SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is warning visitors to this year’s Los Angeles County Fair to refrain from fraudulently using disabled person parking placards.

DMV investigators will be on the lookout for drivers who are misusing placards during a series of enforcement operations between August 30 and September 22. This is the third consecutive year that the DMV will crack down on placard abusers at the fair.

Last year, DMV investigators found 345 people illegally using placards. In 2017, they caught 477. They confiscated the offenders’ placards and issued citations that carry fines ranging from $250 to $1,000.

The DMV wants the public to know that a person who is specifically assigned a disabled person parking placard is the only one who can use it. It is illegal to:

Lend your placard to someone else

Use someone else’s placard

Alter a placard or placard registration card

Possess or display a counterfeit placard or license plate

Provide false information to obtain a placard or license plate

Forge a medial professional’s signature to obtain a placard

Most violations involve people misusing placards issued to family or friends to avoid paying parking fees, as well as to obtain convenient and/or restricted parking. The DMV urges the public to Save the Space for those who truly need it.

It is important to note that not every disability is visible and allegations of misuse of a placard may be unfounded. The level of reported or observed misuse varies from area to area.

Anyone who suspects a person may be fraudulently using a placard is urged to report it using an online complaint form or by contacting their local DMV Investigations office.

Learn more about disabled person parking placards.