1. A vehicle displaying a valid DP placard may park in spaces marked with:

• ✓ The International Symbol of Access (the blue wheelchair symbol)
• A yellow diamond
• A green triangle

Accessible parking spaces are marked with the International Symbol of Access, and a valid placard or plate is required to use them.

2. At an on-street metered parking space, a valid DP placard or plate generally allows the holder to:

• ✓ Park for free without paying the meter
• Park only after paying double the posted rate
• Park only during nighttime hours

State law exempts DP placard and plate holders from paying at on-street public meters.

3. Even though DP placard holders are exempt from meter fees, some cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles may still:

• Charge double the meter rate
• ✓ Enforce posted time limits at metered spaces
• Ban DP placards from metered spaces entirely

Some cities keep time limits in place for placard holders even though the meter fee itself is waived, so it is worth checking local signage.

4. In a space with a posted time restriction, such as a 2-hour limit, a vehicle displaying a valid DP placard may generally:

• ✓ Park for unlimited time despite the posted limit
• Still only park for the posted time limit
• Never park there at all

State law lets DP placard holders exceed posted time restrictions in most public parking areas.

5. Green curb zones normally limit how long a vehicle can park. A driver with a valid DP placard may park in a green zone for:

• ✓ An unlimited amount of time
• No time at all
• Only 5 minutes

A valid DP placard overrides the usual green-zone time limit, letting the holder park there without a time cap.

6. At a privately operated parking garage or valet lot, a DP placard:

• Always guarantees free parking under state law
• ✓ May not exempt the driver from the property's normal parking fees, since the meter exemption applies to on-street public spaces
• Is not accepted for any purpose

The free-parking and time-limit exemptions apply to public on-street spaces; private lots and garages can still charge their normal rates.

7. Which of these best describes where a DP placard grants free, unlimited-time parking under state law?

• Any parking lot regardless of ownership
• ✓ On-street public metered spaces and posted time-limited zones
• Only DMV office parking lots

The statewide meter and time-limit exemptions are specific to public on-street parking, not private property.

8. A red curb generally means:

• ✓ No stopping or parking is allowed, even with a valid DP placard
• Free parking reserved for placard holders only
• A passenger loading zone

Red curbs mark no-stopping zones, and a DP placard does not create an exception to that rule.

9. A yellow curb is typically reserved for:

• ✓ Commercial loading, and a DP placard does not override this restriction
• Disabled parking only
• Overnight parking

Yellow curbs are set aside for commercial loading and unloading, and displaying a DP placard does not change that designation.

10. The striped, crosshatched area next to an accessible parking space is meant for:

• General parking overflow
• ✓ Loading and unloading a wheelchair or mobility device, not for parking a vehicle
• Motorcycle parking

That striped access aisle exists so a wheelchair, ramp, or lift has room to deploy; it is not an extra parking space.

11. Is it legal to lend your DP placard to a friend or family member without a qualifying disability so they can park closer to a store?

• Yes, as long as they return it afterward
• ✓ No, this is considered misuse and can result in fines
• Yes, if it is just for one trip

A DP placard is only valid when the person it was issued to is being transported; lending it out for someone else's convenience is misuse.

12. Under California law, misuse of a DP placard can be charged as:

• A felony only
• ✓ An infraction or a misdemeanor, depending on the circumstances
• Something that can never be charged criminally

Placard misuse can be prosecuted either as an infraction or, in more serious cases, as a misdemeanor.

13. The base fine range for a DP placard misuse violation generally falls between:

• $25 and $50
• ✓ $250 and $1,000
• $10,000 and $20,000

State law sets the base fine for misuse in the $250 to $1,000 range, with the possibility of jail time if charged as a misdemeanor.

14. In addition to the base fine, a court may impose what kind of extra civil penalty for placard misuse?

• ✓ Up to an additional $1,500
• An automatic 5-year license suspension
• Mandatory lifetime vehicle impoundment

Courts have discretion to stack a civil penalty of up to $1,500 on top of the base fine for placard misuse.

15. If a DP placard is misused, what can the DMV do to the placard or plates themselves?

• Nothing, the DMV has no authority over misuse
• ✓ Cancel and revoke the placard or plates
• Automatically upgrade them to permanent status

The DMV can cancel and revoke a placard or plate that has been misused, in addition to any court-imposed fines.

16. Which of the following counts as placard fraud?

• Displaying a valid placard while transporting the person it was issued to
• ✓ Using a counterfeit or altered placard
• Parking in an accessible space while the placard holder is a passenger in the vehicle

Counterfeiting or altering a placard is a clear-cut fraud violation, unlike legitimate use while transporting the certified holder.

17. Forging a medical provider's signature on a DP placard application is:

• A minor paperwork issue with no real consequences
• ✓ Illegal, and can lead to citation, fines, and loss of placard privileges
• Only a problem if it is discovered within 30 days

Forged certifications are treated as fraud and can carry the same fines and privilege revocation as other misuse violations.

18. If the person a DP placard was issued to has passed away or no longer qualifies, the placard should be:

• Kept and used by a family member
• ✓ Returned to the DMV, since it is no longer valid for use
• Sold to another disabled driver

A placard is issued to one specific person, so it is no longer valid once that person is deceased or no longer meets the eligibility criteria, and it should go back to the DMV.

19. A DP placard is registered to:

• A specific vehicle only
• ✓ A specific person, which is why it can move between vehicles
• A specific parking garage

Because the placard belongs to the individual rather than a car, it can travel with them regardless of which vehicle they are riding in.

20. A visitor from another state with a valid out-of-state disabled parking placard:

• Cannot use accessible parking in California under any circumstance
• ✓ Can generally use California's accessible parking spaces, since federal law requires states to recognize each other's placards
• Must exchange it for a California placard before parking anywhere

Federal regulation requires every state to honor valid disability placards issued by other states, though specific perks like meter exemptions can still vary locally.