driving (and visual acuity)

Last edited 06/2019

Group 1 entitlement.

• Minimum eyesight standards - all drivers
  
  
• the law requires that all licensed drivers meet the following eyesight requirements (including drivers aided by prescribed glasses or contact lenses):
  
  
  • in good daylight, able to read the registration mark fixed to a vehicle registered under current standards
    
    
    • at a distance of 20 metres with letters and numbers 79mm high by 50mm wide on a car registered since 1 September 2001
      
      
    • or
      
      
    • at a distance of 20.5 metres with letters and numbers 79mm high by 57mm wide on a car registered before 1 September 2001
      
      
  • and the visual acuity must be at least Snellen 6/12 (decimal 0.5) with both eyes open or in the only eye if monocular
    
    
• any driver unable to meet these standards must not drive and must notify the DVLA, which will refuse or revoke a licence
• the law also requires all drivers to have a minimum field of vision, as set out below
• certification as sight impaired or severely sight impaired is not compatible with DVLA driver licensing; such certification is notifiable
• bioptic telescope devices are not accepted by the DVLA for driving

For more details guidance may be obtained from the publication "At a Glance Guide to the Current Medical Standards of Fitness to Drive" and the website www.dvla.gov.uk.

Reference:

• (1) DVLA (March 2019). For Medical Practitioners. At a glance guide to the medical standards for fitness to drive.