By Coral Gables Gazette staff
Miami-Dade County has canceled more than 4,700 disabled parking permits following a sweeping countywide audit that officials say uncovered widespread irregularities in the system. The cancellations amount to more than 11 percent of the 40,992 permits reviewed to date, underscoring the breadth of the compliance issues the audit uncovered.
Miami-Dade County Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez announced the figures May 28, describing the audit as a data-driven fraud detection initiative that cross-checks permits against official records. Grounds for cancellation include permits connected to deceased individuals, potentially fraudulent applications, incomplete or improperly submitted forms, and other discrepancies. The review is ongoing and additional cancellations are expected.
“After reviewing more than 40,000 permits, one thing is clear: this system needed a serious cleanup,” Fernandez said. “Canceling 4,707 permits is not a paperwork exercise. It means thousands of permits that should not have remained active are being taken out of circulation.”
Cases involving suspected fraud are being referred to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office. Under Florida law, fraudulent use of a disabled parking permit carries penalties of up to one year in jail, fines of up to $1,000, or both, and may result in disqualification from obtaining a permit for up to four years.
What the audit covers
The audit encompasses both permanent and temporary disabled parking permits issued over the past two years, including those processed through partner agencies and license plate offices. The Tax Collector’s Office is working in coordination with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and local law enforcement agencies across the county.
Individuals whose permits have been canceled have received written notification stating that continued use of a canceled placard may result in criminal penalties. The letters are explicit: permits must be surrendered immediately.
On May 21, Fernandez met with State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle and members of her office to discuss enforcement pathways for the most serious cases. That meeting focused on strengthening accountability and ensuring that fraudulent permit use is treated as the criminal offense Florida law defines it to be.
“When a disabled parking permit is issued or kept active based on bad information, the people who pay the price are the residents who truly need access,” Fernandez said. “This audit is about protecting those residents, strengthening the integrity of the system, and making sure these permits are reserved for the people they were created to help.”
Coral Gables’ role
The audit has particular resonance in Coral Gables, where elected officials had publicly called for exactly this kind of action. At the January 27 City Commission meeting, Mayor Vince Lago and Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson argued forcefully that disabled parking placards were being widely abused and that stronger oversight was urgently needed.
Lago said the issue had been bothering him for a long time and proposed shortening renewal periods from four years to one year and cracking down on online services that issue disability certifications with minimal scrutiny. He framed the issue in terms of fairness and dignity for those with legitimate disabilities, repeatedly referencing disabled veterans and residents with serious medical conditions. He drew a pointed analogy to Florida’s former pill mill crisis, arguing that loosely regulated online certification services were enabling permit abuse in a similar way.
Anderson focused on a different dimension of the problem: family members and caregivers using placards when the disabled person is not present in the vehicle. She also identified a critical enforcement gap – parking officers currently lack the authority to verify whether the person using a placard is the person to whom it was issued. “That’s a huge problem,” she said.
Fernandez – who is married to Coral Gables Assistant City Manager Carolina Vester – subsequently appeared before the Coral Gables City Commission, heard those concerns, and joined the city in advancing the effort countywide. Recent enforcement activity in Coral Gables identified a number of improperly used or invalid placards, including permits that were falsified, expired, or being used unlawfully.
“We were proud to work in partnership with the Tax Collector, who came before our commission, heard those concerns, and joined us in advancing this effort more broadly,” Lago said in April.
A directive that has not produced a resolution
One element of the January 27 discussion has not yet materialized. Lago directed city staff at that meeting to draft a resolution urging state lawmakers to tighten regulations on disabled parking permits, increase oversight, and explore stronger enforcement measures. As of publication, no such resolution has appeared before the Coral Gables City Commission.
What permit holders and residents should know
Residents who hold valid disabled parking permits are not affected by the audit unless they have received written notification of cancellation. Residents who believe their permit was canceled in error may contact the Miami-Dade County Tax Collector’s Office directly.
Under Florida law, a disabled parking permit may only be used when the person to whom it was issued is present in the vehicle — either as the driver or as a passenger being transported to or from the parking location. Use of another person’s permit, even a family member’s, is a violation of state law.
Coral Gables residents with questions about on-street accessible parking spaces within the city may contact the Parking and Mobility Services department at 305-460-5540 or parking@coralgables.com.
This Post Has 16 Comments
”J’ai trouvé votre analyse très pertinente pour notre région. L’impact des changements climatiques sur notre eau est réel. Je me rappelle avoir lu quelque chose de similaire sur la page de https://aerobet-fr.casino/“
Kudos to Miami-Dade County Tax Collector. As MDC residents we see every day people parking with their blue disabled parking permits, and then leaving their cars with agility and the dexterity of an athlete. We all have seen how the disabled parking permits has been abused. Let’s protect the disabled, and jail the crooks.
well said
careful, you don’t know what is going on with the person’s body or what they are feeling in a given moment. Appearance is deceiving.
It is about time someone did something. I have seen just as like many of you have, people driving sports cars such as Ferrari, Lambos, etc., with those permits and part in those spaces designated for people in need, simply probably because they want the larger space so their doors don’t get dinged. I have seem mom’s doing the same thing. Probably the permit belongs to a family member, that is not present. Then of couse when it comes to paid parking, those with permits, park for free as I recall.
I say, fine them, have them spend a night in jail to meet Bubba or the female equivalent. It is shameful, and it is the result of lack of proper enforcement.
well said
you know were you can see this violation happening every day is at the Biltmore Hotel..You see perfectly fine people parking in the handicap section and then walking into the gym and working out for 2 hours…I see these people in the gym and they have absolutely zero disabilities..They run, they lift..they show absolutely no signs of having to park in the handicap parking….its an abuse…Somebody should put a game cam viewing the handicap section of Biltmore and you will be blown away by the shameless people abusing the handicap…and by the way one of these guys works for the fire department and he works out for 2 hours in the gym,running ,squating ,benching..no physical ailments what so ever and he parks in the handicap parking and I have called him out on it and he laughs saying he can do anything because he’s a fireman…ridiculous..this should be on TV..
Only 4,700?
I had been told that I am allowed to use my relative’s placard when picking up script or food for the individual. Is that not accurate?
No, that’s not accurate. It’s illegal to use the disabled placard to park in a disabled space unless the person the placard was issued to is in the car.
Do you really believe that could be so?
OUTSTANDING!
FOS connivers of the world unite….
….and get lost.
There needs to be constant enforcement-there is none, just parking tickets.
There is a possible issue when you have 4′ lifted pick-up trucks next to the Lifetime Building with Handicap placards. Or drivers parking in the adjacent Lifetime building on the city parking lot displaying the placards when going into the gym. This parking lot is within .1 mile of the parking department office.
Its about time! Thank you! So much abuse for so long
And all along I thought they were giving out so many Disabled Parking Permits for mental disabilities.
The police should daily be on the lookout of people parking on on disable space using somebody else parking permit.