Supporting evidence for a Blue Badge application, written in the functional terms assessors actually look for.
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Blue Badge applications are assessed on how far you can walk and how much it costs you to do it — not on your diagnosis. Applications are frequently refused because the medical evidence describes a condition rather than its effect.
This letter is written the other way round: what you can and cannot do, over what distance, and what happens when you try.
Your council's eligibility wording, if you have it. Criteria vary between local authorities.
How far you can walk before stopping, whether you need aids, how long recovery takes, whether it varies day to day, and whether pain or breathlessness is the limiting factor.
In the language the assessor is looking for.
In England you are eligible automatically, with no assessment, if you receive the higher rate mobility component of DLA, score eight points or more in the 'moving around' activity of PIP, are registered severely sight impaired, or receive a War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement.
If one of those applies, apply directly and keep your forty pounds. We would rather tell you that than take a fee for a letter you did not need.
This is why applications get refused. Councils assess how far you can walk and what it costs you to do it — a letter naming a condition without describing its effect gives the assessor nothing to score.
So the consultation goes through, in detail:
The 2019 criteria explicitly cover people whose barrier is not walking distance — where journeys cause overwhelming psychological distress, disorientation, or a risk of harm to themselves or others.
If that is you, describe how a journey actually goes, including a bad one: what happens in a car park, what happens if the route changes, what has happened before. That specificity is what these applications lack.
Wording varies between local authorities, and the letter is written to the criteria the assessor is applying.
If you can walk two hundred metres, that is what it will say. An overstated account is the fastest route to refusal, because it stops matching the rest of the evidence — and assessors read a great many of these.
The decision rests with your local authority, not with us. A supporting letter strengthens an application; it does not guarantee one.
We can only describe what we assess. If your condition was diagnosed elsewhere, bring the documentation.
Evidence supplied after a decision usually means starting a review rather than the original application, which is slower. Apply through GOV.UK or your council's own portal and attach the letter as supporting evidence.
A single GP letter is stronger alongside the rest of the picture:
That is normal and not a sign of doubt. Where an application falls outside the automatic routes, many authorities refer to an independent mobility assessor — usually an occupational therapist — and make the decision on that.
Our letter is evidence for them to weigh, not a determination. Take it with you to that appointment.
Commonly six to twelve weeks, longer where an independent assessment is arranged. Badges last three years and do not renew automatically — reapply around eight weeks before expiry, since there is no grace period and enforcement does not treat a lapsed badge kindly.
A refusal is not the end, and a large proportion are overturned on review.
It belongs to you, not to a vehicle, and can be used in any car you travel in. Misuse is a criminal offence — including a family member using it while you are not with them, which is prosecuted more often than people expect.
Concessions vary by local authority, and several city centres and private car parks operate their own rules. Check locally rather than assuming.
Check first whether you qualify automatically, because then you do not need us at all. In England you are eligible without further assessment if you receive the higher rate mobility component of DLA, score eight points or more in the 'moving around' activity of PIP, are registered severely sight impaired, or receive a War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement. If one of those applies, apply directly and keep your forty pounds.
We are not the assessor. Where an application falls outside the automatic routes, some councils commission their own independent mobility assessment and will make their decision on that. Our letter is evidence for them to weigh, not a determination, and no letter obliges a council to issue a badge.
We describe function, and we describe it accurately. If you can walk two hundred metres, that is what the letter will say. Overstating a limitation is the fastest way to have an application refused when the account does not match the rest of the evidence.
Hidden disabilities are eligible — the 2019 criteria explicitly cover conditions where the barrier is distress, disorientation or risk of harm rather than walking distance. These are consistently under-evidenced, so tell us how journeys actually go, including what happens on a bad day.
Possibly not — check the automatic routes first. Higher rate DLA mobility, eight or more points on PIP 'moving around', registered severely sight impaired, or a War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement all qualify you without any assessment.
If one applies, apply directly and save the fee.
No, and be wary of anyone implying otherwise. The decision belongs to your local authority, which may also commission its own independent assessment. A well-evidenced letter improves an application; it does not decide it.
Most often because the medical evidence described a condition rather than its effect. "Osteoarthritis of both knees" tells an assessor nothing scoreable. "Can walk approximately thirty metres before stopping because of pain, needs a stick, takes twenty minutes to recover" is evidence.
Send us the refusal letter. It usually names precisely what was missing.
Yes. Since 2019 the criteria explicitly include people for whom journeys cause overwhelming psychological distress, disorientation, or a risk of harm.
These applications are consistently under-evidenced because people describe the diagnosis rather than the journey. Tell us what actually happens — in a car park, when a route changes, on a bad day.
Only with the documentation. Bring clinic letters, reports or your NHS App record. We cannot state as fact a diagnosis we have neither made nor seen evidence of.
No. The letter records what the assessment establishes.
This is in your interest as well as ours: an overstated account stops matching the rest of the evidence, and assessors who read hundreds of these notice. A precise, moderate account carries more weight and survives challenge.
Commonly six to twelve weeks, longer if an independent mobility assessment is arranged.
No, and this catches a lot of people. Badges last three years and you must reapply — start about eight weeks before expiry. There is no grace period, and an expired badge on display is treated as no badge at all.
Yes — every council has a review process, usually with a deadline of around a month, and a substantial share of refusals are overturned.
The key is to address the specific reason given rather than resubmit the same evidence. Where that reason is something we can properly document, send it to us.
No. That is a criminal offence, prosecuted more often than people assume, and it results in the badge being withdrawn.
The badge belongs to you and travels with you — in any vehicle, as driver or passenger.
Clinically reviewed by Dr Mohammad Zubair Khan, GMC 7563469
Last reviewed
August 23, 2026
On this page
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Told when a test isn’t needed
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20 minutes
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£40 for 20 minutes
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Same-day access is usually available, from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week. You choose a time that suits you rather than waiting on hold at 8am.
Yes. Care is led personally by Dr Mohammad Khan, so you are not passed between clinicians. Continuity is the point of a small practice: someone who knows your history and is listening attentively rather than working through a checklist.
Yes, with your consent. We can access your Summary Care Record during the consultation, so your current medications, allergies and significant history are in the room. That means fewer questions you have already answered elsewhere, and safer prescribing.
No. We are not here to replace GPs, only to support them. Your NHS practice remains responsible for your ongoing care, and with your consent we write to them after the consultation. We are useful when you need to be seen sooner, or want more time than a standard appointment allows.
Twenty unhurried minutes and a comprehensive assessment. A written treatment plan is included, along with any prescription, sick note or referral letter arising from the consultation, at no extra charge.
£40 for 20 minutes, self-pay. Membership is optional and never required. Priced for fairness, because we are not here to charge extortionate amounts for access to a doctor.
It means the diagnosis can usually be made from your history and photographs, and that treatment can be arranged safely without examining you. Where a condition is not marked treatable online, it is because examination is the diagnosis — listening to a chest, feeling an abdomen, examining an ear or a joint — or because a procedure or device is needed.
Yes, where there is a genuine bacterial infection — cellulitis, impetigo, bacterial urine infections, confirmed strep throat. We will also frequently tell you that you do not need one. Most sore throats, coughs, colds and earaches are viral, and an antibiotic gives you the side effects with none of the benefit.
If your problem turns out to be genuinely outside what we can do remotely, the doctor will tell you straight away, point you to the right service, and refund your fee in full. We would rather do that than fill twenty minutes to justify the charge.
Call 999 or go to A&E — do not book an online appointment and do not wait for a reply to an email. For urgent problems that are not emergencies, NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, online or by phone, and can direct you to the right service.
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