Fitness to drive

Explains the rights that you have to drive, what information you need to tell the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and how to appeal if your driving licence is taken away.

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This information applies to England and Wales.
This information applies to adults. It doesn't apply to children unless specifically stated.

Telling the DVLA about a mental health problem

How do I tell the DVLA about my mental health problem?

If you are applying for your first driving licence (including provisional) or applying to renew your licence, there is a section on the application form which asks questions about your health. You should use this part of the form to tell the DVLA about your mental health problem.

If you already have a driving licence and are diagnosed with a mental health problem which your doctor says you need to tell the DVLA about, you need to fill in a form and send this to the DVLA.

If you’ve already told the DVLA about a mental health problem, but the symptoms of it get worse, you will need to tell the DVLA about this.

What form do I need to fill in?

If you drive a car or motorcycle, you should use the M1 online form on the UK government's website to tell the DVLA about a diagnosis of:

If you drive a lorry, bus or coach and are diagnosed with one of the mental health problems listed above, you will need to fill out an M1V form on the UK government's website.

You need to fill in either form with details of:

Your diagnosis
Any medication you are prescribed
How the medication you take makes you feel

You can also use these forms to tell the DVLA if your symptoms of any of these mental health problems have got worse.

The forms have a page for you to sign to give your permission to the DVLA to get details of your medical condition from your doctor. It is important that you fill this in and give the DVLA this permission. If you don’t, the DVLA could take away your licence anyway.

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This information was published in January 2023. We will revise it in 2026.

References are available on request. If you would like to reproduce any of this information, see our page on permissions and licensing.

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