DVLA Medical Conditions List: What You Need to Know

If you hold a UK driving licence, the law expects you to tell the DVLA about certain health conditions that could affect your driving. The DVLA medical conditions list is a long alphabetical register covering everything from diabetes and epilepsy to heart conditions, sleep apnoea, vision problems and mental health. The simple rule is this: the duty to declare sits with you, and whether you must report a condition depends on the diagnosis, how well it is controlled, and whether you drive a car (Group 1) or an HGV, lorry or bus (Group 2). When in doubt, check the official list and speak to your GP.

This guide walks you through the conditions people ask about most, and what they tend to mean for your licence. It is not a substitute for the DVLA's own guidance, but it should help you understand where you stand before your medical.

How the DVLA medical conditions list works

The DVLA publishes an A to Z of notifiable conditions, and a separate clinical guide for doctors that sets out the detailed standards. Conditions fall into broad groups, and each is judged on how it affects your ability to drive safely rather than the label alone.

Two ideas matter throughout. First, Group 2 standards (HGV, LGV, PCV and bus) are stricter than Group 1 (car and motorcycle), because professional drivers spend far longer at the wheel and carry greater responsibility. Second, control is everything. A condition that is well managed and stable often allows continued driving, while the same condition uncontrolled may mean stopping until it is sorted.

Check the DVLA A to Z of medical conditions and drivingGOV.UK

Diabetes and your licence

Diabetes is one of the most common reasons drivers contact the DVLA. If you manage your diabetes with diet alone, you usually do not need to declare it. If you take certain tablets that can cause low blood sugar, or you use insulin, the picture changes.

For a Group 2 licence, insulin-treated diabetes is assessed against strict standards. The DVLA looks for a satisfactory record of blood glucose monitoring, an awareness of hypoglycaemia, and no recent severe hypo episodes needing help from another person. Many HGV drivers with insulin-treated diabetes do hold a Group 2 licence, but it depends on meeting those conditions and working closely with your diabetes team. If you are exploring a diabetes HGV licence, keep your glucose logs up to date, because your examiner and the DVLA will want to see them.

DVLA guidance on diabetes and drivingGOV.UK

Sleep apnoea and excessive sleepiness

Obstructive sleep apnoea causes interrupted breathing during sleep, which can leave you tired and drowsy during the day. That daytime sleepiness, not the diagnosis itself, is what concerns the DVLA. So can you drive with sleep apnoea? In most cases yes, once it is treated effectively and your sleepiness is under control.

If you are an obstructive sleep apnoea HGV driver, the DVLA expects confirmation that treatment, often CPAP, is working and that you are no longer excessively sleepy. Until then, you should not drive. The NHS notes that treatment usually improves symptoms well, which is reassuring for drivers who feared the worst.

Epilepsy, seizures and blackouts

Epilepsy and driving in the UK follows clear rules built around seizure-free periods. For a car licence, you generally need to have been free of seizures for a set time, and the standards for Group 2 are considerably longer and stricter. A single unexplained blackout also triggers reporting requirements. Because the timeframes are precise and change with circumstances, always check the current DVLA position and follow your neurologist's advice.

Heart conditions, heart attacks and stroke

Many people ask, can I drive with a heart condition? Often the answer is yes, with conditions attached. After a heart attack, the DVLA sets a waiting period before you return, and driving after a heart attack in the UK depends on your treatment and licence group. Group 2 drivers face longer waits and additional testing.

The same applies to stroke and driving in the UK. After a stroke or transient ischaemic attack, there is a minimum period off the road, and your return to drive depends on a satisfactory recovery and your medical team's sign-off. Conditions such as fitted defibrillators, certain arrhythmias and heart failure each have their own rules.

Blood pressure at your HGV medical

Drivers often worry about the blood pressure limit at an HGV medical. There is a threshold above which the DVLA does not consider you fit for a Group 2 licence until your blood pressure is better controlled. Most drivers pass comfortably, and if a reading is high on the day, treating it and rechecking usually resolves the issue. It helps to attend rested, avoid caffeine beforehand, and tell your doctor if you already take blood pressure medication.

Vision and eyesight standards

DVLA vision standards for driving cover how well you see in each eye, your field of vision and certain eye conditions. The DVLA eyesight test for a driving licence at its simplest involves reading a number plate at the required distance, but Group 2 drivers must meet higher standards, including visual acuity and field tests. If you wear glasses or contact lenses to meet the standard, that is fine, as long as you wear them when driving.

Mental health, anxiety and medications

Driving with a mental health condition in the UK is common and usually compatible with holding a licence. The DVLA is interested in whether a condition, or its treatment, affects concentration, judgement or alertness in a way that makes driving unsafe. Driving with anxiety and panic attacks may need declaring if symptoms are severe or could strike at the wheel, but many people drive safely with well-managed anxiety or depression.

Medications that affect driving in the UK deserve a mention too. Some prescribed and over-the-counter medicines cause drowsiness or slowed reactions. Read the label, ask your pharmacist, and never drive if you feel impaired.

Kidney disease and other conditions

Can you drive with kidney disease? In most cases yes, though advanced kidney disease and dialysis can sometimes affect alertness or cause complications that the DVLA wants to know about. As with the rest of the list, the question is always whether the condition and its treatment leave you safe to drive.

What this means for your driver medical

If you drive professionally, your DVLA D4 medical is where many of these conditions come up. An unhurried, thorough examiner will check your blood pressure, vision and general health, and talk through any conditions you have so nothing is missed. You can book an HGV or LGV driver medical, a taxi medical or a general medical whenever you are ready.

Our Medical Team

GMC-registered, DVLA-approved examiner

Our GMC-registered doctors are experienced DVLA-approved examiners at South Wales Driver Medicals. They have performed thousands of DVLA D4 medicals for HGV, PCV, LGV, and taxi drivers, and are known by patients for being thorough, unhurried, and putting people at ease.

Being honest about your health is not a trap. It is how the system keeps you and other road users safe, and a good examiner will put you at ease rather than catch you out. If you are uncertain about any condition on the DVLA list, speak to your GP first, then come to your medical prepared.

Sources

1. dvlaDriving with a medical condition or disability(accessed 2026-06-18)
2. gov.ukAssessing fitness to drive: a guide for medical professionals(accessed 2026-06-18)
3. nhsObstructive sleep apnoea(accessed 2026-06-18)
4. dvlaDiabetes and driving(accessed 2026-06-18)