If you’re a Colorado resident who has a disability that prevents you from paying parking meters, you need a purple placard. This will now exempt you from paying all electronically monitored meters.
While Colorado already had a law that exempted some people with disabilities from paying parking meters, it wasn’t widely enforced. That changed in January of 2019.
The Chris Hinds Act
Chris Hinds, who is paraplegic, received a ticket for not paying a parking meter on the Auraria Campus. He assumed at the time the law exempted him from paying all parking meters, but it had a loophole. Hinds made it his mission to change this.
After much work, the act named for him eliminated this loophole. Now, all meters electronically monitored in Colorado honor the purple placard. They will not be honored by parking that is monitored by people.
Am I Eligible for a Purple Placard?
You are eligible for a purple placard if you have a disability that:
- Affects your fine motor control in both of your hands; or
- Prevents you from reaching a height of 48 inches because of a lack of strength or mobility in your finger, hand or upper extremity; or
- Requires you use a wheelchair or other device that prevents you from reaching the parking meter
How to Apply
To apply for the purple placard, visit Colorado’s DMV website. You will need to have a medical professional sign the form before you submit it to the DMV for review.
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