Frequently Asked Questions?

Most frequently asked questions

• I am an Annual Gold Card holder and would like to buy a Disabled Persons Railcard for myself or someone else for £10. What is the process?
  A:

  If you have a valid Annual Gold Card, you can apply for a 1-year Disabled Persons Railcard for £10 either online or by post.

  To apply online, please email us a scan photo of the front and reverse of your Annual Gold Card to railcardhelp@nationalrail.co.uk so that we can validate your eligibility for a £10 Railcard. Once confirmed, we will email you a unique promotional code to obtain your £10 Railcard.

  You can then click on 'Buy Now' on the website homepage to get started. Please type the promotional code on the box under ‘If you have a promotional code, please apply it below’ section, click ‘Apply code’ to obtain the discount and follow the instruction on the screen to continue with your purchase. You will also have to provide the relevant evidence of eligibility and a digital passport-style photo if you have selected ‘Digital’ under ‘Choose the type of Railcard you would like’ section to complete your purchase.

  To apply by post, you will need to complete the Disabled Persons Railcard application form and return this with a photocopy of the front and reverse of your Annual Gold Card, a photocopy of evidence of eligibility and £10 payment to:

  National Railcards

  PO box 8626

  SWADLINCOTE

  DE11 1JA

  Please click here for more information on Annual Gold Cards.

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• Can I buy a Railcard at a rail station?
  A:

  No, you can't apply or buy a Disabled Persons Railcard at a National Rail station.
  
  As well as being able to apply online, you can download a Disabled Persons Railcard application form or collect an application form from any staffed station ticket office. You will then need to complete and return this application, along with the required proof of disability and payment to:

  National Railcards

  PO box 8626

  SWADLINCOTE

  DE11 1JA

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• My Railcard has not arrived in the post. What can I do?
  A:

  You will need to wait 15 days, then go to ‘Manage my Railcard’ on the website homepage to log in to your account and apply for a replacement. Once logged in, click on ‘Details’ under your active Disabled Persons Railcard, then click on ‘Replace Railcard (Lost or stolen)’. Select ‘lost’, then click continue and follow the instructions on the screen. Please check that your address is correct before you order.

  You will be sent a free replacement provided you do this within 30 days of your application date. If 30 days has passed from your date of purchase you can still request a replacement card, but you will have to pay £5 administration fee for a 1-year Railcard and £10 for a 3-year Railcard.

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• How long do I have to wait for my Railcard to arrive?
  A:

  If you have purchased a plastic Disabled Persons Railcard online, please allow 5 working days for your Railcard application to be reviewed and approved and 10 days for delivery. You can choose to pay for Special Delivery, but you will have to place your order before 15:45pm to guarantee that your Railcard is delivered within 2 days (Monday to Thursday) or 3 days (Friday to Sunday).

  If you have purchased a digital Disabled Persons Railcard, it will be available to use straight away. A download code will be sent to your registered email address, along with instructions on how to download your Railcard.  Please also allow up to 5 working days for your Railcard application to be reviewed and approved.

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• How do I apply for a Disabled Persons Railcard online?
  A:

  Please click on 'Buy Now' on the website homepage and follow the instructions on the screen. You will need to provide proof of your disability to verify your eligibility online and a digital passport-style photo if you have selected ‘Digital’ under ‘Choose the type of Railcard you would like’ section. You can check if you are eligible here.

  Once your online payment has been successfully processed you will receive an email confirmation and acknowledgement of your application (this confirmation cannot be used to buy discounted tickets). Please allow up to 5 working days for your Railcard application to be reviewed and approved.

  If you have purchased a plastic Railcard, please allow 10 days for delivery in addition to the 5 working days for your Railcard application review. You can choose to pay for Special Delivery, but you will have to place your order before 15:45pm to guarantee that your Railcard is delivered within 2 days (Monday to Thursday) or 3 days (Friday to Sunday).

  If you have purchased a digital Disabled Persons Railcard, it will be available to use straight away. A download code will be sent to your registered email address, along with instructions on how to download your Railcard.  Please also allow up to 5 working days for your Railcard application to be reviewed and approved.

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• How do I make a complaint?
  A:

  In the first instance please contact Railcard Customer Services who will endeavour to resolve any issues that you have. 

  We're open from 07:00am to 22:00pm everyday of the year except for Christmas day.  You can:

  Email us:         railcardhelp@nationalrail.co.uk

  Call us on:       0345 605 0525

  Write to:           

  National Railcards

  PO box 8626

  SWADLINCOTE

  DE11 1JA

                              

   If you are not satisfied with the resolution we give you are entitled to contact:

  www.transportfocus.org.uk/help/rail-complaints

  http://ec.europa.eu/odr

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• How do I submit evidence of eligibility if I am applying online?
  A:

  Please click on 'Buy Now' on the website homepage to get started. When you get to the ‘Upload proof disability documentation’ page, please click on ‘Choose file’ to select the evidence of eligibility document on your device then click ‘Upload’ and follow the instruction on the screen to continue with your purchase.

  Files need to be provided in JPEG or PDF format with a maximum individual file size of 4MB. If you are using the mobile site, files can only be provided in JPEG format.

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• What methods of payment are accepted?
  A:

  A: We accept online payment via credit and debit cards. The cards accepted are: Visa, Visa Debit, Visa Electron, MasterCard, MasterCard Debit, Maestro and Solo.
  
  We cannot accept American Express or Diner's Club.

   

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• I have a promotion code to use toward the cost of my Railcard - it is not working. What can I do?
  A:

  All of our promotional codes have an expiry date, so please check that the code you are using is a current one.
  
  Alternatively, please check that you have read each character of the code correctly. We do try to use codes that are easy to read, but occasionally applicants can confuse;
  
  the letter “I” with the number “1” 
  the letter “O” with the number “0”(zero)
  the letter “S” with the number “5”.
  
   If any of these characters appear in your code please try their alternatives. However, if this does not work please contact the Disabled Persons Railcard office and we will do our best to check the status of the code you have. 

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• Can I buy a Disabled Persons Railcard for another person?
  A:

  Yes. You can buy a Disabled Persons Railcard for someone else online.

  Simply click ‘Buy Now’ on the website homepage and then when you get to the question, "Who is the Railcard being purchase for?" select " The Railcard is for someone else" and follow the instructions on the screen to continue with your purchase. You will also be asked to register if you do not already have an account or log in using your registered email address and password.

  You will need to submit proof of disability for the person you are applying on behalf of which can be uploaded in either a JPEG or PDF format. You will also need to provide their digital passport-style photo if you have selected ‘Digital’ under ‘Choose the type of Railcard you would like’ section.

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• I don't have an email address. Can I apply online?
  A:

  No. However, somebody who does have a valid email address can apply for a Disabled Persons Railcard online on your behalf.

  They will simply need to click on 'Buy Now' on the website homepage to get started. When they get to the question, "Who is the Railcard being purchased for?", they need to select " The Railcard is for someone else" and follow the instructions on the screen to continue with the purchase. They will be asked to register if they do not already have an account or log in using their registered email address and password. They will also need to submit your proof of disability and provide a digital passport-style photo if they have selected ‘Digital’ under ‘Choose the type of Railcard you would like’ section.

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• I wear a burka or a niqab – will I have to show my face in the photograph?
  A:

  If you opt for a digital Railcard, you must provide a photograph. The photo should have been taken with nothing covering the outline of eyes, nose or mouth. The rail industry applies the same rules as the DVLA and Passport Agency, so photos with a person wearing a full facial burka / niqab (a veil that covers the face) are not acceptable. If a member of rail staff is unable to validate that the person on your Railcard is you, the Train Companies reserve the right to charge you the full price Standard Single fare for your journey as if no ticket was purchased before starting the journey and in some cases a Penalty Fare.

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• When I upload my proof of eligibility nothing appears to happen?
  A: There could be many reasons why you are struggling to upload your evidence of eligibility. Firstly, please provide your evidence in JPEG or PDF format with a maximum individual file size of 4MB.
  
  If you are using Internet Explorer the application form requires that you configure your browser to enable to JavaScript. If you are still having issues, then we would recommend using Google Chrome to submit your application, which you can download here.
  
  (This link will take you to a website outside disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk. Disabled Persons Railcard is not responsible for content or software downloaded from external sites.)

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• Can I buy tickets at a discounted rate before my Railcard arrives?
  A: No. You must carry your Railcard with you on any journey where you have bought discounted tickets with the Railcard. Therefore, if you buy discounted Railcard tickets before you receive your Railcard, you do this at your own risk.

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• I am getting the message "Internal Server Error" during the application process. What can I do?
  A: The “Internal Server Error” message is a generic error message which relates to issues to do with the way your browser is interfacing with the Railcard website. Sometimes this problem can occur if you are using compatibility mode in Internet Explorer (versions IE10 and lower).
  
  In Internet Explorer 10 you can click the compatibility mode button to switch it on or off.
  
  In Internet Explorer 11 there is no compatibility mode button so to access the Compatibility settings you will need to click on the Settings icon. In the menu that is subsequently displayed you will find “Compatibility View Settings” – click this.
  
  In the Settings panel that displays, make sure that disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk is not the box entitled, “Websites you’ve added to compatibility view”. If it is please click on the entry and click the remove button, then click to close it.
  

   

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