Updated 2 November 2026 (first published 18 July 2026). Analysis by Jacob Whitmore, Look Into Research. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a credit and link. No affiliate links or quote forms on this page.
The short answer. At least 3.74 million Blue Badges are in use across the UK, adding the latest count each nation has published. England's 3.07 million (March 2025) is most of it. Scotland had 324,826 live badges in April 2025, Northern Ireland 132,833 in December 2023, and Wales has published no count since June 2022, when it had 216,597. On the one date when all four nations were counted the same way, Wales and Northern Ireland had far higher take-up than England.
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What the four-nation data shows
- The UK has no single Blue Badge count, so we built one. Each nation runs its own scheme. England publishes accredited statistics every year. Scotland and Northern Ireland have released counts only through a freedom of information answer and a press release. Adding the latest figure from each gives at least 3.74 million badges in use. The dates differ, and the true current total is higher, because three of the four figures are a year or more old.
- Wales and Northern Ireland lead on take-up. The Welsh Government's 2025 review compared all four nations using the same June 2022 data from the Blue Badge Digital Service. Live badges covered 6.9% of people in Wales, 6.6% in Northern Ireland, 4.5% in Scotland and 4.3% in England.
- Wales has gone dark on its own numbers. The June 2022 snapshot is the latest Welsh count we could find from any official source. The Welsh Government says councils run the scheme and it does not hold council-level information.
- Scotland is growing faster than England. Scotland went from 242,819 live badges in June 2022 to 324,826 in April 2025, up 34%. England's count rose about 25% over a similar period, from 2.46 million to 3.07 million. The two later figures come from different publications, so treat the comparison as indicative.
- England has added 780,000 badges since 2019. Valid badges held rose from 2.29 million at March 2019 to 3.07 million at March 2025, from 4.1% to 5.2% of the population. The only dip was in 2021, during the pandemic.
- Within Wales, the gap between councils is almost two to one. In June 2022, 9.3% of people in Caerphilly held a live badge against 5.0% in Cardiff. In England, the North East (6.1%) holds badges at well over London's rate (3.5%).
- Most people who qualify automatically in England have not claimed. 1.20 million of those eligible without further assessment held a badge at March 2025, 37% of the group.
Blue Badges by nation
| Nation | Latest published count | Date of count | Share of population | Fee for a badge | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 3,070,000 valid badges held | 31 March 2025 | 5.2% (DfT) | Up to £10 | DfT, accredited official statistics, published 19 March 2026 |
| Scotland | 324,826 live badges | 7 April 2025 | 5.9% (calculated) | Up to £20; most councils charge £20 | Scottish Government FOI/202500458187, published 7 July 2025 |
| Wales | 216,597 live badges | June 2022 | 6.9% (Welsh Government) | Free | Review of the Blue Badge Scheme in Wales, 21 May 2025 |
| Northern Ireland | 132,833 valid badges in use | December 2023 | Not calculated (see method) | £10 | Department for Infrastructure press release, 7 December 2023 |
| UK (sum) | 3,744,256 | Mixed, 2022 to 2025 | About 5.4% (calculated) | Look Into Research calculation |
Scotland's share is 324,826 divided by its mid-2025 population of 5,545,500 (ONS, released 1 October 2026). The UK share is 3,744,256 divided by the UK mid-2025 population of 69,483,900. Both are our arithmetic and mix count dates, so they are indicative. England's 3.07 million is the DfT's rounded figure.
The one like-for-like comparison: June 2022
The Welsh Government's review used Department for Transport data from the Blue Badge Digital Service, which all four nations use to order badges. It is the only source we found that counts every nation on the same basis and date.
| Nation | Live badges, June 2022 | Share of population | Badges ordered, Dec 2021 to Nov 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wales | 216,597 | 6.9% | 94,963 |
| Northern Ireland | 126,597 | 6.6% | 48,431 |
| Scotland | 242,819 | 4.5% | 109,801 |
| England | 2,460,737 | 4.3% | 1,047,486 |
Source: Welsh Government, Review of the Blue Badge Scheme in Wales (social research 39/2025), Tables 1 and 2. The review warns that one person can appear more than once in application and order counts, and that some councils delete cancelled applications.
Why the gap? The data does not say, and we have not guessed. What we can say is that Wales charges nothing for a badge and Northern Ireland runs its scheme centrally, while England and Scotland leave it to councils and charge a fee. Those are differences in how the schemes work, not proof of cause.
England over time
| At 31 March | Valid badges held | Share of population | Badges issued in the year to March |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2.29 million | 4.1% | Not published |
| 2020 | 2.44 million | 4.3% | 966,000 |
| 2021 | 2.35 million | 4.2% | 824,000 |
| 2022 | 2.44 million | 4.3% | 1.04 million |
| 2023 | 2.57 million | 4.6% | 1.14 million |
| 2024 | 2.84 million | 4.9% | 1.13 million |
| 2025 | 3.07 million | 5.2% | 1.27 million |
Source: DfT Blue Badge scheme statistics, each year's edition (published December 2019 to March 2026). The next edition, covering the year to March 2026, is due in winter 2026 to 2027. We will update this table when it lands.
Other England figures from the March 2026 release: 4.3% of badges issued (55,000) went to people with non-visible disabilities; 6,600 badges were reported lost or stolen, 78% of them lost; 39% of badges held were awarded without further assessment, 60% after an assessment, and 1% went to organisations.
Theft and misuse
London police figures show badge thefts rose from 1,230 in 2014 to 6,415 in 2023, about 18 a day, according to Met Police data released through the London Assembly. A badge exempts the holder from London's Congestion Charge, which gives a stolen one a resale value. The AA estimated in April 2026 that up to one in five badges may be used by someone other than the holder. That is an estimate, not a measured figure. The DfT stopped publishing its prosecutions table in 2022, so no national enforcement count exists.
Applying, fees and how long a badge lasts
- England: apply through GOV.UK or your council. The fee is up to £10 and a badge usually lasts up to three years.
- Scotland: up to £20, and most councils charge £20. A badge usually lasts three years. Councils have ordered badges through the DfT's Blue Badge Digital Service since November 2023.
- Wales: free. From 17 July 2025 every council is expected to offer a "not for reassessment" route, so people whose condition will not change renew with proof of identity, address and a photo.
- Northern Ireland: £10, administered by the Department for Infrastructure. A simpler renewal route for people with lifelong mobility problems started in December 2023.
For who qualifies automatically and how assessments work, see our guide to Blue Badge eligibility, costs and how to apply.
Download the data
Every figure on this page is in one CSV, with its date, source and link: uk-blue-badge-data-2026-11.csv. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0): reuse it for any purpose, including commercial, as long as you credit Look Into and link to this page. The two charts on this page are under the same licence.
Cite this report: Look Into Research (2026), UK Blue Badge Report, updated 2 November 2026. https://lookinto.co.uk/mobility/uk-blue-badge-report/
How Look Into made this report
This is desk research on published official sources, not new fieldwork. We opened every source on 2 November 2026. Counts are reported exactly as published. Anything we calculated is labelled as ours: the UK sum, the Scotland and UK population shares, and the growth rates. Definitions differ. England counts valid badges held at 31 March. Scotland and Northern Ireland report badges live or in use on a single date. The June 2022 table is the only true like-for-like comparison. We did not compute a share for Northern Ireland's 2023 count, because we did not have a population figure for the same year.
What this report could not settle. We could not find any official count of badges in Wales after June 2022, or one for Northern Ireland after December 2023. We could not obtain refusal rates for any nation, because none is published. If you hold newer figures from an official source, tell us and we will add them with credit.
Questions
How many Blue Badges are there in the UK?
At least 3.74 million, adding the latest published count from each nation: England 3.07 million (March 2025), Scotland 324,826 (April 2025), Wales 216,597 (June 2022) and Northern Ireland 132,833 (December 2023).
Which part of the UK has the most Blue Badges per person?
Wales, on the only like-for-like data. In June 2022, 6.9% of people in Wales held a live badge, against 6.6% in Northern Ireland, 4.5% in Scotland and 4.3% in England.
How much does a Blue Badge cost?
Nothing in Wales, up to £10 in England, £10 in Northern Ireland, and up to £20 in Scotland, where most councils charge the full £20.
When are the next Blue Badge statistics published?
The DfT says its next England release, for the year to March 2026, is due in winter 2026 to 2027.
Related research: wheelchair-accessible taxis by council, which names the 18 licensing areas in England and Wales with none.
Sources
- DfT, Blue Badge scheme statistics, April 2024 to March 2025 (19 March 2026)
- DfT, Blue Badge data tables DIS01, including local authority table DIS0105
- DfT, Disability, accessibility and Blue Badge statistics 2023 to 2024 and earlier editions
- Scottish Government, FOI/202500458187, Blue Badge statistics (published 7 July 2025)
- Welsh Government, Review of the Blue Badge Scheme in Wales (21 May 2025)
- Senedd written question WQ97273 (answered 18 September 2025)
- Department for Infrastructure NI, simplified renewal process (7 December 2023)
- GOV.UK, Apply for a Blue Badge; mygov.scot, Blue Badge; nidirect, Blue Badge scheme
- ONS, mid-2025 population estimates (1 October 2026)
- Local Democracy Reporting Service, Met Police theft data (2024); AA via PA/LBC (April 2026)
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