Driving with Medical Conditions: All You Need To Know

Over a million people across the UK rely on their cars to help them live with a medical condition. But did you know there are 100+ different conditions that you might need to declare to the DVLA before getting behind the wheel? These are known as 'notifiable conditions' and the exact rules vary depending on the nature of the condition. Some will mean you can continue driving, while others could lead to you being told to surrender your licence.

It's crucial that you declare notifiable conditions to the DVLA as soon as you're diagnosed or start learning to drive. If you don't declare a condition that you should have, you could be fined up to £1000, have your vehicle seized, insurance invalidated, and prosecuted if you're involved in an accident.

The stakes are high, so it's definitely worth checking if your medical condition is included in the list below — there are some surprising conditions included, so never assume you're in the clear.

Most common notifiable medical conditions that affect your driving

These are the most common medical conditions that affect your driving and, depending on the condition and/or the severity of it, you might need to tell the DVLA.

• Arthritis
• Dementia
• Hearing
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Stroke
• Driving after surgery
• Epilepsy
• Heart disease
• Parkinson's Disease
• Anxiety
• Diabetes
• Eyesight / Monocular Vision
• Medications
• Sleep disorders
• Limb disability

How to tell the DVLA about a medical condition

The UK government has a form for near-enough everything — the DVLA is no different. You can find your medical conditions and declare them on the gov.uk site.

What happens after reporting a medical condition to the DVLA

After reporting your condition, the DVLA may allow you to continue driving until a formal decision has been made. They could ask to speak to your GP or even arrange a driving assessment for you. The whole process usually takes around 6 weeks.

The DVLA will then make one of the following decisions:

• Advise you're not safe to be driving and revoke your licence. You'll also be told if and when you can reapply for your licence
• Advise you to make adaptations to your car so you can continue driving safely — Driving Mobility will assess your situation and help you to adapt your vehicle
• Give you a licence with a shorter expiry date — the DVLA will typically review your situation every 1 to 3 years
• Recommend no change to your licence, and you can carry on driving as you were

Can you appeal the DVLA's decision?

If you disagree with the DVLA's verdict on your medical condition, you can appeal the decision as long as you're able to provide information that wasn't included in the original assessment. To appeal, you'll need to write to the DVLA at the following address:

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Drivers Medical Group

Swansea

SA99 1DF

You must also provide:

• Proof that you meet the required standards for driving (the DVLA's initial decision letter will explain more)
• The reference number from your decision letter

Full A to Z of medical conditions that affect your driving

Here is the full list of medical conditions that you might need to tell the DVLA about. Most conditions won't lead to you losing your licence or being unable to get one, and many don't need to be declared unless your doctor says so.

If you're not sure if your medical condition is severe enough to declare, then always take your doctor's advice.

A

Absence seizures
Acoustic neuroma
Addison’s disease
Agoraphobia
AIDS
Alcohol problems
Alzheimer’s disease
Amaurosis fugax
Amputations
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
Angina
Angioma
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
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

Although dyslexia isn't on this list, it can still cause problems when learning to drive. Here's all you need to know about taking the theory test with dyslexia.

E

Eating disorders
Empyema (brain)
Epilepsy
Essential tremor

F

Fainting
Fits
Fractured skull
Friedreich’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
Hodgkin’s lymphoma
Huntington’s disease
Hydrocephalus
Hypertension
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
Hypoglycaemia
Hypoxic brain damage
Hysterectomy

I

Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD)
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
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