Full list of the 186 medical conditions you may have to declare to DVLA that could see you banned from driving

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Drivers must report if they have a medical condition or have undergone treatment that may affect their driving 🚗
  • If you have a medical condition that could affect your ability to drive you must report it to DVLA.
  • There are 186 medical conditions that you should be aware of that might impact your ability to drive.
  • If your medical condition or its treatment may affect your ability to drive safely then your driving license may be revoked on medical grounds.
  • If you fail to report a medical condition that could affect your ability to drive you may face a fine of up to £1,000 and could be criminally prosecuted if you’re involved in an accident.

The Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) is the government body in charge of driving licenses in England, Scotland and Wales. Not only does the DVLA issue licences and car tax, it also assesses whether someone is able to drive if they have a medical condition that could impair their ability.

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Drivers are expected to report if they have a medical condition or have undergone medical treatment that may affect their driving. Those who fail to declare a medical condition could face a fine of up to £1,000 and may be criminally prosecuted if involved in an accident.

According to GOV.UK, you must tell DVLA if you have a driving licence and “develop a ‘notifiable’ medical condition or disability”, or your “condition or disability has got worse since you got your licence”.

What health conditions can impact your ability to drive safely?

There is a long list of health conditions that can affect your ability to drive, however, GOV.UK have highlighted the following common health conditions that you must declare to DVLA. They include:

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  • Diabetes or taking insulin
  • Syncope (fainting)
  • Heart conditions (including atrial fibrillation and pacemakers)
  • Sleep apnoea
  • Epilepsy
  • Strokes
  • glaucoma

What medical conditions do you have to declare to DVLA?

As well as the conditions outlined above, there are 186 medical conditions that you may have to report to DVLA, with each being outlined on GOV.UK, alongside information on what steps you need to take.

If you don’t tell DVLA about a health condition that affects your driving you could be fined up to £1,000 and may be prosecuted if you’re involved in an accident as a result.

Medical conditions you may have to declare to DVLA:

  • Absence seizures
  • Acoustic neuroma
  • Addison’s disease
  • Agoraphobia
  • AIDS
  • 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
  • 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 (leukaemia is listed below)
  • Cataracts
  • Catheter ablation
  • Cardiac problems
  • Carotid artery stenosis
  • Cataplexy
  • Cavernoma
  • Central venous thrombosis
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease
  • Chronic aortic dissection
  • Cognitive problems
  • Congenital heart disease
  • Convulsions
  • Coronary artery bypass or disease
  • Coronary angioplasty
  • Cranial nerve palsy (with double vision)
  • Deafness
  • Defibrillator (implanted)
  • Déjà vu
  • Dementia
  • Depression
  • Diabetes
  • Dilated cardiomyopathy
  • Diplopia (double vision)
  • Dizziness
  • Drug misuse
  • Eating disorders
  • Empyema (brain)
  • Epilepsy
  • Essential tremor
  • 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
  • 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 disabilities
  • 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
  • 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 (if you are post-operation)
  • 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
  • Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome

Do you have to surrender your driving licence?

You must surrender your driving licence if your your doctor tells you to stop driving for three months or more, your medical condition affects your ability to drive safely and lasts for more than three months, or if you do not meet the required standards for driving because of your medical condition.

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If the DVLA or your doctor believe your medical condition or its treatment may affect your ability to drive safely then your driving license may be revoked on medical grounds.

How to get your driving licence back after it's been revoked?

You will only be able to reapply for your driving licence if its been revoked on medical grounds when your doctor confirms you meet the required medical standards for driving. You can check if a medical condition can affect your driving and learn more on how to report a health condition to DVLA on GOV.UK.

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