The California DMV is changing the way drivers are renewing their disabled persons placards to help avoid fraud.
Anyone who has had a disabled parking placard for six years or more will need to renew their permit by June 30 in order to continue using it.
According to an audit done by the state on the California DMV, state officials found that the “DMV does not sufficiently ensure that applications for placards or plates are legitimate.”
They said that the placard applications they reviewed did not provide enough specific information regarding the disabilities of the drivers and that they did not regularly update placards for those who are deceased.
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In 2017, the California State Legislature passed Senate Bill 611 a couple of months after the audit with the hope of correcting some of the shortcomings of the DMV.
Placards automatically renew every two years and now the DMV will be requiring placard holders to provide a signature every six years verifying that they still require their placard and are still alive.
This will be the first year the new process will be used and officials will hope it will result in more efficient records and limit the amount of permits being misused.
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To find more information on the disabled person placard renewal process use this link.