A parking permit for people with reduced mobility – often called an HC card – is a document you apply for from the kommune (municipality) where you live. You can only get it if two conditions are met at the same time: you have serious difficulty walking, and you have a special need for easier parking at your home, workplace, or other places you use regularly. The card lets you park in reserved HC spaces all over the country, and you don't have to pay for parking in municipal paid parking areas. Here you'll learn who can get the card, how to apply, and what the card gives you.

What the HC card is, and what it gives you

HC card is the short name for "parking permit for people with reduced mobility". According to the regulation (forskriften), the purpose is to give people with a real need for easier parking access to a suitable parking offer.

With a valid card, you can park all over Norway:

  • in spaces reserved for people with reduced mobility and marked with an official sign
  • free of charge in municipal paid parking areas
  • for up to double the time where there is a signposted time limit of 30 minutes or more (except in dedicated reserved HC spaces)
  • where residential parking zones (boligsoneparkering) have been introduced

The card is valid throughout the country, but it does not give you permission to park illegally or where stopping is prohibited. Place the card clearly visible in the windscreen when you use it, so the parking attendant can see it.

The card follows a common EEA model. This means you can also use it when parking in other EEA countries, but the rules for where and how long you can park may vary slightly from country to country.

Who can get the card? Two conditions must be met

You must meet both conditions below – meeting only one is not enough. A diagnosis or illness alone does not give you the right to a card.

  1. Mobility difficulty. You must have a legeerklæring (doctor's certificate) showing that you cannot walk, or have serious difficulty moving any distance.
  2. Special need for easier parking. You must show that, because of conditions at your home, workplace, or other addresses you visit regularly, you have a special need to make parking easier.

The legeerklæring documents your health, but the kommune itself assesses whether you have the special need. That's why two people with the same diagnosis can get different answers.

How to apply – step by step

You apply to the kommune where you are registered as living (your home municipality, bostedskommune), even if you mostly park in a different kommune. Most kommuner have a digital application form.

  1. Find the form on your kommune's website, or ask for a paper form.
  2. Get a legeerklæring (doctor's certificate) from your fastlege (regular GP) or another doctor.
  3. Attach a passport photo and a copy of your driving licence (if you apply as a driver) or ID (if you apply as a passenger).
  4. Send in the application and wait for a written decision.

It is free to apply for an HC card.

Processing time, validity, and renewal

The kommune issues the card for a limited period: at least 2 år and a maximum of 5 år at a time. When the card is about to expire, you must apply again – it is not renewed automatically. Processing times are not the same in every kommune, so apply well in advance of when you need the card or before the old one expires.

Driver or passenger – and the card is personal

You apply either as a driver or as a passenger:

  • Driver: you drive yourself and have mobility difficulties.
  • Passenger: you regularly need help from the driver outside the car, and have mobility difficulties.

The card is personal. It is tied to you as a person, not to a particular car. You can use it in any car, but only when you yourself are in it. Lending the card to someone else is misuse. The kommune can withdraw the card if it is misused, or if your circumstances change so that the conditions are no longer met.

If you are refused: how to appeal

If you are refused, you can appeal the decision. You send the appeal to the kommune, usually within three weeks of the date on the decision. The kommune can change the decision itself, or refer the case to the kommune's appeals board (klagenemnd), which decides the appeal. Feel free to use the appeal form the kommune refers to, and explain why you believe you meet both conditions. A new or more detailed legeerklæring can strengthen your appeal.

The card is only about parking. If you have received a parking fine you believe is wrong, separate rules apply for appealing it. If you want to know more about other support schemes, you can read about rights for people with disabilities in Norway and aids you can borrow for free from NAV, the Norwegian labour and welfare administration.