Can I drive with medical conditions?

Your ability to drive may be negatively impacted by certain medical conditions. If you have any of these conditions, you must inform the DVLA.

Drivers who fail to tell the DVLA about an applicable condition may be fined up to £1,000 and could be prosecuted if they have an accident related to that condition.

You would need to give up your licence if you fail to meet the standards for driving due to a medical condition, or if your doctor says you cannot drive for three months or more.

The Gov.uk website has published a list of 'notifiable' conditions that must be reported to the DVLA. You can find it here. If your doctor has told you that you cannot drive for any period of time, you must send your licence to the DVLA.

It is a good idea to surrender your licence voluntarily if required due to a medical condition. If you have your licence revoked/refused for medical reasons, it may take longer before you can drive again - due to the different ways the two scenarios are handled.

Conditions include diabetes or taking insulin; syncope (fainting); heart conditions (including atrial fibrillation and pacemakers); sleep apnoea; epilepsy; strokes; and glaucoma. The list also includes conditions such as depression and eating disorders.

If you have a condition that you think might impact your ability to drive, you should contact the DVLA. You can do that here.

A Direct Line report from 2016 suggested there are an estimated 3.4 million motorists in England and Wales who have failed to inform the DVLA about a medical condition. The same report revealed just 64 motorists were convicted of failing to tell the DVLA about applicable medical conditions.

2016 data showed that about 25 per cent of UK drivers - 8.8 million - have a condition that they should notify the DVLA about. Below are listed the most common conditions that the DVLA must be told about.