(a) The department shall issue parking permits for persons with disabilities and may delegate to county tag agents the responsibility for issuance of such permits to residents of the county served by the tag agent. The department shall receive applications for and issue parking permits by mail to persons with disabilities upon presentation of an affidavit of a licensed doctor of medicine, licensed doctor of osteopathic medicine, licensed doctor of podiatric medicine, licensed optometrist, or licensed chiropractor stating that such person is a disabled person, the specific disability that limits or impairs the person's ability to walk, and that he or she is a person with disabilities as specified in paragraph (5) of Code Section 40-6-221. Permits shall be in such form as the department prescribes but shall be of sufficient size and sufficiently distinctively marked to be easily visible when placed on or affixed to the driver's side of the dashboard or hung from the rearview mirror of the parked vehicle. Permits shall be made of a substrate as determined by the commissioner and shall be of sufficient quality to ensure that the coloring of the permit and the ink used thereon will resist fading for a period of at least four years. Permits shall be issued to individuals, and the name of the individual and an identification number shall appear on the permit. The individual to whom a permit is issued may use the permit for any vehicle he or she is operating or in which he or she is a passenger. Permits shall also be issued to institutions when the primary purpose of a vehicle operated by the institution is to transport individuals with disabilities. The name of the institution, the license number of the particular vehicle, and an identification number shall appear on the permit. The institution shall use such permit only for a vehicle which is operated by the institution and which is used primarily to transport individuals with disabilities.

(b) The department shall issue a temporary permit to any temporarily disabled person upon presentation of an affidavit of a licensed doctor of medicine, licensed doctor of osteopathic medicine, licensed doctor of podiatric medicine, licensed optometrist, or licensed chiropractor stating that such person is a temporarily disabled person, the specific disability that limits or impairs the person's ability to walk, that he or she is a person with disabilities as specified in paragraph (5) of Code Section 40-6-221, and a date until which such person is likely to remain disabled. The temporary permit shall show prominently on its face an expiration date the same as the date specified by such doctor for the likely termination of the disability, which date shall not be more than 180 days after the date the permit is issued. The expiration date shall be printed with permanent ink and in boldface type of sufficient size to be legible when the permit is displayed on the driver's side of the dashboard or hung from the rearview mirror.

(c) The department shall issue a permanent permit to any permanently disabled person upon presentation of an affidavit of a licensed doctor of medicine, licensed doctor of osteopathic medicine, licensed doctor of podiatric medicine, licensed optometrist, or licensed chiropractor stating that such person is a permanently disabled person. The affidavit shall further state the specific disability that limits or impairs the person's ability to walk or that he or she is a person with disabilities as specified in paragraph (5) of Code Section 40-6-221. The department shall also issue a permanent permit to an institution which operates vehicles used primarily for the transportation of individuals with disabilities upon presentation of a certification from the institution regarding use of its vehicles. The institution shall receive permits only for the number of vehicles so used and shall affix the permits to the driver's side of the dashboards of such vehicles. The permanent permit shall be predominantly blue in color and shall show prominently on its face an expiration date four years from the date it is issued. The expiration date shall be machine printed, not handwritten, in boldface type of sufficient size to be legible when the permit is displayed on the driver's side of the dashboard or hung from the rearview mirror.

(d) Any individual to whom a specially designated disabled veteran's license plate has been issued pursuant to Code Sections 40-2-69 through 40-2-72 and any individual to whom a specially designated disabled person's license plate has been issued pursuant to Code Section 40-2-74 shall be authorized to park the passenger motor vehicle on which the specially designated license plate is attached in a parking place for persons with disabilities without the necessity of obtaining a parking permit for persons with disabilities pursuant to this Code section.

(e) The department shall issue a special permanent permit to any person who:

(1) Because of a physical disability drives a motor vehicle which has been equipped with hand controls for the operation of the vehicle's brakes and accelerator; or

(2) Is physically disabled due to the loss of, or loss of use of, both upper extremities.

This special permanent permit shall be gold in color and shall show prominently on its face an expiration date four years from the date it is issued. The expiration date shall be printed in a size of print that is legible when the permit is displayed on the driver's side of the dashboard or hung from the rearview mirror. Such a special permit shall be used in the same manner as, and shall be subject to the provisions of this Code section relating to, other permanent parking permits for persons with disabilities and shall also be used as provided in Code Section 10-1-164.1. In addition to any other required printing, the following shall be printed upon this special gold permit:

(f) The department and county tag agents shall not charge or collect any fee for issuing parking permits for persons with disabilities under this Code section.

(g) Any special disabled person decal issued under the former provisions of this Code section shall be valid until its expiration date but shall not be reissued.

(h) For purposes of this Code section, an active duty military physician shall be entitled to submit an affidavit in support of the application of active duty or retired military personnel for parking permits for persons with disabilities whether or not such physician is licensed to practice in Georgia. Such affidavit shall state that the applicant is in active military service and is stationed in Georgia pursuant to military orders or is retired from the military and is a resident of Georgia and that such person is a disabled person, the specific disability that limits or impairs the person's ability to walk, and that he or she is a person with disabilities as specified in paragraph (5) of Code Section 40-6-221.

(i) For purposes of this Code section the department shall accept, in lieu of an affidavit, a signed and dated statement from the doctor which includes the same information as required in an affidavit written upon security paper as defined in paragraph (38.5) of Code Section 26-4-5.