Disability Identity Card

Up-to-date information on the Disability Identity Card, proof of disability across Austria, and the requirements for obtaining a Disability Identity Card

General information

The Disability Identity Card is a form of official photo ID. It serves as proof of disability across Austria (regardless of the nature of the disability concerned). Since 1 September 2016, this document has been issued in the form of a card, with the text written in German. Identity cards issued for an unlimited period of time under the previous legal framework remain valid. Existing entries in identity cards remain unaffected. Older cards are still in circulation and have not been systematically replaced. 

Having a Disability Identity Card does not entitle you to any financial benefit. However, presenting the card as proof of disability does entitle you to concessionary prices at various events. If the degree of your disability has been assessed at 70 per cent or above, you can also claim a 50 per cent discount on rail fares with Austrian Federal Railways.

Requirements

The Disability Identity Card can be claimed by people

• who are ordinary resident in Austria, or whose primary residence is in Austria, and belong to one of the following categories:
  • Disabled beneficiaries (→ USP)
  • Recipients of nursing care allowance or comparable benefits on the basis of federal regulations
  • Recipients of increased family allowance
  • People receiving a cash benefit due to disability, occupational incapacity, incapacity for work or permanent disability,
• provided the degree of their disability and/or the reduction in their earning capacity has been assessed as being at least 50 per cent.

People with disabilities who are resident outside Austria abroad but stay in Austria regularly for professional or private reasons can also apply for an Austrian Disability Identity Card.

Competent authority

Regional Office of the Sozialministeriumservice (→ SMS)^{German text}

Procedure

If the degree of your disability has not already been determined and evidenced by an official assessment, notification or decision, a doctor from the relevant regional office of the Sozialministeriumservice will assess the degree of your disability. As far as possible, the doctor will not carry out a physical examination to do this; they will assess your disability on the basis of available medical findings/opinions in accordance with the Einschätzungsverordnung.

Required documents

• Application for a Disability Identity Card (online or download)
• Passport photo (must meet the requirements for passport photographs)
• Decisions, findings and judgments regarding your disability, or detailed medical reports such as medical records, clinical findings, etc.

Additional information

Applicants have the right to appeal a decision by the Sozialministeriumservice not to issue a Disability Identity Card to the Federal Administrative Court. Appeals must be submitted within six weeks of the decision being delivered.

Further links

• Disability Identity Card (→ SMS)^{German text}

Legal basis

• sections 40 to 47 of the Bundesbehindertengesetz
• Verordnung des Bundesministers für Arbeit, Soziales und Konsumentenschutz, mit der die Verordnung über die Ausstellung von Behindertenpässen und von Parkausweisen geändert wird
• Verordnung des Bundesministers für Arbeit, Soziales und Konsumentenschutz über die Ausstellung von Behindertenpässen und von Parkausweisen
• Einschätzungsverordnung

To the form

• Disability Identity Card - Application form
• Disability Identity Card - Additional entries (German)
• Disability Identity Card - Additional entries (English)
• Disability Identity Card - Additional entries (French)