Getting a vehicle

Do both of these before you buy. The Association for Driver Rehabilitation Specialists, ADED, says the path is a physician visit, then a driver evaluation, then a written prescription the dealer installs. NMEDA, the National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association, says a Quality Assurance Program dealer can be the first call, and that dealer can help you find a Certified Driver Rehabilitation Specialist. Either phone call can come first. The purchase comes after both.

A Certified Driver Rehabilitation Specialist, a CDRS, is the credential ADED grants. ADED says it is the only organization that grants it. A Driver Rehabilitation Professional is ADED's credential for basic and low-tech programs. The evaluation looks at movement, vision, thinking, and driving, and it can also cover someone who will ride as a passenger. The specialist writes the equipment. Training on that equipment comes with it. ADED's FAQ says an evaluation can take about three to eight hours, and the price depends on the program. Ask the cost when you call. NHTSA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, says vocational rehabilitation and workers' compensation may help pay for the evaluation, and a health plan may pay part of it. Ask whether the plan wants a prescription.

If no CDRS is near you, ADED's FAQ says the person you see should be eligible for the exam within a year, or working toward it with an active CDRS, or hold a medical license such as occupational therapy, physical therapy, or speech-language pathology, plus the driving-instructor license your state requires. ADED also asks for driver-rehabilitation experience. Read that FAQ before you book. Phones on the page are 866.672.9466 and 828.855.1672. Email info@aded.net.

QAP is NMEDA's accreditation for a shop that sells or installs mobility equipment. The 2026 rules require an annual third-party audit. A QAP dealer puts a QAP label on the personal and commercial vehicles it sells, including a used van and a van that passes through with no new equipment. NMEDA says an installer who skips that accreditation can cut corners, and that cutting corners can be dangerous. Verify QAP before you buy. Phone (813) 264-2697. Email info@nmeda.org. Address 3327 West Bearss Avenue, Tampa, FL 33618.

NHTSA's brochure Adapting Motor Vehicles for People With Disabilities, DOT HS 810 733, revised June 2015, says to talk with a driver rehabilitation specialist before you buy, and to sit in the vehicle. Ask how much cargo weight it can carry, whether your family still fits after the work, and where you will park at home and at work. Keep about 10 inches between your breastbone and the steering-wheel air bag. NHTSA also lists a seat that can raise your line of sight to about 3 inches above the adjusted steering wheel. Even a half-inch drop in the floor can block your view or the equipment. The prices printed in that 2015 brochure are old, so they are not on this page.

Some states require a QAP dealer before vocational rehabilitation will reimburse the work. Ask your state agency. Ask the dealer for a written statement of the work. Look for the label that lists which safety standards were affected. It is often inside the driver's door. NHTSA does not approve the modifiers who file a disability exemption. Training belongs on the road with a specialist, after any practice off the road.

Whether you can drive, the California Mobility Evaluation Program, the Texas counselor conversation, and the license office are on Driving again.

A program on a website is not an approval. Get any yes in writing before you sign. This section is not tax advice and not a loan.

Vocational rehabilitation

The phones, the apply links, and a first-call script are in Get connected. NHTSA says some states pay only when a QAP dealer does the work. Ask before you buy.

Veterans

VA's rates page, updated October 1, 2026, lists an automobile allowance of up to $27,908.90, effective that day, toward a specially equipped vehicle when a service-connected disability prevents driving. The seller submits the claim. VA pays the seller once. Use that rates page for the dollar amount. A carmaker's page can still show an older figure.

The eligibility page, updated May 19, 2026, says the disability is service-connected, or treated as service-connected under 38 U.S.C. 1151, and at least one of these is true: loss or permanent loss of use of one or both feet; loss or permanent loss of use of one or both hands; permanent decreased vision in both eyes, 20/200 or less in the better eye with glasses, or a field reduced to 20 degrees or less; a severe burn injury; or ALS. Ankylosis in one or both knees or hips qualifies you only for an adaptive-equipment grant. That sentence is on VA's page. Vehicles named there include cars, vans, motor homes, commercial trucks, and farm machines.

VA says you file and get approval before you buy the vehicle or the equipment. The seller has to agree to send the completed form and an itemized invoice. Automobile allowance uses VA Form 21-4502. You can apply online or by mail, and VA pays the seller. Adaptive equipment uses VA Form 10-1394, taken to the prosthetic representative at a VA medical center. VA may pay you or the seller. A second allowance is possible if you bought the vehicle with the allowance 30 or more years ago, or a natural disaster destroyed it, it was not your fault, and property insurance did not already pay. VA also posts a maximum reimbursement schedule for adaptive equipment. An invoice is paid only up to the cap on that list. Read the schedule. This page does not copy it.

Carmaker rebates

These offers end. Read the current page, including any end date, before you count on a dollar. The amounts below were on the official pages opened October 15, 2026.

Ford's accessibility reimbursement page lists up to $1,000 for adaptive equipment, and up to $200 for alert hearing devices, lumbar supports, or running boards. Eligible vehicles on that page are new Ford cars, vans, CUVs, SUVs, or trucks sold or leased during the program period, and new vehicles from a U.S. Ford pool converter. Used-vehicle modifications are listed as not eligible, and so is equipment that is already a factory option. You give the dealer the bill of sale and a paid invoice, both with the VIN. Ford says the check is mailed two to four weeks after the dealer submits the claim. Some items need a note from a medical professional. The page names carriers, lifts, hand controls, and steering devices among the equipment it can reimburse.

Toyota's mobility page lists up to $1,000 for aftermarket adaptive equipment or a conversion, for a driver or a passenger, on an eligible new Toyota bought or leased from an authorized Toyota dealer. You are reimbursed the cost on the invoice, up to that $1,000. Install within 12 months. Submit the form to the Toyota Mobility Assistance Center within 90 days of complete installation. A leased vehicle needs written approval from the lessor. Toyota says payment is expected 6 to 8 weeks after the paperwork.

Honda's mobility page lists up to $1,000 for the original retail customer, on an eligible new Honda bought or leased from an authorized dealer. If another source already paid, Honda pays what is left. One request per vehicle. The request has to arrive within 6 months of installation, and the work has to fall inside the new vehicle limited warranty's time and mileage. Most equipment needs a prescription or other medical note. Honda says to confirm the installer is an NMEDA member. Mail the application to American Honda Motor Co., Inc., Automobile Customer Service, P.O. Box 2964, Torrance, CA 90509-2964. Honda says a complete application is processed within 4 weeks. The form is also at a Honda dealer, or from 1-800-999-1009. Honda's new-vehicle warranty covers the Honda vehicle. It does not cover the adaptive equipment. Honda says the equipment by itself does not void that vehicle warranty, and a failure Honda traces to the equipment can void coverage for that repair.

Chevrolet's accessibility page shows a reimbursement of up to $1,500. The star on that page holds the eligible vehicles and the end date. Open it before you count on the amount. The figure there is Chevrolet's. Open the page for the GM brand you are actually buying.

Stellantis posts a reimbursement application for adaptive equipment on its accessibility site, and it points people to a NMEDA dealer. Read the current flyer on that site for the cap, the deadline, and which vehicles qualify.

Local grants and Medicaid waivers

NHTSA says some nonprofit groups may help pay, and they are usually local. Ask your state disability office, or call 211. This page does not name a grant, because a national list would go stale and a fee to "find" one is a reason to stop. Some state Medicaid home and community-based waivers include vehicle modifications. The waiver in your state decides who qualifies and what it pays. This page does not list a dollar cap.

California sales tax

California Revenue and Taxation Code section 6369.4 exempts items and materials used to modify a vehicle for a person with a physical disability, when those items are built in, attached, or installed. Tools and materials that are not built into the vehicle are taxed. If a modified vehicle is sold to a person who is eligible for a disabled person placard or plate under Vehicle Code section 22511.5, only the part of the price that pays for the modification is exempt. The rest of the vehicle is taxed. The tax agency's dealer guide uses this example of the rule, and it is an example, not a price for a van: a $20,000 car with $5,000 of modifications is taxed on $15,000. From July 1, 2020 until before July 1, 2030, the statute also covers an eligible person with a severe burn injury as defined in 38 U.S.C. 3901. A placard is a DMV decision. The statute uses the words "physically handicapped persons."

Texas sales tax

The Texas Comptroller says a motor vehicle can be exempt from motor vehicle tax when it is driven primarily, at least 80 percent of its operating time, by a person with an orthopedic disability, or used at least 80 percent of the time to transport that person. The vehicle is modified, or it will be. The disability and the need for the modification existed when you bought it. You provide the documents. The Comptroller describes an orthopedic disability as limited movement or loss of physical function, such that the person cannot operate the vehicle, or be reasonably transported in it, unless it is modified. For this exemption, hearing or sight impairments are not treated as orthopedic disabilities. A disabled veteran is not exempt automatically. The same orthopedic rules apply. A travel trailer is not eligible. A motor home can be, when the other rules are met.

Publication 96-273 says no tax is due on the adaptive devices, the labor to install them, or a charge to remodel the vehicle for the driver or passenger. Modifications it names include hand controls and a left-side accelerator, a raised ceiling, and a wheelchair lift. Publication 96-254 also names altered brakes, clutch, or accelerator, a hoist, a permanent ramp, special seat restraints, wheelchair hold-down clamps, and a raised roof. Ordinary seat belts and seat-belt extensions are named separately and do not qualify. So do running boards, grab bars, a steering-wheel knob, a ramp that is not permanent, and standard factory options such as an automatic transmission or power steering. A knob can still be the right driving equipment. The tax question is separate, and it is on the Comptroller's page.

To claim the exemption, complete Form 14-318, Texas Motor Vehicle Orthopedically Handicapped Exemption Certificate, and Form 130-U, Application for Texas Title and/or Registration. Form 14-318 needs a signature from a licensed practitioner of the healing arts, or a restricted Texas driver license that shows the devices are required. The Comptroller says that practitioner can be a physician, an osteopath, a chiropractor, or a podiatrist licensed in Texas. A dentist, an optometrist, or a veterinarian cannot sign it. When the seller is a dealer, you give the dealer the form, and the dealer gives a copy to the county tax assessor-collector with the title application. When the seller is a private party, you give the form to the county tax assessor-collector. This is not tax advice.

Medical expenses on a tax return

IRS Publication 502 says you can include, as a medical expense, the cost of special hand controls and other special equipment installed in a car for a person with a disability. You can include the difference between the cost of a regular car and a car specially designed to hold a wheelchair. The cost of driving for medical care is in the Transportation section of that publication. That section says the car figure leaves out depreciation, insurance, general repair, and maintenance. Read the current publication, or ask a tax professional. This page is not tax advice.

Scams and expensive loans

The FTC says a company that promises a loan no matter your credit, then asks for a fee first, is running a scam. The fee may be called processing, insurance, or an application fee. A real lender can charge an application or appraisal fee to look at your application. Nobody legitimate asks you to pay for a guarantee. Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

For a car loan, the FTC says to look at the total you will pay. The monthly payment is one number in that total. A longer loan, and the FTC names 72 or 84 months, can lower the payment, carry a high rate, and leave you owing more than the vehicle is worth. Ask for the out-the-door price in writing before you talk financing. The CFPB says to compare the APR, the interest rate, the length of the loan, and the amount financed. Its sample table is an illustration on that page. It is not a loan this site suggests. The FTC also says credit insurance that pays the loan if you die or become disabled is not required by federal law. A lender cannot hide it in the loan. Ask the price, and you can say no.

The specialist names what you need. Then measure. Door opening, headroom, ground clearance, and the chair's width, length, and height. NMEDA says to ask how much parking space the ramp or lift needs at home. Sit in the vehicle with the chair you use. NHTSA says even a half-inch drop in the floor can block your view or the equipment, and to keep about 10 inches between your breastbone and the steering-wheel air bag.

Side-entry and rear-entry ramps

A side-entry ramp uses a sliding side door. A rear-entry ramp uses the back. NMEDA says the choice depends on the chair, on whether you drive or ride, on whether you transfer to a seat, and on the parking spot where the ramp has to open. One of them fits your driveway. The other may not.

Wheelchair lifts

A lift is a platform that raises the chair into a full-size van or a truck. The specialist and the QAP dealer name the lift that works in that vehicle. Ask the weight the lift is rated for, and whether your chair, you, and anything mounted on the chair stay inside that rating. This page does not print a rating, because it depends on the lift.

Lowered floors

A lowered floor adds headroom and a path for the chair. Measure your seated height and the chair after the floor is dropped. NHTSA's half-inch warning is about this floor change. Measure it with you in the chair.

Hand controls

Hand controls work the gas and the brake by hand. NMEDA's installer guidelines name push-pull, twist-push, push-rock, and right-angle controls. The driver trainer writes the type. Changing the type needs a new recommendation. NMEDA gives the example of moving from a push/right-angle control to a push/twist control. That change needs an updated assessment.

Steering knobs

A knob or spinner lets one hand steer so the other hand can run the controls. The specialist names the mount. It is driving equipment, and it is installed for your wheel. Texas lists a steering-wheel knob among modifications that do not qualify a vehicle for the motor-vehicle tax exemption. Read the Texas section above before you assume the tax result.

Left-foot accelerator

This is for a driver who cannot use the right foot. NMEDA's guidelines say it goes on an automatic transmission, a CDRS or a driver rehabilitation specialist prescribes it, only one accelerator works at a time, and the original pedal has to work for another driver when the device is removed. Fitting and training are required.

Pedal extensions

Pedal extensions, or the adjustable pedals NHTSA says to ask about, bring the pedals closer. Ask whether you can still keep the 10-inch air-bag distance while you reach them.

Transfer seats

A transfer seat turns or slides out so you can move from the wheelchair into the vehicle seat. It is for a person who rides in the vehicle seat. Riding in the chair is a different setup, with securement, below.

Wheelchair securement

Tie-downs are straps, often four of them, that hold the chair. A docking system is a lock the chair drives into. WC19 is the RESNA standard for a wheelchair used as a seat in a vehicle. The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute says the WC19 crash test uses a four-point strap tiedown. The chair has to stay upright, and the tiedowns have to come off after the test. WC19 also requires the chair to have those four strap points. A docking lock is tested under a different standard, RESNA WC18. Ask whether the chair and the securement you will actually use were crash-tested together. A wheelchair that was not built as a vehicle seat is not a vehicle seat.

Hoists and carriers

A hoist or a carrier holds a scooter or a folded chair when you transfer into the vehicle seat. It may sit on a hitch, a bumper, or the roof, or it may lift the chair into the cargo area. Ask whether that carrier is rated for your chair and whether it fits that vehicle. NMEDA notes that a hoist can block a backup camera, the same way a bicycle carrier can, so the driver needs practice with the hoist loaded and with it folded away. This page does not print a weight limit.

High-tech driving systems

When mechanical hand controls are not enough, a high-tech system can power the gas and brake, or reduce the effort to steer. ADED describes high-tech primary controls as a programmable system tied into the vehicle's electronics. NMEDA says a modification that replaces the original primary controls with high-tech controls needs a backup power system, installed the way the maker says. The installer has to show you that you can still control the vehicle on backup power, and how to tell that the backup has come on. Train on the road with a specialist who does this level of equipment.

Used conversion vans

A QAP dealer still labels a used van, including one that passes through with no new equipment. NMEDA's guidelines allow used equipment when the shop can verify its history, a certified technician confirms it works, it is free of defects, and you are told and you approve. The used equipment is noted on the work order. If the history is missing, or the equipment was in a crash, the guidelines say to ask the manufacturer before it is installed again. Many makers prohibit reuse after a crash. For a structural conversion on a used vehicle, NMEDA's manufacturer rules require a documented screening process. Ask what is left of the converter's warranty, who will service the conversion near you, and whether that screening was done.

Warranties

Ask for the dealer's written warranty, with parts and labor stated separately, and for the manufacturer's warranty. NMEDA's manufacturer program requires at least a 1-year warranty on products. Submit the warranty cards. NHTSA says that starts the coverage and lets the maker reach you about a recall. A checkup the warranty requires can come sooner than the oil change in the vehicle manual. Read the warranty for what a missed checkup does to the coverage. Honda's page, linked above, is one example: the vehicle warranty and the equipment warranty are not the same document.

Insurance

NHTSA says to insure the vehicle while it is off the road being modified. Ask your insurer whether the added equipment is listed on the policy. If the need came from a crash, auto insurance may cover the equipment. If the need came from a job injury, workers' compensation typically covers it. This page has no premium quotes.

Upkeep

Follow the vehicle manual and the equipment maker's schedule. NHTSA's basic list is tire pressure at least once a month and before a long trip, oil on the schedule in the manual, fluids when you change the oil, lights, clean windows and headlights, and a look for road-hazard damage with the vehicle on a service lift at least once a year. Adaptive equipment can need its own checkup, on its own calendar. The dealer should show you how the tie-downs work. If the modified vehicle has a safety problem, NHTSA's brochure says to file a vehicle safety complaint. It points to Safercar.gov and the Vehicle Safety Hotline, 888-327-4236.