UK medical driving licence renewal advice please

[Deleted member 99312]

I was reading this old thread but thought I should probably make a new one rather than post in that.

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/problem-renewing-driving-license.184985/page-2

My 3 year licence runs out in early August. I have read that you are supposed to receive a renewal reminder 90 days before it expires, but it's less than 50 days and I've yet to receive it. Should I keep waiting or obtain and submit the forms myself? And that leads on to the next question, what exactly do I need to send? I can see I need form D1 but the government website just says I need to also send a medical questionnaire form; which one exactly is not made clear, nor does there appear to be any way to order such forms but only to download and print them yourself, which I am unable to do.

I cannot renew the licence online because my photo is now 10 years old and needs to be renewed as well, so it has to be done by post.

I know there are long backlogs and I am unlikely to actually receive the new licence before it expires, but that I can continue driving so long as I've sent the application and still meet the legal requirements to drive (I do). But I am concerned that I haven't received the reminder yet, and that the renewal process doesn't seem as clear as it should be.

 

[In Response]

I assume medical form you need is DIAB1.

Note the rules have changed. You now need proven approval from a doctor to be able to drive according to Section 88 when waiting for your license to be reissued.
In the past, the absence of disapproval has been enough. Now the need the approval.

 

[Deleted member 99312]

Is it possible to obtain DIAB1 without printing it myself? I've searched but not found a way to order it. I assume they don't expect everyone to have a printer?

I've looked at the questionnaire online, I'm not sure how to fill in a few of the answers. eg. 'date of last contact with GP (for this condition)' and a date field. The answer is never, I've never even met my current GP since registering with the practice. Should I write never across the number fields? Leave it blank? I don't know. I imagine it isn't that uncommon a scenario that someone moves home as I did, gets a new GP and their prescriptions are continued by them, but they never actually meet their GP about it.

It also asks 'who should we contact if we need to investigate further?' and the options are GP / GP nurse and Consultant / Nurse Specialist at hospital clinic. Should I tick just one of those, or both? ie. they can ask either. Or do they only want me to pick one? It isn't clear.

Oh, I tried to email DVLA and received back an auto response which said 'we will send you a reminder approximately 2 months prior to the expiry of your licence'. They have not done so. Is there a delay in sending reminders?

 

[Grant_Vicat]

Is it possible to obtain DIAB1 without printing it myself? I've searched but not found a way to order it. I assume they don't expect everyone to have a printer?

I've looked at the questionnaire online, I'm not sure how to fill in a few of the answers. eg. 'date of last contact with GP (for this condition)' and a date field. The answer is never, I've never even met my current GP since registering with the practice. Should I write never across the number fields? Leave it blank? I don't know. I imagine it isn't that uncommon a scenario that someone moves home as I did, gets a new GP and their prescriptions are continued by them, but they never actually meet their GP about it.

It also asks 'who should we contact if we need to investigate further?' and the options are GP / GP nurse and Consultant / Nurse Specialist at hospital clinic. Should I tick just one of those, or both? ie. they can ask either. Or do they only want me to pick one? It isn't clear.

Oh, I tried to email DVLA and received back an auto response which said 'we will send you a reminder approximately 2 months prior to the expiry of your licence'. They have not done so. Is there a delay in sending reminders?

Hi @Dave P From the point of view of filling in the form, it sounds like you are in a good position healthwise. They are looking for any evidence that a driver with diabetes might be a danger to others on or near the road. Therefore I would give them as much detailed and accurate information as possible. If the answer is never, either write that or N/A. I would certainly fill in all details for the hospital clinic and your local surgery, because they will want to check up with them. Over the years I learnt to take copies of everything I have ever put in an envelope, and any correspondence from them. I have a large folder marked DVLA. They are known to lose items, and if you have copies available it saves so much effort. The queue is immense. I waited over a year for my due licence in 2018 and listened to wallpaper for ages while waiting to ask them for advice. They sent me a covering letter which I needed to show the police if stopped. Since Covid this cannot have improved.
Best of luck

 

[In Response]

You used to be able to pick up dvla forms at the post office.
The last time I went there was many years ago but maybe worth trying or maybe your GP surgery could have a diab1 form.

 

[Hopeful34]

Post offices have the D1 application forms, but not the DIAB1 form, and neither did my gp surgery. There is a delay in sending out renewal letters, or there was at the end of last year. Could you ask a friend to print out the DIAB1 form, or do it at your library? Just to let you know though, that I did that, and the online DIAB1 form is out of date, and they sent me a more up to date one 6 months after receiving my application?

When you fill in the form, I'd write never because I've just moved house, under the GP box, and give them the details of your hospital consultant.

Re who should they contact, it's up to you if you fill in one or both. Personally I'd always give my endo's name and details as they're the specialist, and as you've not seen your GP, you'd need to ask your hospital team for a covering letter to continue to drive if your licence runs out, as In Response said.

 

[Daibell]

I assume medical form you need is DIAB1.

Note the rules have changed. You now need proven approval from a doctor to be able to drive according to Section 88 when waiting for your license to be reissued.
In the past, the absence of disapproval has been enough. Now the need the approval.

Hi. Have you any link to the need for GP approval whilst waiting for a renewal? I can find no evidence for that anywhere including the DVLA website and my medical renewal form says I can drive if I meet the conditions for section 88

 

[In Response]

Hi. Have you any link to the need for GP approval whilst waiting for a renewal? I can find no evidence for that anywhere including the DVLA website and my medical renewal form says I can drive if I meet the conditions for section 88

I find Diabetes UK forum more knowledgeable about these matters: https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/driving-license.100524/#post-1176403

 

[Nicola M]

I was reading this old thread but thought I should probably make a new one rather than post in that.

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/problem-renewing-driving-license.184985/page-2

My 3 year licence runs out in early August. I have read that you are supposed to receive a renewal reminder 90 days before it expires, but it's less than 50 days and I've yet to receive it. Should I keep waiting or obtain and submit the forms myself? And that leads on to the next question, what exactly do I need to send? I can see I need form D1 but the government website just says I need to also send a medical questionnaire form; which one exactly is not made clear, nor does there appear to be any way to order such forms but only to download and print them yourself, which I am unable to do.

I cannot renew the licence online because my photo is now 10 years old and needs to be renewed as well, so it has to be done by post.

I know there are long backlogs and I am unlikely to actually receive the new licence before it expires, but that I can continue driving so long as I've sent the application and still meet the legal requirements to drive (I do). But I am concerned that I haven't received the reminder yet, and that the renewal process doesn't seem as clear as it should be.

I got my forms by ringing up the DVLA themselves and they sent me the correct forms, it's a massive pain to get through on the phone though and I did have to wait a couple of hours before I got through. My license ran out in April (sent my forms off in late Feb - Beginning of March) It's now the middle of June and I'm still waiting for my renewed license so I'd get your forms sent off ASAP. I'd also recommend sending the forms by tracked post in case you do need to chase up where your application is as without sending them via tracked mail they can't do anything except recommend you send more forms out.

 

[Deleted member 99312]

I got my forms by ringing up the DVLA themselves and they sent me the correct forms, it's a massive pain to get through on the phone though and I did have to wait a couple of hours before I got through. My license ran out in April (sent my forms off in late Feb - Beginning of March) It's now the middle of June and I'm still waiting for my renewed license so I'd get your forms sent off ASAP. I'd also recommend sending the forms by tracked post in case you do need to chase up where your application is as without sending them via tracked mail they can't do anything except recommend you send more forms out.

I tried to contact them today. First I tried web chat; I entered all my info, driver licence number etc. it asked for. Then it said we're too busy, try later or phone.

I then tried emailing. I got a reply a few hours later saying "We appreciate that you have taken the time to contact us in relation to this matter. Unfortunately, for security reasons we are unable to confirm the information needed to respond to your enquiry via email. For further assistance you may contact the relevant department on: 0300 790 6806"

Okay I give in, I will try and phone. So I just did, selected the option for medical licence renewal and a bad computerised voice just told me that they are too busy to take my call and I should try again later.

So I am currently stuck. The DVLA is an utter shambles. What sort of web chat or phone system doesn't let you get in a queue and just wait? I would be prepared to wait for the rest of the day if necessary but it won't let me queue, it just tells you to go away.

edit - now in the queue, I tried a different option this time. Last time I chose medical licence renewal, this time I tried that again and it immediately said it was busy and go away, so I rang a third time and tried normal licence renewal and the 'haven't received renewal form' option. It said wait times are over ten minutes. If it's only ten minutes I'll consider myself very lucky.

edit 2 - got through after 25 mins. The woman I spoke to said she couldn't get my details on the system because it's a medical licence, I need to speak to the medical department and she gave me their number, which is the same as the one I phoned above. I said I tried that twice and was told it was busy and she just said try in the evening. She did say I should have received the reminder by now when I said it was expiring in less than 7 weeks, but she couldn't send me any forms herself, and didn't know what medical form I needed (I tried to at least confirm that with her but she didn't know).

So all in all: USELESS.

I have tried several more times including in the evening as advised (before 7pm) and each time the message just says we're busy, try again another time.

 

[Nicola M]

I tried to contact them today. First I tried web chat; I entered all my info, driver licence number etc. it asked for. Then it said we're too busy, try later or phone.

I then tried emailing. I got a reply a few hours later saying "We appreciate that you have taken the time to contact us in relation to this matter. Unfortunately, for security reasons we are unable to confirm the information needed to respond to your enquiry via email. For further assistance you may contact the relevant department on: 0300 790 6806"

Okay I give in, I will try and phone. So I just did, selected the option for medical licence renewal and a bad computerised voice just told me that they are too busy to take my call and I should try again later.

So I am currently stuck. The DVLA is an utter shambles. What sort of web chat or phone system doesn't let you get in a queue and just wait? I would be prepared to wait for the rest of the day if necessary but it won't let me queue, it just tells you to go away.

edit - now in the queue, I tried a different option this time. Last time I chose medical licence renewal, this time I tried that again and it immediately said it was busy and go away, so I rang a third time and tried normal licence renewal and the 'haven't received renewal form' option. It said wait times are over ten minutes. If it's only ten minutes I'll consider myself very lucky.

edit 2 - got through after 25 mins. The woman I spoke to said she couldn't get my details on the system because it's a medical licence, I need to speak to the medical department and she gave me their number, which is the same as the one I phoned above. I said I tried that twice and was told it was busy and she just said try in the evening. She did say I should have received the reminder by now when I said it was expiring in less than 7 weeks, but she couldn't send me any forms herself, and didn't know what medical form I needed (I tried to at least confirm that with her but she didn't know).

So all in all: USELESS.

I have tried several more times including in the evening as advised (before 7pm) and each time the message just says we're busy, try again another time.

They are utterly useless in all forms and I tried twitter but their generic response is we can’t help with medical issues please call us. I have rang them on a few occasions and I have to ring in excess of 50 times to ever get through. Not helpful when you work all day and can’t spend hours on the phone waiting.

 

[Deleted member 99312]

I received two letters from the DVLA today. Coincidence? One was the D1 form I requested online, which I now don't need because of the other, which was the proper renewal reminder letter, complete with all the necessary forms. I note that the DIAB1 form they sent me is a newer version (rev 2019) than the one the DVLA website instructs you to download and print (rev 2017). I wonder if my requesting the D1 form triggered the production of the reminder? I note the DVLA website states you will receive a reminder when your old licence is 90 days away from expiry. Mine is now 42 days away, so the reminder is 48 days late.

The forms they included were D797M (photo update form as my photo is over 10 years old), D42P and DIAB1. All the pages of the latter two have my medical case number printed on them.

I assume medical form you need is DIAB1.

Note the rules have changed. You now need proven approval from a doctor to be able to drive according to Section 88 when waiting for your license to be reissued.
In the past, the absence of disapproval has been enough. Now the need the approval.

This seems to be a red herring, there is no evidence of this on any of the paperwork I received today. It just says you can continue to drive if you would be medically fit, and to check with your doctor or medical professional if you are unsure. I am not unsure because I spoke to my specialist a few months ago during my last routine check-up and my diabetes is well-controlled, so that's it, conditions are satisfied. No mention is made of any proof or covering letters needed.

One thing I am not sure about, do I need to include my old licence in the envelope with the application? The first page of D42P says 'note: you may retain your current driving licence as it has less than 3 months to run' so does this mean I can ignore the other times it says you must return it, presumably? I think they could word it a bit clearer to remove ambiguity.

Also should I send it by signed for delivery I wonder?

 

[Hopeful34]

This is what In Response posted on another thread about needing a drs approval https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/driving-license.100524/#post-1176403

You can keep your old licence, I always do.
I'd always send anything to DVLA etc by signed for delivery, and check that they've got it in a few days.

Hope you get your new licence soon.

 

[Deleted member 99312]

Thanks, I will do that and hopefully it all goes smoothly. I'll update the thread in future as it might be of interest to someone else how long it took.

 

[Hopeful34]

I'm sure it will be of interest to others, myself included as I'm still waiting on mine coming.

 

[Deleted member 99312]

Just to update, I received the new licence today! Happy days.

 

[Hopeful34]

Glad to hear it. I received mine as well. Definitely happy days!!