The DVLA has confirmed a full list of 189 medical conditions that could put your driving licence at risk. Drivers with certain medical conditions face driving licence issues and fines of up to £1,000 under DVLA rules. More than 750,000 motorists across the UK have a medical condition that can affect their driving ability, according to recent data from 2021.
DVLA Rules on Medical Conditions
Under DVLA rules, you could be fined up to £1,000 if you do not tell the DVLA about a condition that might affect your ability to drive safely. You could also be prosecuted if you have an accident. The DVLA explains: "You must tell DVLA if you have a driving licence and you develop a ‘notifiable’ medical condition or disability, or a condition or disability has got worse since you got your licence. Notifiable conditions are anything that could affect your ability to drive safely."
How to Report a Condition
You will find out how to tell the DVLA when you check if you need to report your condition. If you have a car or motorcycle licence, you will be able to report your condition online when you check it. If you have a bus, coach or lorry licence, you will have to send a form or questionnaire to the DVLA. There are different forms for different conditions and disabilities. The address you need is on the forms.
What Happens After Reporting
The DVLA will assess your medical condition or disability. It will decide if you need to get a new driving licence, you can have a shorter licence (for 1, 2, 3 or 5 years), or you need to adapt your car by fitting special controls.
Full List of 189 Medical Conditions
The list includes conditions such as absence seizures, acoustic neuroma, agoraphobia, alcohol problems, Alzheimer's disease, amaurosis fugax, amputations, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), angina, angioplasty, ankylosing spondylitis, anorexia nervosa, anxiety, aortic aneurysm, aortic stenosis, arachnoid cyst, arrhythmia, atrial defibrillator, arteriovenous malformation, arthritis, Asperger syndrome, ataxia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autistic spectrum condition, 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, 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, deafness, defibrillator, déjà vu, dementia, depression, diabetes, dilated cardiomyopathy, diplopia (double vision), dizziness, drug misuse, eating disorders, empyema (brain), epilepsy, essential tremor, eye conditions, fainting, fits, fractured skull, Friedreich's ataxia, glaucoma, global amnesia, grand mal seizures, Guillain-Barré syndrome, 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, implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), intracerebral haemorrhage, ischaemic heart disease, kidney dialysis, kidney problems, Korsakoff's syndrome, labyrinthitis, learning difficulties, left bundle branch block, leukaemia, Lewy body dementia, limb disability, long QT syndrome, loss of an eye, low blood glucose (sugar), lumboperitoneal shunt, lung cancer, lymphoma, 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, narcolepsy, night blindness, obsessive compulsive disorder, obstructive sleep apnoea, ocular myasthenia gravis (with double vision), ophthalmoplegia (with double vision), 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, renal dialysis, retinal artery fugax, retinitis pigmentosa, retinopathy (with laser treatment), 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, tachycardia, temporal lobe epilepsy, tonic clonic fits, Tourette's syndrome, transient global amnesia, transient ischaemic attack, tunnel vision, Usher syndrome, valve disease or replacement valve, ventricular defibrillator, vertigo, vision in one eye only, visual acuity (reduced), visual field defect, VP shunts, and Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.
