ZHO POD ID Card

Introduction

The ZHO POD ID Card is issued after completing a series of medical and physical assessments by qualified professionals at the ZHO office. This (electronic) card serves as a proof of POD status for a person of determination in Abu Dhabi and makes them eligible for certain benefits and exemptions, major ones being the ability to apply for a POD parking permit and get a Fazaa Hemam discount card.

This card is typically valid for a 3-year period and upon expiration you need to apply for renewal to continue enjoying the associated benefits. In this article we list down the detailed procedure on how to get your ZHO card renewed.

This is how the card looks like:

Benefits

The ZHO card was the first card to offer social benefits to people of determination. It provides many useful benefits to improve the quality of life for POD individuals and their families. It also extends your eligibility to avail more benefits from other governmental and private entities.

For a full list of benefits, please refer to the official ZHO benefits brochure.
ZHO Card Benefits

How to apply for a new card

To apply for a new ZHO POD ID card, please note the following details.

Requirements

You need the following in order to start the renewal application:

1. Medical/Psychological Assessment Report issued by a government hospital.
   Psychological Assessment Report: required for Autism and Mental disabilities.
   Medical Assessment Report: required for Sensory and Physical disabilities.
   
   For new card issuance, the submitted report must be recent and it cannot not be older than 1 year. For renewal the old report (older than 1 year) can be used.

Fees

This service is Free.

Processing Time

The maximum processing time for this service is 1 working day. This is because the card is issued electronically (not physical).

Procedure

Follow these steps to renew your ZHO POD Card:

1. Login to TAMM application
2. Search for the service "Issue POD Card" (or click here to open the link)

How to renew an existing card

The ZHO POD Card usually has an expiry of 3 years. You need to use the TAMM application to renew your expired ZHO POD ID Card. The expiry of the ZHO POD Card is linked to the Parking Permit for POD expiry date - this means that when your card expires, the parking permit will also expire.

Requirements

You need the following in order to start the renewal application:

1. Medical/Psychological Assessment Report issued by a government hospital.
   Psychological Assessment Report: required for Autism and Mental disabilities.
   Medical Assessment Report: required for Sensory and Physical disabilities.
   
   I used a 2019 SEHA report (4-years old) for this purpose in 2023, and it was accepted.

Fees

This service is Free.

Processing Time

The maximum processing time for this service is 1 working day. This is because the card is issued electronically (not physical).

Procedure

Follow these steps to renew your ZHO POD Card:

1. Login to TAMM application
2. Search for the service "Renew POD Card" (or click here to open the link)
3. Enter the Emirates ID and the Date of Birth for the POD individual/child and click the validate button. Fill the form and attach the latest medical report from a recognized government entity (ZHO, SEHA). Finally, click on Submit to complete your application request.

   
4. You should see the confirmation screen and should be receiving an email and SMS confirmation for the same as shown below:

   

   

   

5. The promised processing time is a few working days however usually the application is processed within 1 working day. Once the application is approved/rejected, an email & SMS notification is sent as shown below:

   

   
   In case of rejection, a similar SMS & Email would be received mentioning the reason/details of the rejection. In such cases, you can remediate and create another request for renewal.
6. Once your application is approved an electronic card is issued and there is no physical card to be printed and delivered to you. The communications refer to the ZHO Mobile App / ZHO Website which are currently not functional. This is probably due to the migration of these electronic services from ZHO to TAMM system. However, you can get the electronic card via one of the following methods:

   Via TAMM App - If request was created by the POD individual themselves

   If the TAMM account which was used to apply for the renewal belongs to the POD individual then you can view the card using this link: https://www.tamm.abudhabi/services/community/zho/my-registered-cards/view-all?lang=en. However, if you are the parent of the POD child then you will not be able to view your child's card on that page, instead you need to contact ZHO team on WhatsApp with the Child's full name and Emirates ID number.

   Via WhatsApp - If request was created by a Parent of the POD child

   As verified by popular opinion, the quickest way to get your electronic ZHO card is to WhatsApp the ZHO WhatsApp channel on a weekday and do that in Arabic language. Find below the WhatsApp conversation with the bot which will help you to request for the electronic card for your child using Arabic language. You can read the English translation if you hover on the Arabic text.

   ZHO WhatsApp Bot (+971 2 3056666)	You
   	Hi Start Conversation on WhatsApp
   السلام عليكم، أنا عائشة المساعد الإفتراضي من مؤسسة زايد العليا لأصحاب الهمم، للغة العربية يرجى إرسال 1 للغة الإنجليزية يرجى إرسال 2
   Greetings, I’m Ayesha your virtual assistant from Zayed Higher Organization for People of Determination. To continue in Arabic, please send 1. To continue in English, please send 2.
   	1
   عزيزي المتعامل يرجى التكرم باختيار رقم الخدمة المطلوبة من خلال الخيارات التالية : 1- التواصل والدردشة مع خدمة اسعاد المتعاملين 2- الأسئلة الشائعة 0 – العودة للقائمة الرئيسية
   	1
   يرجى التكرم باختيار الخدمة المطلوبة من الخيارات التالية : 1. الاستفسار والدردشة مع خدمة اسعاد المتعاملين 2. مقترح  3. شكوى
   	1
   عزيزي المتعامل يرجى التكرم بتزويدنا بالبيانات المطلوبة لنتمكن من مساعدتك . يرجى تزويدنا باسم مقدم الطلب:
   	[Your name in Arabic]
   يرجى تزويدنا باسم صاحب الهمة:
   	[Your child's name in Arabic]
   هل يتوفر رقم هوية صاحب الهمة؟ 1- نعم 2- لا
   	1
   يرجى تزويدنا رقم هوية صاحب الهمة
   	[Your child's Emirates ID number starting with 784-]
   يرجى تزويدنا صلة القرابة مع صاحب الهمة
   	[Your relation to POD in Arabic, e.g. son]
   يرجى تزويدنا بالإمارة – المنطقة
   	[Your location/emirate in arabic]
   كيف يمكنني مساعدتك، ماهي الخدمة المطلوبة ؟
   	أرجو منكم التكرم بمشاركة البطاقة الإلكترونية لطفلي. لقد تقدمت بالفعل وأكملت عملية تجديد بطاقة مؤسسة زايد العليا
   نشكر لكم تواصلكم مع مؤسسة زايد العليا لاصحاب الهمم وسنقوم بالرد عليكم خلال ساعتين عمل قسم اسعاد المتعاملين