Reapplying for your licence after a medical revocation

Many DVLA medical standards are time-based: a set period free of seizures, a period well and stable, or a period of controlled drinking. When that time has passed and your doctor agrees you meet the standard, a new application is often the most direct way back to driving. This guide explains when you can reapply and how.

When you can reapply

GOV.UK says DVLA sends you a letter if your licence was taken away or your application was refused because of a health condition, and that the letter tells you if there’s a period you need to wait before you can get a new licence. You can reapply up to 8 weeks before the end of that period.

Before you reapply, GOV.UK says you should check with your doctor that you can meet the medical standards for driving. After a medical revocation or refusal, you can reapply when your doctor says you meet them.

Some standards have more than one possible period. After a first seizure, for example, GOV.UK says you can reapply after 6 months if DVLA’s medical advisers decide the risk of another seizure is not high, and otherwise after a year. Read your letter closely: it says which period applies to you.

Car or motorcycle (Group 1)

GOV.UK says you can reapply for a car or motorcycle licence online or by post. Your letter from DVLA tells you if you need to send medical evidence of your fitness to drive; if you do, you must apply by post.

• Online: you have one hour to add information once you start, and you can’t save and come back later. You can report a health condition at the same time.
• By post: fill in the form for your health condition and a D1 application form. GOV.UK says you can get a D1 from a Post Office that offers DVLA services, and suggests checking that your local branch has one before you visit. Our guide to DVLA medical forms by condition lists the form GOV.UK names for each of the kit’s conditions.

Bus, coach or lorry (Group 2)

Fill in a D2 application form and the form for your health condition. GOV.UK says that if you’re aged 45 to 65, you also have to fill in a D4 medical report form if you haven’t done so in the past 5 years, and send it with your D2. From the age of 65 the licence has to be renewed each year, with a completed D4. The letter from DVLA tells you if you need to send medical evidence. More on this in our guide to a Group 2 licence revoked on medical grounds.

Where to send a postal application

GOV.UK gives this address for postal reapplications:

Drivers Medical Group
DVLA
Swansea
SA99 1TU

Send copies, never originals, keep proof of posting, and note the date DVLA should receive it.

Can you drive while you reapply?

Not after a medical revocation or refusal. DVLA’s leaflet INF188/6 says you must wait for DVLA to issue a new licence before you drive again: section 88, which sometimes lets people drive while an application is with DVLA, doesn’t apply if your last licence was revoked or refused for medical reasons.

It’s different if you gave up your licence voluntarily. GOV.UK says you can then drive while your licence is being renewed if you meet all of a list of conditions, including that you have the support of your doctor, you had a valid licence, your application is less than a year old and your last licence was not revoked or refused for medical reasons. Our guide to section 88 explains them, and our guide to voluntary surrender and revocation compares the two routes back.

Make the application complete

DVLA’s guide for medical professionals says DVLA can’t make a licensing decision until all the relevant medical information is available and has been considered. So an application that answers the standard point by point, with dated reports from your doctor or specialist, is less likely to wait for more information. Ask your doctor for facts DVLA can use (dates, test results, treatment), rather than a view on whether you should drive.

If you can’t wait

If your letter sets no waiting period, or you think DVLA got the decision wrong, the other routes are sending further medical evidence or an appeal. Our guide to what to do after a medical revocation compares the three.