The Department of Revenue and the Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (DIDD) are working together to provide financial relief for parents and guardians of individuals with disabilities.
Starting this month, there’s no state fee for parents or guardians of individuals with disabilities to obtain a disabled person plate. The Tennessee General Assembly approved the fee waiver during the 2023 legislative session.
“We were happy to partner with the Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities on this important effort that will ease costs for families and guardians of individuals with disabilities,” Revenue Commissioner David Gerregano said.
DIDD Commissioner Brad Turner said he is thankful to see this happening.
“As a parent, I understand that the costs are everywhere, so this is something I think that the state saw as a way to support families and make sure that families know that we see them and that we support them,” Commissioner Turner said. Hear more from Commissioner Turner in this video.
Tennessean Kelli Brown is the mother of a son with disabilities. Her son, Jack, loves riding in their van that supports his chair. She says she’s glad to see the fee waiver in place.
“I really appreciate that they are taking every step that they can to make things easier and not more difficult, not more paperwork to fill out, and one more hoop to jump through. It’s nice that they’re streamlining things and truly having an impact on our daily quality of life,” Brown said. Hear more from Brown in this video.
The fee waiver legislation follows the redesign of the license plate for individuals with disabilities to be more inclusive in 2023. The license plate for individuals with disabilities now has the same look and feel as the standard blue license plate introduced in 2022. There are approximately 191,000 active license plate registrations for Tennesseans with disabilities.
The Department of Revenue is responsible for the administration of state tax laws and motor vehicle title and registration laws and the collection of taxes and fees associated with those laws. The department collects about 87 percent of total state revenue. During the 2023 fiscal year, it collected $22 billion in state taxes and fees and more than $4.7 billion in taxes and fees for local governments. To learn more about the department, visit www.tn.gov/revenue.
