Accessible Parking & Plates

Under Construction

Accessible Parking 

The City has several parking garages, open lots, and on-street parking - all with accessible parking for people with disabilities. View parking map here.

Apply for Temporary Disability Parking Permit from the City

The City's Parking Administrator can issue a temporary disability parking permit for individuals who are awaiting their state issued plates. To apply, contact the Parking Office with your request. You will be required to provide supporting documentation from your doctor. The permit is issued for an initial 3 months, but may require an extension. These temporary permits are only good within the City of Northampton.  

Apply for Disabled Parking Plate from the State 

Massachusetts allows residents with qualifying medical conditions to apply for and receive a free Disability Parking Placard / Plate that will allow the holder to park in an accessible parking space. Permanent placards are issued for up to five years. For a list of qualifying medical conditions and a thorough explanation of the application process: https://www.mass.gov/how-to/apply-for-a-disability-placard-or-license-plate. A copy of the Application for Disabled Parking Placard / Plate can be found here: https://www.mass.gov/doc/application-for-disabled-parking/download

Note: Massachusetts uses the term 'disabled parking' and 'disabled parking placard/plate', while the City of Northampton and many advocates for people with disabilities prefer the term 'accessible parking'.

Report Disability Parking Abuse 

The State's disability parking abuse program is used to report someone who may be misusing an Registry of Motor Vehicles disability parking placard or plate. Misuse can be using someone else's disabled placard, parking in a disabled spot without the disabled person present, using an expired placard, using an outdated placard, making counterfeit placards or altering an existing one. 

To properly report, you will need: 

  • the vehicle's license plate number
  • location of the abuse
  • description of the vehicle
  • description of the person abusing the disability parking
  • description of activity leading you to believe this is a case of parking abuse

Note: Not all disabilities are visible to an observer, so only file a disability parking abuse if you have a strong reason to believe abuse has taken place.