Medicals for lorry drivers
driversmedicals.com do medical examinations for HGV/LGV drivers and for people applying for provisional licences.
Provisional licence application
You need to have a medical examination before you can apply for your provisional licence. Most likely, by the time you contact us, you will have already been in contact with an LGV training school. If you have, they will probably have sent you an information pack with a D4 medical form. This form is the medical record of your examination so when you come for your medical you need to bring this with you.
Licence renewals
DVLA require existing lorry drivers to have a medical at the age of 45 and then every five years until the age of 65. After 65, the medical has to be done every year.
DVLA will usually send out a reminder letter, together with the D4 medical form, a few weeks before your medical is due. You can usually work out when your next renewal/medical is due from the expiry date on the back of your plastic licence, and if you think your renewal is becoming due and you haven’t heard from DVLA you should contact them.
PCV licence renewals
The medical examination and D4 medical form are exactly the same for bus and lorry licences, so if you have both licences and they are both coming up for renewal, you just need the one medical, and the one form completing by the doctor, and you can renew them both together.
If you are worried about any medical problems and whether they will affect your licence entitlement please feel free to contact us for advice.
What do they do in an HGV medical?
The doctor has to complete the DVLA D4 medical questionnaire so he needs to ask you a lot of questions about your health and any previous illnesses. He needs to do a general physical examination including listening to your heart, checking your eyes and your vision on an eyesight chart and checking your blood pressure.
How long does HGV medical take?
It depends on how healthy you are! If you’re young and healthy and haven’t had anything seriously wrong with you in the past it’s quite quick because you will probably say no to all the questions and then the doctor just needs to examine you and fill the form in.
If you’ve had important things wrong with you like heart disease or stroke, it can take quite a bit longer, up to say 30 minutes, to ask all the questions and examine you and fill in the D4 medical form.
How do I know if I passed my medical?
The doctor will tell you straight away if everything is okay or if there is a problem.
Can you fail an HGV medical?
Yes, definitely! Not many people do, but it happens. Usually it’s something fixable like needing new glasses or needing medication for high blood pressure.
Can a doctor tell you not to drive?
If you see a doctor for your medical to get an HGV licence or a bus licence and he finds something wrong, he will tell you so you can get it checked out with your doctor. There are some conditions where DVLA say you mustn’t drive (like having bad vision), so the doctor would tell you if you weren’t legal to drive.
How often do HGV drivers need medicals?
You need to see a doctor for a medical check when you first apply for your HGV licence. Then the next one is age 45 and then it’s every five years. When you get to 65 it’s every year. DVLA send out a reminder about six weeks before you are due but you can always check on the back of your licence. If you don’t have a medical and send off the form to renew your licence, the HGV licence will expire.
Find your local centre
Next, find your local drivers medical test centre and book an appointment.