Disabled model agency alternative

For models with disabilities who want paid bookings, not months of waiting on a board in another city. Publish one reviewed profile with your photos, city, rate and access needs. Adaptive and inclusive brands, photographers and casting teams find you and email you directly, with no commission taken.

Create your profile $19 a month, cancel any month

Adults only. Every profile is read by a person before it goes public.

Model who uses a wheelchair on a catalog shoot in a white studio

The short answer

Do models with disabilities need an agency?

No. A handful of inclusive agencies represent disabled models, and the best known one in the US asks applicants to live near New York City or Los Angeles and signs them exclusively. Everywhere else, adaptive clothing brands, activewear labels, healthcare marketers and photographers cast disabled models themselves, city by city and date by date.

MaxGirls is a reviewed model directory, not an agency. Your profile carries your photos, categories, city, height, date of birth, a day-rate range and your availability, and your headline says the rest in your own words. Clients filter the directory and email you. We take no commission on what you book.

28.7%

of US adults report a disability, more than 70 million people

CDC, 2022 survey data, published July 2024

of nearly 450,000 US primetime TV ads included disability

Nielsen, February 2021 ads

$57M

of $1.6 billion in that ad spend went to disability-inclusive ads

Nielsen, same study

That gap is the opportunity. More than one adult in four has a disability and almost no advertising shows one, so brands that do cast disabled models often struggle to find them outside two cities. Nielsen also found that, after pharma and healthcare, carmakers and mortgage brands spent the most on disability-inclusive ads, which tells you who to make yourself findable to.

Model with a running blade prosthetic on a sportswear shoot

Models with disabilities, by who is hiring

Who books disabled models

Adaptive clothing and footwear Seated cuts, magnetic closures, easy-on shoes. They need models who use the features, because the photo has to show the garment working.
Activewear and sport Running, training and outdoor brands casting athletes with prosthetics, wheelchair users who train and para athletes.
Healthcare, pharma and insurers The biggest spenders on disability-inclusive ads. Hospitals, device makers and insurers cast real patients and real users.
Banks, carmakers and mortgage The next biggest spenders in the Nielsen study: people with disabilities at home, at work, behind the wheel.
Stock and lifestyle Stock photographers and content studios short on inclusive images, shooting everyday life in homes and offices.

A disabled model agency or a direct listing

The middle column is taken from ZBD Talent's US apply page, read in September 2026. Other inclusive agencies work differently, and your own contract is the only one that binds you.

How a disabled model agency and a direct listing differ for models with disabilities in the US
Feature	An inclusive agency (ZBD US)	MaxGirls
Where you must live	Near New York City or Los Angeles, for the US board	Anywhere in the US. Clients filter by city
Who gets in	The agency picks from applications with photos to its spec	Any adult with a real, complete profile
Exclusivity	Sole agency, so you cannot be represented elsewhere	None. Keep any agency you already have
Commission on your fee	Agencies commonly take a percentage of each booking	None. We never see what you were paid
Who negotiates usage	The agent, which is real value on a national campaign	You do, with the client, in writing
What it costs you	Nothing up front. The commission is the price	$19 a month on Talent, $49 on Talent Pro. Cancel any month

Where you must live: An inclusive agency (ZBD US) Near New York City or Los Angeles, for the US board; MaxGirls Anywhere in the US. Clients filter by city
Who gets in: An inclusive agency (ZBD US) The agency picks from applications with photos to its spec; MaxGirls Any adult with a real, complete profile
Exclusivity: An inclusive agency (ZBD US) Sole agency, so you cannot be represented elsewhere; MaxGirls None. Keep any agency you already have
Commission on your fee: An inclusive agency (ZBD US) Agencies commonly take a percentage of each booking; MaxGirls None. We never see what you were paid
Who negotiates usage: An inclusive agency (ZBD US) The agent, which is real value on a national campaign; MaxGirls You do, with the client, in writing
What it costs you: An inclusive agency (ZBD US) Nothing up front. The commission is the price; MaxGirls $19 a month on Talent, $49 on Talent Pro. Cancel any month

Where an agency genuinely wins

If you live in New York or Los Angeles and ZBD or another inclusive board offers to sign you, take the meeting. An agent who knows the adaptive brands and negotiates usage on a national campaign earns the commission on that one job. Read the exclusivity clause first. If you are anywhere else, or you want local brands and photographers to find you between agency bookings, a direct profile does that work.

Adaptive modeling, on your terms

What to put on a disabled model profile

A client casting for adaptive or inclusive work is reading for two things: are you the person in the brief, and can their set work for you on the day. Answer both before they have to ask.

Model who uses a forearm crutch reviewing shots with the photographer on a lifestyle set

Your disability, in your words

Wheelchair user, below-knee amputee, Deaf, limb difference, low vision, chronic illness. Say what you are comfortable saying. Adaptive briefs search for exactly this, and there is no filter for it, so the headline carries it.

Your mobility aid, and what kind

Manual or power chair, prosthetic and which type, crutches, cane, guide dog. A wardrobe team pulling seated cuts or a set designer building a scene needs to know.

Access needs for the day

Step-free entrance and restroom, parking, breaks, an ASL interpreter, a seated changing area. Stating it up front means the client books the right studio instead of cancelling you.

Sizes, seated and standing

Standard sizes plus a seated measurement if you use a chair. Adaptive brands cut seated garments differently and buy wardrobe before the shoot.

What you can do on camera

Sport, dance, driving, cooking, parenting, working at a desk. Lifestyle and activewear clients book the activity, not only the face.

What you will not do

Briefs you decline, such as "inspiration" stories that make your disability the whole point. It saves both sides an email.

Adaptive modeling across categories

Where models with disabilities get booked

Disability is not a separate category on MaxGirls, the same way it is not a separate kind of booking. You list in every category you work in, and your headline says the rest. These carry most of it.

Commercial models Healthcare, insurance, banking and auto campaigns, where the biggest disability-inclusive ad budgets sit. Lifestyle modeling and real people casting Everyday scenes at home, at work and outdoors, cast for looking like the customer. Fitness models Activewear and sport brands booking athletes with prosthetics and wheelchair users who train. Print and catalog modeling E-commerce and catalog days for adaptive clothing and footwear lines. Fit model jobs Hourly fittings for adaptive garments, where the fit on a seated or prosthetic body is the whole job.

Getting listed

Four steps, about twenty minutes

No application fee, no test shoot you pay for. "Disabled models wanted" posts attract people new to modeling, and some are paid photo packages dressed up as castings. If anyone asks you to pay to be considered, read how to spot a modeling scam first.

Create your profile Build your card

Shoot five current photos A headshot, a full length (seated if you use a chair), and three shots doing ordinary things in daylight. Phone photos are fine to start. Show your mobility aid if you use one; clients want to see what they are casting.
Pick every category that fits Commercial is where most inclusive briefs filter first. Add fitness if you train, fashion if you shoot apparel, creator if you post. Each one is another search that returns you.
Write a headline a casting team can use Your disability in your words, your city, how far you travel and the access you need. That line decides whether the email arrives.
Set a day rate and keep availability current Your rate range is visible before anyone writes, so the first message is about the booking, not about money. Availability is one click.

Questions

Disabled modeling, answered

Something missing? Write to support@maxgirls.com and a person will answer it.

Can disabled people be models?

Yes. Disabled models book fashion, commercial, fitness, beauty and lifestyle work in the United States every week, for adaptive clothing lines, activewear brands, pharma and healthcare campaigns, banks, carmakers and stock photographers. The same things decide a booking as for any model: a clear set of current photos, a city, availability on the date and a rate the budget covers.

How do I become a disabled model?

Take five current photos in daylight (a headshot, a full length, three shots of you doing ordinary things), then publish a profile where brands and photographers actually search. Put your disability, any mobility aid and your access needs in the headline, in your own words, so a client casting for adaptive or inclusive work finds you and plans the set around you.

Is there a modeling agency for disabled people in the US?

There are a few, and they are small. ZBD Talent, which started in the UK as Zebedee Management, runs a US board, but its own apply page says you need to be based near New York City or Los Angeles and that it is a sole agency, so you cannot be represented elsewhere. Outside those two cities most disabled models are booked directly.

Is there a wheelchair modeling agency?

Not a wheelchair-only one in the US that we can point to. Inclusive agencies such as ZBD represent wheelchair users next to other disabled talent, and some mainstream boards sign individual wheelchair users. The more reliable route is a profile that says you use a wheelchair, what kind, and which sets you can reach, so adaptive and inclusive casting finds you by city.

Where do I find disabled models wanted near me?

Calls that say "disabled models wanted" are posted by adaptive brands, inclusive casting teams, photographers building a book and disability nonprofits running runway shows. Most of the paid ones are local, because budgets rarely cover travel. A profile with your city and availability set is how a client in your metro area finds you without posting a call at all.

How much do disabled models get paid?

The same as any model on the same job: a day or hourly fee plus a usage license, set by who is paying and where the images run. A stock day, a brand e-commerce shoot and a national TV campaign pay very differently. Ask about usage before you quote, and never pay a fee to be considered for a casting.

Do I have to tell a client about my disability?

You decide what to share. Many disabled models put it in the headline because inclusive and adaptive briefs are searching for exactly that, and because it lets the client book a step-free studio, longer breaks or an interpreter before the day. You never owe anyone medical details, only what the set needs to work for you.

What is adaptive fashion modeling?

Adaptive fashion modeling is modeling clothing designed for disabled bodies: magnetic or one-handed closures, seated cuts for wheelchair users, openings for ostomy bags or insulin pumps, easy-on shoes. Brands casting it want models who actually use those features, because the photo has to show the garment working. Tommy Hilfiger, Kohl's, Target and Zappos have all shown adaptive lines.

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