Free Bus Pass UK: Age, Disability and PIP Rules by Nation

In England you qualify for an older person's bus pass at State Pension age. In Scotland and Wales you qualify at 60. In Northern Ireland you can get a 60+ SmartPass between 60 and 64 and a Senior SmartPass from 65. London has its own passes, covered below.

In England and Wales you apply to the council for the area you live in. In England, if you live in more than one home, you apply to the council where you live most of the time.

The English pass is tied to State Pension age, and State Pension age is rising from 66 to 67. People born between 6 April 1960 and 5 March 1961 reach it at 66 years and 1 month to 66 years and 11 months. People born from 6 March 1961 reach it at 67.

Check your own date on GOV.UK's State Pension age service, or read our State Pension age guide.

Yes, if you meet your nation's rules. You do not have to wait for the older person's pass age. England and Wales use the same seven categories of disability set out in law, and your council decides. Scotland lists the benefits and conditions that qualify. Northern Ireland gives free passes to some groups and half fare passes to others.

If you live in England

Your council must issue a free pass to anyone who appears to it to be an elderly or disabled person living in its area. The law sets seven categories of disability:

• ✓Yes: you are blind or partially sighted
• ✓Yes: you are profoundly or severely deaf
• ✓Yes: you are without speech
• ✓Yes: you have a disability, or have suffered an injury, which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to walk
• ✓Yes: you do not have arms or have long-term loss of the use of both arms
• ✓Yes: you have a learning disability, that is, a state of arrested or incomplete development of mind which includes significant impairment of intelligence and social functioning
• ✓Yes: you would be refused a driving licence on physical fitness grounds under section 92 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, other than for persistent misuse of drugs or alcohol

Your council makes the decision. It must have regard to the Department for Transport's guidance but is not bound by it, and you have to prove your entitlement. The guidance says a council may treat any of these as automatic proof, if the award is for at least 12 months:

• Personal Independence Payment, with at least 8 points on Moving around or Communicating verbally
• the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance
• the War Pensioner's Mobility Supplement

Earlier guidance treated a Blue Badge as automatic proof. The Department no longer recommends that, because the eligibility criteria for the two are different. For the walking category, the guidance says someone who can only walk up to 27 metres without severe discomfort qualifies, and someone who can only walk between 27 and 64 metres is likely to qualify. For other applicants where there is doubt, the guidance says a council should seek independent medical evidence and that the applicant should not bear the cost.

If you live in Scotland

You qualify for a disabled person's pass if you live in Scotland and receive one of these benefits:

• ✓Yes: Attendance Allowance
• ✓Yes: Personal Independence Payment
• ✓Yes: Adult Disability Payment
• ✓Yes: Pension Age Disability Payment, at the lower or higher rate of the care component
• ✓Yes: Disability Living Allowance, at the higher rate of the mobility component or the higher or middle rate of the care component
• ✓Yes: War Pension Constant Attendance Allowance

You can also qualify without those benefits. Transport Scotland lists these other routes:

• ✓Yes: you hold a Blue Badge
• ✓Yes: you are profoundly or severely deaf
• ✓Yes: you have a sight impairment
• ✓Yes: you have been told not to drive on medical grounds
• ✓Yes: you have a terminal illness
• ✓Yes: you have lost one or both legs, both arms or an arm and a leg
• ✓Yes: you receive a War Pensioner Mobility Supplement
• ✓Yes: you have a mental health condition recognised under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 that has lasted for more than a year, and you need to travel to health or social care appointments as part of treatment activities, care or a rehabilitation programme, and your ability to travel is impaired
• ✓Yes: you have a learning disability and need to travel to see a support worker or get to appointments or activities
• ✓Yes: you have a progressive degenerative condition, such as Parkinson's Disease, that severely impedes your mobility, in which case you may be eligible

If you apply on a benefit, send a letter from DWP or Social Security Scotland that is dated within the last 18 months and confirms how long your entitlement lasts. Our guides to Adult Disability Payment and Pension Age Disability Payment cover the Scottish benefits.

If you live in Wales

Welsh councils use the same seven categories of disability as England, and seriously injured armed service personnel and veterans who fall within them can also apply. Welsh Government guidance gives automatic entitlement, with no further assessment, to people awarded these, among others:

• the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance
• the War Pensioner's Mobility Supplement
• Personal Independence Payment, with 8 or more points for Communicating Verbally or Moving Around, or 12 points for Planning and Following a Journey

If you live in Northern Ireland

nidirect lists these passes.

If you get only the daily living component of PIP, you do not qualify for a SmartPass under the PIP category.

It depends on the nation. Transport Scotland lists PIP with no rate or points condition. The guidance for England and Wales sets a points threshold for automatic acceptance. Northern Ireland offers a half fare pass if you get the PIP mobility component.

A lower score does not rule you out in England. The guidance says a council can look at other evidence, including independent medical advice, and you can apply again with more information. Our PIP guide explains how the points are scored, and the PIP award letter guide shows where to find your descriptors.

For a disabled person's pass in Scotland you also need a recent photo, proof of your address and proof of disability. A disabled person's pass in Scotland is usually valid for up to 3 years, so you will need to renew it. If you are over 60 and disabled in Scotland, you can choose between the two passes.

England

In England you can travel free between 9:30am and 11pm on weekdays and all day at weekends and bank holidays. A council can choose to offer free travel at other times, such as before 9:30am. These services are not covered by the English pass:

• ✗No: services on which the majority of seats can be reserved in advance of travel (such as coaches)
• ✗No: services that are intended to run for a period of less than 6 consecutive weeks
• ✗No: services operated primarily for the purposes of tourism or because of the historical interest of the vehicle
• ✗No: bus substitution (rail replacement) services

London

An Older Person's Freedom Pass is free on weekdays except between 04:30 and 09:00, and at any time at weekends and bank holidays. A Disabled Person's Freedom Pass works at any time. The 60+ London Oyster photocard has the same weekday hours as the older person's pass. Outside London, the rose symbol on your Freedom Pass means free travel on local buses all over England between 9:30 and 23:00 on weekdays and at any time at weekends and public holidays.

Scotland

Your Scottish pass works at any time of day for any number of journeys. A few services are not included, such as premium fare services, sightseeing buses, cross-border services and some airport transfer services. Transport Scotland says the card also works as far as Carlisle and Berwick-upon-Tweed, so check with the operator before a cross-border journey. If you are registered blind or sight impaired and your pass has the eye symbol, you also get free standard class rail travel across Scotland.

Wales

A Welsh pass entitles you to free travel on a journey that begins at any time. Bus drivers must not refuse free travel to a pass holder except for safety reasons, or if the pass has been hot listed or has expired.

Northern Ireland

A 60+ or Senior SmartPass works on all Translink scheduled services within Northern Ireland and on all Glider services. Only a Senior SmartPass works on cross-border bus and rail services.

In Scotland and Wales a disabled person who needs help to travel can get a pass that lets a companion travel free. In England a council can choose to offer free travel to a companion, but it does not have to.

In Scotland, your companion travels free with you if your pass has the C+1 logo. You qualify for companion travel if you receive Attendance Allowance, or are severely sight impaired (blind), among other routes. Your companion must be aged five or over and can only travel free when they are with you. In Wales, companion entitlement should not be issued routinely. A council can add it for a severely disabled person who needs the extra help that a companion provides.

In England and Wales there is no appeal to the government against a refusal. You can apply again as many times as you like, but you should send additional information with later applications. The guidance says a refusal letter should explain why, and give details of the council's complaints procedure and of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman in England or the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales.

Our benefits guides cover the other help you might be able to claim.