Medical rules for drivers

Medical conditions or Disabilities	Special needs and your theory test
What happens after you have told DVLA	Special requirements and your practical driving test
Surrendering your driving licence	Medical renewals
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Medical conditions or disabilities DVLA need to know about and how to tell them

You must tell the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) if you have ever had, or currently suffer from a medical condition or disability that may affect your driving.

You must also provide details of a medical condition or disability that has become worse since your licence was issued or you develop a new medical condition or disability, as it may affect your fitness to drive. Failure to do so is a criminal offence and is punishable by a fine of up to £1000.

Full details of all medical conditions and disabilities and the medical questionnaires you may require, depending upon which type of vehicle driving licence you are applying for or currently hold, can be found from one of the two links below.

How to tell DVLA about a medical condition if you are applying for your first driving licence

All driving licence application forms contain a series of health questions and you must declare if you suffer from a notifiable medical condition or disability. You may also wish to download and complete the appropriate medical questionnaire(s)and enclose them with your application. This will help to speed up the processing of your driving licence when the documents are received at DVLA. Send your completed application to the helpful contacts address below together with your medical questionnaire.

How to tell DVLA about a medical condition if you currently hold a driving licence

If you are the holder of a current driving licence and have a notifiable medical condition or disability, you must tell the DVLA right away. You should not wait until your licence is due for renewal. You can do this by downloading the appropriate medical questionnaire. The completed questionnaire can then be sent to DVLA by post, fax or as an attachment to an email.

If you choose to email the questionnaire you should note that this is not a secure means of communication and that DVLA accepts no responsibility for handling your email until after it is received. You can post, fax and email your documents to the following address and numbers below:

Helpful contacts

Drivers Medical Group

Address

DVLA

Swansea

SA99 1TU

Fax

0845 850 0095

Email address

eftd@dvla.gsi.gov.uk

You can also notify DVLA of a medical condition by telephone. Please remember to quote your full name, date of birth and or driver number (if known). You must also give details of your specific medical condition or disability in order that you can be sent the appropriate medical questionnaire.

Telephone: 0870 600 0301 (Monday to Friday, 8.00 am to 5.30 pm).

Fax: 0845 850 0095

Extra rules for larger vehicles, minibuses and buses

There are higher medical standards in place for the driving of these vehicles. A D4 medical report form that has been completed by a medical practitioner must accompany your application if:

you are applying for entitlement to drive any of the above vehicles for the first time
you are a car licence holder applying to renew category C1 and or D1
you are renewing your large goods vehicle (LGV) or passenger carrying vehicle (PCV) on or after the age of 45 and at five yearly intervals until the age of 65, (if you are aged between 45 and 65 and have been issued with a medical short period licence, then you only need send in a D4 form if you have not done so within the last five years
you are renewing your LGV and or PCV driving entitlement on or after the age of 65 and on a yearly basis thereafter

Drivers already holding entitlement to drive vehicles of category C1 and or D1 and who have passed a car test before 1 January 1997, will only be required to meet the higher medical standards when the licence is next renewed.

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