04 March 2024 , 10:52
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Drivers need to tell the DVLA if they have one of these medical conditions or they could risk a £1,000 fine.
The medical conditions which need to be reported are those that "might affect your ability to drive safely". This is not a voluntary, but instead a legal obligation if you are a driver. Alongside this, if you have an accident where your health condition may have been a factor, your insurance might not cover you.
Car experts at Swansway Motor Group said that drivers reporting their health conditions to the DVLA "contributed to a safer driving environment for themselves and others". The DVLA has an extensive list which highlights a wide range of conditions which may need to be reported. This includes things such as cancer, diabetes and neurological disorders.
However, if you are unsure whether your condition is notifiable. Swansway Motor Group says you should consult with a healthcare professional. They added: "It's better to stay on the side of caution and ensure compliance with DVLA regulations to avoid potential legal and financial repercussions."
After you've declared your medication condition, the DVLA may decide on whether you can continue to drive based on the information you provide, contact your GP or consultant or arrange for a local doctor to examine you, or ask you to take a driving assessment, driving appraisal or eyesight test.
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It's important to note that having a medical condition doesn’t necessarily mean that you'll lose your licence. You should be able to continue driving if your condition doesn’t affect your ability to drive safely. It might just be that you need to make some adjustments or adaptations to your car. The DVLA may also issue you with a shorter driving licence lasting for one to three years and will then review your case again when this licence expires.
List of medical conditions that need reporting to DVLA
Diabetes - for diabetes, it's essential to inform the DVLA if:
- Your insulin therapy extends (or is expected to extend) beyond three months
- You experienced gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy), and your insulin therapy persists beyond three months postpartum
- You suffer from incapacitating hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), or a medical expert has warned of the risk of its development
Cancer - for cancer or lymphoma, it's necessary to inform the DVLA only if:
- You encounter issues related to your brain or nervous system
- Your physician advises that you may not be fit for driving
- You're limited to specific vehicle types or require vehicle adaptations due to your condition
- Your medication induces side effects that could impact your ability to drive safely
Other conditions on the DVLA list include:
- Agoraphobia
- Alcohol problems
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Amputations
- Angiomas or cavernomas
- Ankylosing spondylitis
- Anorexia nervosa
- Anxiety
- Aortic aneurysm
- Arachnoid cyst
- Arrhythmia
- Arteriovenous malformation
- Arthritis
- Ataxia
- ADHD
- AIDS
- Bipolar disorder (manic depression)
- Blood clots
- Blood pressure
- Brachial plexus injury
- Brain abscess, cyst or encephalitis
- Brain aneurysm
- Brain haemorrhage
- Traumatic brain injury
- Brain tumour
- Broken limbs
- Brugada syndrome
- Burr hole surgery
- Cataracts
- Cataplexy
- Central venous thrombosis (if still having problems after one month)
- Cerebral palsy
- Cognitive problems
- Congenital heart disease
- Fits, seizures or convulsions and driving
- Déjà vu and driving
- Defibrillators
- Dementia
- Depression (if it impacts your ability to drive safely)
- Diplopia (double vision)
- Dizziness or vertigo (if sudden, disabling or recurrent)
- Drug use
- Empyema (brain)
- Essential tremor (if it impacts your ability to drive safely)
- Eye conditions
- Guillain Barré syndrome
- Head injury (serious)
- Heart failure (if it impacts your ability to drive safely)
- Heart palpitations
- Hemianopia
- Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Huntington's disease
- Hydrocephalus
- Hypoglycaemia
- Hypoxic brain damage
- Intracerebral haemorrhage
- Korsakoff's syndrome
- Labyrinthitis (if symptoms last three months or longer)
- Learning disabilities
- Lewy body dementia
- Limb disability
- Long QT syndrome
- Marfan's syndrome
- Medulloblastoma
- Meningioma (if it impacts your ability to drive safely)
- Motor neurone disease
- Muscular dystrophy
- Myasthenia gravis
- Myoclonus
- Narcolepsy
- Night blindness
- Obsessive compulsive disorder (if it impacts your ability to drive safely)
- Excessive sleepiness
- Optic atrophy
- Pacemakers
- Paranoid schizophrenia
- Paraplegia
- Parkinson’s disease
- Peripheral neuropathy
- Personality disorder
- Pituitary tumour
- Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (if it impacts your ability to drive safely)
- Psychosis
- Psychotic depression
- Pulmonary arterial hypertension
- Severe memory problems
- Stroke (if you're still having problems after one month)
- Surgery (if you're still unable to drive three months later)
- Syncope (including blackouts or fainting)
- Seizures/epilepsy
- Sleep apnoea
- Schizo-affective disorder
- Schizophrenia
- Scotoma
- Severe communication disorders (if it impacts your ability to drive safely)
- Spinal conditions, injuries or spinal surgery
- Subarachnoid haemorrhage
- Tachycardia
- Tourette's syndrome (if it impacts your ability to drive safely)
- Tunnel vision
- Usher syndrome
- Reduced visual acuity
- Vertigo
- Visual field defect
- VP shunts
- Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome