A Companion Travel Card lets someone with a Concessionary Travel Card, who can't travel alone, have someone travel with them for free on local bus journeys.
Eligibility for a Companion Travel Card
A person may be eligible for a Companion Travel Card if they have (or are applying for) a Concessionary Travel Card and meet one of the following conditions:
- they have challenging behaviours that require constant supervision
- they have severe cognitive or mental impairments, such as being unaware of danger or unable to plan and follow a journey
- they have both sight and hearing loss, or sight and speech loss, that prevents independent travel
- they are unable to use a wheelchair without assistance
How to apply for a Companion Travel Card
You will need to apply online to us (Denbighshire County Council) for a Companion Travel Card.
When applying, you will need to provide:
- details of the person who has, or is in the process of applying for, a Concessionary Travel Card, such as:
- name
- date of birth
- contact details
- National Insurance Number (if the person is over 16 years old)
- a recent and clear passport photo (of the person who has, or is in the process of applying for, a Concessionary Travel Card)
- two documents confirming the applicant's address
- evidence of the applicant’s disability or medical condition, provided by a qualified medical, health, or social care professional
Application guidance
Select one of the following to view guidance on what's needed when applying:
Applicant's photograph
We will need a photograph of the person who has, or is in the process of applying for, a Concessionary Travel Card.
Guidance for photographs of the person
The photograph of the person should include their head, shoulders and upper body, and the person must:
- be facing forwards and looking straight at the camera
- have a plain expression and their mouth closed
- have their eyes open and visible
- not have hair in front of their eyes
- not have a head covering (unless it’s for religious or medical reasons)
- not have anything covering their face
- not have any shadows on their face or behind them
Glasses
The person should not be wearing glasses unless they have to. If they must wear glasses, they cannot be sunglasses or tinted glasses, and they must make sure their eyes are not covered by the frames or any glare, reflection or shadow.
Photo quality
The photo must:
- be clear, in focus and in colour
- be unchanged by computer software
- be no more than 10MB in file size
- contain no other objects or people
- be taken against a plain light-coloured background
- be in clear contrast to the background
- not have ‘red eye’
National Insurance number
National Insurance numbers start with two letters, followed by six numbers, and then a letter (e.g., QQ123456A)
You can find your National Insurance number on documents like payslips, P60s, or letters about benefits, or by logging into your personal tax account.
More information about how to find your National Insurance number is available on GOV.UK.
Find your National Insurance number (external website)
Proof of address
All applicants will need to provide two of the following, which can be a letter or official document from the organisation:
- a Council Tax bill or evidence of Council Tax exemption (current financial year)
- Evidence of rent payments (within the last 3 months)
- Current driving licence
- Benefit or pension documents (current financial year)
- Utility bill not including mobile telephone (within the last 3 months)
- Confirmation that the applicant is on the Electoral Roll for UK Parliamentary Elections
- Confirmation that the applicant is on the School Roll
- Evidence that the applicant is a dependent of a person resident in the local authority’s area
- Evidence that the applicant is in the care of the local authority or an approved agency and is resident in the local authority’s area
- Evidence that the applicant has a permanent registration with a local GP
- Evidence of Home Office documentation confirming residency
You only need to provide two of the documents listed (you do not need to provide all of the documents listed)
Evidence of disability or medical condition
You will need to provide evidence from either a qualified medical, health or social worker with an application.
This can be a letter from a medical professional, social worker, or other healthcare professional explaining why you need someone to travel with you.
Providing images and documents
When applying, you can upload images and documents. You can:
- upload a picture or document file from the device you are using
- take a picture of a document to upload
Apply online
Apply for a Companion Travel Card
What happens after applying?
After submitting an application, we will review the information provided and may need to contact you for more details.
We will process your application within 2 weeks.
Successful applicants
If your application is successful, your card will be sent out by Transport for Wales which may take a further 10 working days.
A companion cannot travel for free with a Concessionary Travel Card holder until they have a Companion Travel Card.
Companion Travel Card review
We will review whether or not you are still eligible for a Companion Travel Card every three years, unless your condition is permanent.
Unsuccessful applicants
If your application is unsuccessful, we will let you know.