Question: Where can I get a paper application form PA-3 to renew my blue handicap placard? I don’t have a printer at home. Once I get the form, how early can I mail it in?
Answer: As you indicated, the application for a disability parking permit is available at 808ne.ws/PA3form, for those who can download and print it. There are several options for others, like you, who need another means to obtain the form.
On Oahu, you can pick up the form at any satellite city hall, without an appointment; ask the concierge in the reception area for the form, said Harold Nedd, a spokesperson for Honolulu’s Department of Customer Services.
Or you can pick up the form at the state Disability and Communication Access Board office, which is at 1010 Richards St. #118 in Honolulu, but be forewarned that the building does not have parking, said Kirby Shaw, DCAB’s executive director.
You could ask the doctor or advanced practice registered nurse who will be filling out the medical portion of your application if they can provide a blank form; some keep copies on hand or will print a copy for a patient.
Lastly, you can ask DCAB to mail you a copy. Call the agency at 808-586-8121 or email dcab@doh.hawaii.gov. “DCAB will mail a hard copy of the PA-3 Disability Parking Permit Application form to applicants who cannot download a copy of the form from our website,” Shaw said in an email.
As for when to renew your long-term disability parking permit (blue placard), “DCAB will process completed applications 60 days prior to expiration of the current placard. The physician/APRN signature is valid for six months, so if you mail it within six months of expiration DCAB will hold the form and process 60 days from expiration,” the DCAB website says.
As of June 30, 2022, 106,867 people in Hawaii had a valid, nonexpired disability parking permit, according to a report on DCAB’s website. Read more about the disability parking program at health.hawaii.gov/dcab.
Q: Can I get a copy of my birth certificate in person or are orders only online? I was born here.
A: The Oahu office of the Hawaii Department of Health’s Vital Records Office offers in-person service, but appointments are recommended and you should submit your order online ahead of time if you must pick up the birth certificate at your appointment; same-day service is not guaranteed, according to the Vital Records website. “If we are unable to fulfill your order during (the) appointment, the certificate(s) will be mailed to the shipping address provided,” it says. The Vital Records Office is at 1250 Punchbowl St., Room 103, which is on the first floor of the main DOH building at the corner of Beretania and Punchbowl streets. The office is open Monday through Friday from 7:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., the website says. Although reservations are encouraged, walk-in service is available between appointments, it says. For more information and for links to make an appointment or place an order online, go to health.hawaii.gov/vitalrecords.
Q: I just found out that I could have been parking at the Kona airport long term, but this option is ending soon. As a part-time Big Island resident, it would have been convenient. Is this available in Honolulu?
A: No, not since 2017. The Kona airport is the last of the state’s five major airports to stop selling monthly parking passes for nonairport employees, according to the state Department of Transportation, which said the Kona airport will stop offering them to the general public effective June 1. The Honolulu, Hilo, Kahului and Lihue airports stopped selling them in 2017.
Mahalo
Mahalo to the kind gentleman who helped me exit Queens POB 2 parking lot on Monday as the machine would not accept my parking ticket and charge card. Thank you again. — J.K.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.