We can accept your:
- driving licence
- full state pension letter
- NHS medical card
- any NHS letter showing your date of birth
- prescription
- firearms certificate
- winter fuel allowance letter
Eligibility
There are seven categories you can apply for a disabled person's bus pass in. These are:
- You are blind or partially sighted.
- You are profoundly or severely deaf.
- You are without speech.
- You have a disability or injury that has a substantial and long term effect on your ability to walk.
- You do not have arms or you have long term loss of the use of both arms.
- You have a learning disability which includes significant impairment of intelligence and social functioning.
- You are medically unfit to drive.
Visit our disabled bus pass eligibility page to find out more about these categories and check if you are entitled to a bus pass.
Apply for your first bus pass
If you are applying for a person younger than 18 years old, contact us.
The fastest way to apply for your bus pass is online using our bus pass portal. If you are over 18 years old and need help with your application, you can ask a caregiver, friend or family member to help you. If you are helping someone set up an account, make sure you enter the details of the person the bus pass is for and not your own.
You will need:
- a digital passport style photo that clearly shows your full face to upload to your application
- your own valid email address
- evidence of your age and address - check what documents we accept
- evidence of your disability - check what evidence we accept
Update your details, track your applications and renew your pass
You can use your bus pass portal account to:
- track and update your application
- update your address
- renew your bus pass
- replace a lost or damaged bus pass
Renewing your bus pass
We will renew most disabled bus passes automatically. If we renew your pass automatically or not depends on the category you applied in.
You may need to renew your pass yourself if you applied in the following categories:
- you have a disability or injury that has a substantial and long term effect on your ability to walk
- you have a learning disability which includes significant impairment of intelligence and social functioning
- you are medically unfit to drive
You can apply to renew your pass on your bus pass portal account up to 30 days before your current pass expires.
If you move house
If you are moving to another address in North Yorkshire, you should update your address in your bus pass portal account. You can also contact us. If you do not update your address, your pass could be sent to the wrong place.
If you are moving away from North Yorkshire, you need to return your pass to us and apply for a new one from the local authority you are moving to. You can check who you need to apply to on the government website.
If you are moving to North Yorkshire from somewhere else and you already have a bus pass from the last place you lived, you need to apply for a new bus pass from us. You should also return your other bus pass to the council who issued it.
Evidence you will need
You need to include this evidence in your application. Find out how we verify your identity in our bus passes privacy notice.
Evidence of your age and address
Evidence of your address
We can accept:
- any letter from national or local government
- current council tax bill, letter, payment book or benefits
- current council or housing association rent book
- tenancy or mortgage agreements
- TV licence
- a letter confirming residency from your care or nursing home
- a copy of an invoice for care
- caravan site annual fee and valid postal address
- British Waterways residential permit
- marina permit
- mooring invoice showing mooring fees for more than six months
- a utility bill dated within the last three months that shows your name and address
Evidence of your age
We can accept your:
- birth certificate
- passport
- social security pension card
- free TV licence
- European Health Insurance Card or Global Health Insurance Card
Evidence of your disability
Find out what evidence you need of your disability on our disabled persons bus pass eligibility and evidence page.
Companion bus passes
If you are eligible, your disabled person's bus pass can include a companion who can travel with you free of charge. To be eligible, you need to include evidence in your application that you:
- are sight impaired (partially sighted) or severely sight impaired (blind)
- need support when you travel because of your disability
Disabled person's bus passes for children are not automatically eligible for companion passes.
Evidence for a companion pass
We accept the following evidence to show that you are eligible for a companion pass:
- evidence that you are sight impaired (partially sighted) or severely sight impaired (blind)
- a current Disability Living Allowance (DLA) award letter showing you get the higher rate of the mobility component
- a current DLA award letter showing you get the higher rate of the care component
- a current Attendance Allowance award letter showing you get the higher rate
- a current Personal Independence Payment (PIP) award letter showing you get the higher rate for mobility or daily living
- evidence that you have a learning disability and are aged 19 or younger and in full time education at a special school
Journeys a companion can take free of charge
Companions can generally only travel free of charge on journeys within North Yorkshire. However, if you are making a journey that involves crossing a boundary into another county, some of our neighbouring authorities will accept companion passes for the part of your journey that crosses the boundary. After that, the companion pass will not be accepted for any further parts of the journey outside North Yorkshire.
The authorities where you can use a companion pass to cross the boundary are:
- East Riding of Yorkshire Council
- West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA)
- Kingston Upton Hull City Council
- South Yorkshire PTE
- North Lincolnshire Council
- North Yorkshire Council
- North East Lincolnshire Council
- City of York Council
- Tees Valley Combined Authority
You do not have to take the same companion on every journey but your companion must get on and off the bus at the same place as you.
Companions with an older person's bus pass
If you are of state pension age and you apply for a disabled person's bus pass without a companion, we will automatically issue you an older person's bus pass instead. This means your pass will automatically renew every five years and you will not have to renew it yourself.
If you do need a companion, you need to contact us so we can issue you a companion pass.
When and where you can use your pass
Visit our when and where you can use your bus pass page to find out which services you can use your bus pass on.
Lost, damaged or stolen bus passes
Visit our lost, damaged or stolen bus passes page to find out what you need to do if your pass is lost, damaged, stolen or hotlisted.
Return a bus pass
Visit our return a bus pass page to find out how you can return a bus pass to us.
Get help
If you need help applying for your bus pass or have any problems with our online bus pass portal, contact us during office hours for help.
You can also get help in person at our libraries across North Yorkshire. Find out more on our help to apply for a bus pass page.
Apple users
If you are using an Apple device, make sure you have updated your device with the latest iOS software. If you do not have the latest software update, you may not be able to access our online system properly.