23 V.S.A. §304a Disabled Parking Defense
Vermont disability plates and removable placards are issued under 23 V.S.A. §304a. Section 304a authorizes display when the disabled holder is operator OR passenger; placard must hang from rearview mirror or, if vehicle has none, displayed on dashboard. Plates bear the International Symbol of Access. Common officer errors: (1) failure to look for placard on dashboard; (2) ticket issued to caregiver-driver while disabled passenger inside store; (3) plate misread; (4) photograph clearly shows valid placard but officer cited anyway. Documentation defense almost always succeeds.
Legal basis
23 V.S.A. §304a (disability plates and placards); §1102 (parking violations)
Sample appeal wording
[DATE] [Municipality] Parking Division [Address] Re: Citation #[NUMBER] — 23 V.S.A. §304a Defense Dear Hearing Officer: I dispute citation #[NUMBER] issued [DATE] at [LOCATION] for an alleged disabled-space violation. [I / passenger NAME] held a valid Vermont disability [placard #/plate #] issued under 23 V.S.A. §304a. The placard was [hanging from rearview mirror / on dashboard, vehicle having no operative mirror]. Photographs and copy of placard enclosed. I request immediate dismissal. Sincerely, [NAME] [ADDRESS] [PHONE] [EMAIL]
Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.
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- 23 V.S.A. §304a
- Vermont DMV — disability plate/placard application