Related videos:
The Miami-Dade County tax collector, Dariel Fernández, announced on Friday that his office has canceled 4,707 parking permits for people with disabilities after auditing a total of 40,992 credentials, as part of an offensive against fraud and abuse of the system.
The audit, which covers all permanent and temporary permit applications issued in the last 24 months, targets credentials linked to deceased individuals, potentially fraudulent applications, incomplete or incorrectly submitted forms, and other discrepancies.
"After reviewing more than 40,000 permits, one thing is clear: this system needed serious cleaning up," Fernández stated in a statement. "Cancelling 4,707 permits is not an administrative procedure. It means that thousands of permits that should not have remained active are being withdrawn from circulation."
Cases involving alleged fraud may be referred to the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office for potential criminal action.
Fernández emphasized that the main objective of the measure is to protect those who truly rely on these permits.
"When a parking permit for people with disabilities is issued or remains active based on incorrect information, it is the residents who truly need access that pay the price," he stated.
"This audit seeks to protect those residents, enhance the integrity of the system, and ensure that these permits are reserved for the individuals they were designed to assist," he emphasized.
The initiative was launched in December 2025 with a zero-tolerance policy and was proposed as the most thorough audit ever conducted in the county.
Since then, the results have progressed steadily: by March 2026, with 27,000 applications reviewed, more than 1,400 permits had already been canceled; in April, after reviewing over 33,000, the number exceeded 2,000.
This week's announcement brings the total to 4,707 cancellations out of 40,992 audited permits, which represents approximately 11.5% of the total reviewed.
Under Florida law, providing false information to obtain a disability permit is considered a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail, a fine of $1,000, or both penalties.
Using someone else's permit can result in a $500 fine and is also considered a misdemeanor, while a prior conviction for fraud may lead to a four-year ban on applying for a new permit.
The history of abuse in the county is not new.
In September 2022, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office charged a 26-year-old woman for allegedly selling permit applications with forged doctors' signatures for $200 each, revealing the existence of organized fraud networks.
Fernández warned from the outset of the mass audit against fraudulent permits that the widespread abuse has particularly harmed the elderly, veterans, and residents with legitimate mobility disabilities.
The collector indicated that the review is ongoing and that more permits may require additional measures in the coming weeks.
Filed under: