I have Social Security disability. I became a candidate after my husband passed on. I'm also legally deaf so I really had no problems getting disability.
I called the local social security office and told them I wanted to apply. I was interviewed and asked a lot of questions. Then I had to have ALL my doctors send information about my illnesses. After that, I got a form to fill out. It would list something like "cleaning house" and then you told them if you did it and how difficult it was to do it, etc. After they received that, they sent me to their doctors, which was a joke, since my doctors were far superior! Their hearing doctor's office was in a bad neighborhood and was a house with bars at the windows! They took me down in the basement and pulled out one of those ancient cases with hard plastic headphones to test my hearing. I was tested with this type of device when I was in grade school 40 years previously! Then I waited and I was accepted. The whole thing took me about six months.
To get a placard, talk to your doctor and let them know how much pain you are in. There are pain charts in Fibro 101 that will help you describe your pain levels. Then, they will write a "prescription" for that. I can't remember if I went to the DMV and got the form and took it to the doctor but that would probably be a good idea. He made mine permanent so now I just renew it on line every six years.
Sherrine