What Medical Conditions Should Be Reported to the DVLA?

Some medical conditions can impact your ability to drive, putting your safety and that of other road users at risk. These conditions must be reported to the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Authority (DVLA), which is responsible for managing driver records.

If you have a medical condition and are unsure whether it needs reporting or want to learn more about the process of informing the DVLA, this guide can help.

Why do I need to notify the DVLA of a medical condition?

We all know that driving comes with risks, and safety is a top priority for road users. 

According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), illnesses or disabilities contribute to 6% of reported fatal road accidents and 3% of reported serious road accidents. 

These statistics show why it’s important to report medical conditions that could impact your driving ability. Codes will be added to the back of your licence to indicate any driving restrictions due to medical conditions and if you need any vehicle adaptations to drive safely. Reporting a condition doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have to give up your licence.

What medical conditions should be reported to the DVLA?

You must report any conditions that affect your ability to drive safely. These include:

• Heart conditions

• Sleep apnoea 

• Strokes

• Epilepsy

• Diabetes or taking insulin

• Fainting

• Glaucoma

A full list of medical conditions is available at the bottom of this guide.

When to tell the DVLA about a medical condition

You must inform the DVLA as soon as you are diagnosed with a notifiable disability or medical condition. You are also responsible for telling the DVLA if a condition has worsened since receiving your licence.

How to inform the DVLA of a medical condition

The first thing to do is check whether you need to tell the DVLA about your condition on the government website. The site contains an up-to-date A-Z list of conditions you can click on for more information. From there, you will be told how to report your condition online or by filling out and sending a paper form.

What will the DVLA decide?

The DVLA will assess your disability or medical condition to decide whether you:

• Need a new driving licence

• Can have a shorter licence (one, two, three or five years)

• Need to adapt your car

• Must stop driving and give up your licence

Surrendering your licence

You can voluntarily give up your licence if you no longer want to drive due to a medical condition. This is an option if:

• Your doctor tells you to stop driving for three months or more.

• Your medical condition lasts three months or more and affects your driving ability.

• You don’t meet the medical standards for safe driving due to your condition or disability.

The DVLA will carry out medical checks to see whether it’s safe for you to keep driving. If you meet the required medical standards for safe driving after giving up your licence, you might be able to get it back.

You’ll receive a letter in the post telling you your licence has been withdrawn and how long you must wait before getting a new one. You can reapply eight weeks before the end of this period.

What happens after you tell the DVLA about a medical condition?

After the information you submitted has been finalised, you’ll receive a letter from the DVLA with a decision. 

Some applications may require additional information, which can involve:

• Contacting your doctor or consultant

• Arranging an examination

• Taking a driving assessment

How long do DVLA medical enquiries take?

It can take up to 15 working days to hear back from the DVLA after you submit your form, extending to 90 days if more information is needed. Occasionally, the process can take even longer than that if the application needs to be referred to a doctor.

Can I drive while waiting for a DVLA medical?

You can usually continue driving while the DVLA considers your application. If you have told the DVLA about your medical condition while applying for a new licence, follow the driving guidance in the form you completed.

Do I have to declare medical conditions to my insurance company?

You must declare medical conditions to your insurance provider, even if you haven’t reported them to the DVLA. If you have a condition that impacts your ability to drive safely and don’t tell your insurer, it will likely invalidate any claims you make. 

Learn more about car insurance and how to get it cheaper.

What happens if you fail to inform the DVLA?

You can be fined up to £1,000 if you fail to inform the DVLA about a medical condition that affects your driving. You could also be prosecuted if you have a road accident due to an unreported condition.

Read about the most common driving offences and penalties.

Full list of medical conditions that must be reported

A

• Absence seizures

• Acoustic neuroma

• Addison’s disease

• Agoraphobia

• Alcohol problems

• Alzheimer’s disease

• Amaurosis fugax

• Amputations

• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

• Angina

• Angioplasty

• Ankylosing spondylitis

• Anorexia nervosa

• Anxiety

• Aortic aneurysm

• Arachnoid cyst

• Arrhythmia

• Atrial defibrillator

• Arteriovenous malformation

• Arthritis

• Asperger syndrome

• Ataxia

• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

• Autistic spectrum condition

B

• Balloon angioplasty (leg)

• Bipolar disorder

• Blackouts

• Blepharospasm

• Blood clots

• Blood pressure

• Brachial plexus injury

• Brain abscess, cyst or encephalitis

• Brain aneurysm

• Brain angioma

• Brain haemorrhage

• Brain injury (traumatic)

• Brain tumours

• Broken limbs

• Brugada syndrome

• Burr hole surgery

C

• Caesarean section

• Cancer

• Cataracts

• Catheter ablation

• Cardiac problems

• Carotid artery stenosis

• Cataplexy

• Cavernoma

• Central venous thrombosis

• Cerebral palsy

• Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease

• Chiari malformation

• Chronic aortic dissection

• Cognitive problems

• Congenital heart disease

• Convulsions

• Coronary artery bypass or disease

• Coronary angioplasty

• Cranial nerve palsy (with double vision)

• Cystic fibrosis

D

• Deafness

• Defibrillator

• Déjà vu

• Dementia

• Depression

• Diabetes

• Dilated cardiomyopathy

• Diplopia (double vision)

• Dizziness

• Drug misuse

E

• Eating disorders

• Empyema (brain)

• Epilepsy

• Essential tremor

• Eye conditions

F

• Fainting

• Fits

• Fractured skull

• Friedriech’s ataxia

G

• Glaucoma

• Global amnesia

• Grand mal seizures

• Guillain-Barré syndrome

H

• Head injury

• Heart attack

• Heart arrhythmia

• Heart failure

• Heart murmurs

• Heart palpitations

• Heart valve disease or replacement valve

• High blood pressure

• HIV or AIDS

• Hodgkin's lymphoma

• Huntington’s disease

• Hydrocephalus

• Hypertension

• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

• Hypoglycaemia

• Hypoxic brain damage

• Hysterectomy

I

• Implantable cardioverter defibrillator

• Intracerebral haemorrhage

• Ischaemic heart disease

K

• Kidney dialysis

• Kidney problems

• Korsakoff’s syndrome

L

• Labyrinthitis

• Learning difficulties

• Left bundle branch block

• Leukaemia

• Lewy body dementia

• Limb disability

• Long QT syndrome

• Loss of an eye

• Low blood sugar

• Lumboperitoneal shunt

• Lung cancer

• Lymphoma

M

• Macular degeneration

• Malignant brain tumours

• Malignant melanoma

• Manic depressive psychosis

• Marfan’s syndrome

• Medulloblastoma

• Memory problems (severe)

• Meningioma

• Mini-stroke

• Monocular vision (sight in one eye only)

• Motor neurone disease

• Multiple sclerosis

• Muscular dystrophy

• Myasthenia gravis

• Myocardial infarction

• Myoclonus

N

• Narcolepsy

• Night blindness

O

• Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)

• Obstructive sleep apnoea

• Ocular myasthenia gravis (with double vision)

• Ophthalmoplegia (with double vision)

P

• Pacemakers

• Palpitations

• Paranoia

• Paranoid schizophrenia

• Paraplegia

• Parkinson’s disease

• Peripheral arterial disease

• Peripheral neuropathy

• Personality disorder

• Petit mal seizures

• Pituitary tumour

• Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

• Psychosis

• Psychotic depression

• Pulmonary arterial hypertension

R

• Renal dialysis

• Retinal artery fugax

• Retinitis pigmentosa

• Retinopathy (with laser treatment)

S

• Schizo-affective disorder

• Schizophrenia

• Scotoma

• Seizures

• Severe communication disorders

• Severe depression

• Sight in one eye only

• Sleep apnoea

• Sleepiness (excessive)

• Spinal problems and injuries

• Stroke

• Subarachnoid haemorrhage

• Surgery

• Syncope

T

• Tachycardia

• Temporal lobe epilepsy

• Tonic clonic fits

• Tourette’s syndrome

• Transient global amnesia

• Transient ischaemic attack

• Tunnel vision

U

• Usher syndrome

V

• Valve disease or replacement valve

• Ventricular defibrillator

• Vertigo

• Vision in one eye only

• Visual acuity (reduced)

• Visual field defect

• VP shunts

W

• Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome

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