Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the procedure for a medical professional to contact the DVLA if an individual is considered unfit to drive, following a medical diagnosis.

All drivers are legally responsible for notifying the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) of any medical condition that may affect their ability to drive safely.

The DVLA recognises that there may be occasions where a licence holder fails to declare a medical condition because they fear losing their licence or because they lack insight into their ability to drive safely. In these situations, the DVLA investigates notifications from third parties, including concerned relatives, neighbours, police and healthcare professionals. The General Medical Council and the General Optical Council provide guidance to healthcare professionals around notifying the DVLA of a patient’s medical condition. Medical professionals must make every reasonable effort to persuade patients to inform the DVLA themselves but if they are aware their patient has failed to do so healthcare professionals can notify the DVLA of a patient’s medical condition in confidence. The DVLA provides online guidance in its ‘Assessing Fitness to Drive – a guide for medical professionals’ document. This includes a notification form for healthcare professionals to complete and provides a dedicated contact point which allows them to discuss concerns directly with a DVLA doctor. The DVLA treat such notifications as a high priority.