The majority of drivers understand that blue parking spots with the wheelchair symbol are reserved for people with disabilities. They’re required under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which sets strict rules for everything from the minimum number of parking spots required to their location in the lot and how they’re marked.
But many drivers probably can’t say the same for a different sort of parking spot cropping up in some places—those painted in a vibrant purple that are pretty hard to miss. Unlike the more familiar ADA spots, the rules around these newer purple parking spaces aren’t nearly as clear. So who are they meant for, exactly, and what do they mean for everyday drivers looking for a place to park? Read on to find out what you need to know the next time you see one.
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What are purple parking spaces?
These colorful purple spaces are generally known as Purple Heart parking spaces. As their name implies, they’re specifically reserved for veterans wounded in combat while serving in the United States military.
The spaces are easy to spot because of their vivid, symbolic color. The space may be solid purple or outlined in the color, and most include a sign displaying the Purple Heart medal. This sign, with its distinctive profile of George Washington, who established the honor during the Revolutionary War, clearly marks the space as reserved for combat-wounded veterans.
Where can you find Purple Heart parking spaces?
These days, they’re in many (but not all) states across the country. You can find them outside both government buildings and private businesses. Purple Heart spots may appear wherever communities want to honor vets, including at police stations, courthouses and college campuses.
One of the first reported instances of the spots was in 2015, when Warren, Ohio, a town that’s home to thousands of veterans, created a purple parking space outside the municipal court. Herman Breuer, former director of the Trumball (Ohio) County Veteran Services Network, told WKBN First News at the time that it was important for the city to recognize wounded combat veterans because they “should hold a special place in everyone’s heart” since they “spilled blood for our country.”
In the past decade, Purple Heart parking spots have been spreading—slowly. Brian Thomas, a New Hampshire–based Purple Heart recipient who served with the 1st Infantry Division in Operation Iraqi Freedom, says he’s seen only one Purple Heart parking spot in person, while visiting family in Hempstead, Long Island. “It stood out immediately,” he recalls. “I’ve seen plenty of Veteran-designated parking before, but never one specifically honoring Purple Heart recipients.”
Who authorizes Purple Heart parking spaces?
It depends. Like the Ohio courthouse spot, many purple parking spaces are located on government property and therefore are authorized by state or local ordinance. For example, in July 2021, the Florida State House of Representatives enacted CS/HB 1029, a bill giving cities, counties, towns and state agencies the authority to designate spots throughout Florida. And in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, officials set aside two combat-wounded parking spots at the town hall.
Veteran groups also play a role. In West Virginia, VFW Post 4442 started the Purple Heart Parking Project, which was successful in getting more than 50 purple parking spaces installed, first at a local Walmart and then across the state at hospitals, restaurants, sporting venues and other prominent public and private entities. Still, there is no federal law requiring them, and not every state has passed an official law outlining how they should appear.
What happens if you park in a purple parking space?
The consequence of parking in these spaces when you aren’t a combat-wounded veteran depends on local rules. For instance, Florida’s law says that the spaces are “not officially reserved or protected” at the state level. They’re primarily “designed to honor” Purple Heart recipients, so the law gives cities, counties or state agencies latitude to decide how to monitor and enforce the spots.
That means local governments could require special permits or no proof at all. They might issue fines for unauthorized parking or let violators off the hook. In the case of Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, the town decided that anyone caught parking in these special spots without proper identification, such as a special Purple Heart license plate or vehicle identification sticker, would face a fine and possibly community service.
How do purple parking spaces and handicapped parking spaces differ?
Both serve a similar function: making parking easier for those who need it. Since handicap spaces are more prevalent, most disabled veterans still rely on ADA-designated spots and have the appropriate tags for those.
But on an emotional level, the purple parking spaces serve an additional and very important function. “These sorts of spots not only alleviate the guilt associated with handicapped spaces, or the signaling and perceived judgment around those, but often empower a sense of pride,” Thomas says. “I think many disabled veterans are more likely to use a Purple Heart or Veteran space than a handicapped space [since] it removes some of the stigma and reinforces pride instead of pity.”
Thomas adds that serving in the armed forces can leave physical and emotional scars that many people don’t understand. “As a veteran, there’s a constant duality: the drive to move forward without asking for help, and the wish that others understood what your service, what serving with your brothers and sisters, meant; and the pride that comes from that service,” he says. “If these spaces spark curiosity, awareness or even a small conversation about that, then they are serving their purpose.”
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