Can someone else use my Northern Ireland Blue Badge when I am not travelling with them?

No. A Northern Ireland Blue Badge is for the holder’s benefit and must not be lent to someone who is travelling without the badge holder.

nidirect says misuse is a criminal offence and can lead to prosecution and a fine. Someone cannot borrow it simply to park free while shopping for the holder.

For “Can someone else use my Northern Ireland Blue Badge when I am not travelling with them?”, the wider Northern Ireland context is this: Northern Ireland licensing in these cases is handled by DVA, not DVLA. Age or disability alone does not decide whether someone may drive: the key questions are licence validity, medical fitness, any DVA restrictions and, for Blue Badge matters, the specific parking scheme rules. Current nidirect/DVA guidance should therefore be checked rather than assuming Great Britain procedures are identical.

For this exact question — “Can someone else use my Northern Ireland Blue Badge when I am not travelling with them?” — the practical point is: Display it only when the holder is travelling in the vehicle and genuinely making use of the parking concession. The answer should be applied to the actual signs, conditions, licence wording or parking rules in force at the time, because temporary restrictions and individual DVA decisions can change the ordinary position.

This Northern Ireland-specific page on “Can someone else use my Northern Ireland Blue Badge when I am not travelling with them?” was checked against the attached official sources before publication, with nidirect/DVA and the Northern Ireland Highway Code used ahead of generic UK motoring articles. If the rule, road layout or personal licence condition changes, those primary sources are the ones to re-check.