle
- Using a vehicle supplied by a government department
- Unable to turn a steering wheel by hand
- Parents of a disabled child
- Have very considerable difficulty whilst walking, including very considerable psychological distress
- Cannot undertake a journey without there being a risk of serious harm to that person / any other person
Please note, if you meet these criteria you do not necessarily meet the criteria to successfully apply for a Blue badge – it simply makes you eligible to apply. All applications are subject to assessment.
Blue badges can also be issued to organisations which transport disabled people.
How long will it take?
If you are eligible for a badge; have submitted an application and provided the required supporting evidence, you can expect to receive a badge within 6-12 weeks of making an application.
Please note the timescale could be longer for cases where determining eligibility is more complex.
Apply by post
If you live in Oldham you can request a paper copy of the Blue Bagde application form be posted out to you.
The completed fomr should be returned, with the supporting documents and payment, to the address below:
Blue Badge Team:
Oldham Council Offices
Spindles Shopping Centre
West Street
Oldham, OL1 1LF
Supporting documents
You will need to send the follopwing documents in with your application:
- A current passport sized photograph with your name printed on the back
- Photocopied evidence of some form of ID such as birth certificate / passport / driving licence / marriage certificate / divorce certificate / civil partnership certificates (please be aware that if originals of these documents are sent, you will have to come to Access Oldham in the Civic Centre to collect them after we have processed your application)
Evidence of your address in the form of a copy of recent Council Tax or other utility bill - Photocopies of any relevant documents to support your application e.g. Medical evidence
- A £10.00 administration fee.
Payment
Online
It is easy to pay your £10 Blue Badge administration fee by using your debit card online. Make a payment (select Blue Badge Service from miscellaneous payments)
By Telephone
You can pay the administration fee by calling the payment team:
- Phone: 0161 770 6611
Applying for a Blue Badge with a non-visible (hidden) condition
The Government has introduced amended criteria for Blue Badge applications.
Due to the nature of non-visible (hidden) conditions, applications will be assessed by looking at an applicant's needs. Having a certain condition or disability does not automatically entitle somebody to a Blue Badge. So, who is eligible?
Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
An applicant would be automatically eligible under the new criteria if, in their PIP mobility assessment, they scored 10 points in “Planning and following a journey”. Specifically, the 10 points (Descriptor E), which says:
“Cannot undertake any journey because it would cause overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant.”
If the applicant did not score this, they can still apply and their application will be assessed.
Other benefits
There is no automatic eligibility under the new criteria with other benefits, including:
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
- Attendance Allowance (AA)
Applicants can still apply and their application will be assessed.
Applying under the new criteria
Consider applying for a Blue badge if you have a non-visible (hidden) condition, causing you to severely struggle with journeys between a vehicle and your destination, and you either:
- Have very considerable difficulty whilst walking, including very considerable psychological distress
- Cannot undertake a journey without there being a risk of serious harm to that person / any other person
If one or more of these are relevant to you, apply using the online service.
Before you apply, find out what you'll need when you apply:
Re-apply for your Blue Badge
Existing badge holders will receive a reminder 5 weeks prior to the expiry date.
If you still require a badge you should complete a new application as soon as possible following this reminder to ensure that you are re-assessed in time for a new badge to be processed if you are still eligible.
Please be aware that replacement badges will be issued near to the expiry date, not in advance of this date.
Lost, stolen, damaged or expired badges
Lost Badges
If you lose your badge, it is stolen, or damaged, you will need to report this to us via the GOV.UK website
You will need to pay £10 for the replacement badge and it will be issued with the same expiry date. If your current badge expires in less than 3 months, then you should re-apply instead.
Payment can be made online using your debit card (select miscellaneous payments)
By phone
- Call the payments team on 0161 770 6611 (during office hours only)
Stolen badges
If your badge has been stolen you will need to contact the police and obtain a crime reference number.
Damaged badges
If your badge has been damaged, you will need to return the badge to us before a replacement will be issued.
- Replace damaged Blue Badges - gov.uk website
Returning a found badge
Should a lost or stolen badge be found, after a replacement badge has been issued, you will need to return the found badge to us immediately.
If your badge has expired or you have a badge that you no longer need, please return it to the Blue Badge Team with an explanatory note, so that we can amend our records.
Reporting the Misuse of a Blue Badge
If you suspect that a person is mis-using a blue badge you should contact the Blue Badge team with details of the badge number and the person using the badge.