Good news. My MP wrote to DVLA and before they could reply I received the application form and declaration for a Provisional Disability Licence/driving assessment. So in my case contacting my MP was certainly worth, and better than persisting with contacting the Medical Group myself. But you shouldn’t need to get an MP involved just to get a timely reply…
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My MP has now forwarded to me the reply she received from the DVLA Medical Group complaints team. It apologises for the failure to answer my simple questions about process and timing; describes the sequence of events/dates; says that the necessary forms have now been sent to me; and offers to ensure that my completed forms are treated as a priority. We shall see, but I am pleased I have moved one more step forward.
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Here is a link to a Mobility Centre’s Facebook page. It shows a driving rig used to test braking reaction time. Lights flash at random on the ‘windscreen’ and reaction time is measured:Redirecting...
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I had mine on 11/7/25 and my license was updated on the DVLA website on the afternoon of 30/7/25. The physical license didn’t turn up for about another week or so.
I was checking the DVLA website multiple times a day. Then it stopped allowing me to access my license saying it couldn’t be accessed-this means it’s at the final stage where they finalise the decision-so once you get that page (which has a red and yellow stripe around it), you’ll know the decision is likely to be on the website within a week-ish. So don’t get frustrated at that stage, you’re right at the very end 
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I had my assessment on 22 July in Westhill Aberdeen I was told that they would not tell me how good or bad it went, but if they thought I needed any further training on specific things they would let me know at the end. But all went OK ( I had done a lot driving with my provisional license over the 5 1/2 weeks I had it (Over 3000 miles). Anyway like you say two weeks after the assessment I could longer access my license page on the DVLA site (I was checking everyday also), this lasted about three days then my full license appeared followed about week later by my plastic card license through the post. About a week after that I got the official letter from the DVLA.
All in all it took from beginning of February (when I got my DR to fill in the Special Circumstance’s form until early August to get my license back. It is a slow and sometimes frustrating process (I had some extra medical forms to fill in). But in the end patience and perseverance paid off. I was told they are working through quite a few thousand cases hence the amount of time.
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Congratulations @Scotalad2! I felt like some invisible shackles had been removed… especially as my car arrived in the morning and my license came online in the afternoon. Don’t be surprised if driving takes it out of you, so go easy out there, but ENJOY the freedom!
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@Scotalad2 Hi & welcome to the community. Well done on getting your licence back. That will have been a great boost to you, I am sure. Sharing your experience will help others know what to expect too.
Happy driving.
Best wishes
Ann
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That is the problem with living in Scotland. You have only two places to choose from for a Driving Assessment, Edinburgh or Glasgow which are both big cities. Driving around small towns and villages which you can drive through in 10mins is not the best preparation. Especially if you have never driven in Edinburgh and Glasgow before.
On the other hand in England and Wales you have about twenty different towns and cities to chose from to take your driving assessment.
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Hi everyone. Good to hear some success stories of getting back on the road! For me- ischaemic stroke July ‘24 (whilst fundraising for the hospice looking after my terminally ill partner…we were both mid 30s with zero medical issues prior to these!), no other symptoms, in fact I didn’t go to hospital until the following day as I thought it was just fatigue or something. Haven’t driven since, surrendered licence start of ‘25, reapplied in July ‘25 after 12 months (as per exceptional case criteria)-crucially, with this I provided evidence of stability, no presence of any other neurological deficit, etc….ie, the whole list of criteria. Over 5 months later, the DVLA revokes my licence and ‘helpfully’ tells me about the exceptional case criteria that I’d provided evidence for (stroke and ophthalmology discharge letters which covered all points, along with a cover letter), and thought I was applying under.
I suppose my question is, what would the DVLA consider to be acceptable ‘clinical confirmation of full functional adaptation?’ For context, since the stroke I’ve been cycling on the road every day, returned to work quickly, and am still playing competitive sports…in fact I took up cricket again this year after a 16 year break! Thank you for this forum, I have already submitted a complaint and got the local MP engaged (replied offering to help in less than 24hrs which I was impressed with), as I am no further forward after applying 5 months ago…in fact considering the DVLA have finally revoked my licence (that I surrendered 10 months ago) arguably I’m actually further back than when I applied!! Many thanks…
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Hi @JonG just popping by to say hi & welcome to the community. Sorry to hear of your struggles with the DVLA. It seems they are a difficult beast to navigate and any dealings with them are long & drawn out.i haven’t been through the exceptional circumstances process so can’t really advise. If you put DVLA or driving in the search 
there are many threads on the subject.
The Stroke Association also has a leaflet on driving that you may find useful.
Driving after stroke
Best wishes
Ann
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Hello Jon - Welcome to the community!
By now, you will have seen already on this forum many posts relating to the battles faced in trying to get your driving licence back from the DVLA. It seems that along with fatigue, this is the biggest challenge faced by those who drive.
I firstly wish to congratulate you on what you have achieved so far following your ischaemic stroke. You have returned to work, cycle every day (excellent way to travel and better than driving imho), playing competitive sports etc. These are massive positives and relatively speaking, given you haven’t driven since your stroke and adapted your lifestyle accordingly, not being able to drive might be a small inconvenience? I don’t say this lightly - I have given up my driving because I live in London and in my case the Mayor or London has priced me off the road. I can no longer afford to drive because as a carer I have no income and the Mayor wants me to pay £12.50 every day I drive my car. Why? Because he claims my “old” car which was perfectly roadworthy and fully compliant with all UK driving regulations and perfectly acceptable in other parts of the UK is a health hazard because it pollutes the air Londoners breathe. It is an absurdity but despite many protests and challenges he has done to this to me and many other Londoners. I don’t say this to ask for sympathy but to try to put things into context and say sometimes we have to accept that which is not in our control.
Sorry for the aside, and back to your circumstances. Of course you deserve to have your licence back and you will. It is just unfortunate in this day and age when things are done by computers rather than humans, when “computer says ‘no’ …”. Your complaint, along with many others will no doubt be dealt with and I am sure involving your MP may help speed things along, but it might be worth accepting that it will take a little time and you should wait patiently, after all what’s another few weeks or months and anyway are you not better off cycling?
In closing, I am going to say, you are not the first and you will not be the last who has to go through this. My personal view (and this will not be popular) is that this delay is a necessity to ensure there are no dangerous drivers on the road as there are already too many dangerous drivers who are under the radar e.g. no licences, no insurance, poorly maintained vehicles etc. etc. This of this as you being a model citizen 
I wish you all the best and hope that perhaps with your help and with the help of your MP, future stroke survivors will be better placed to get their licences back in a timely manner. There, you see that should make you feel better already
Namaste|
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Hi ManjiB, thanks for the response. I certainly agree with large parts of your response-for example the safety aspect of the DVLA rules. It is precisely for that reason that I had no issue whatsoever (apart from feeling a mild inconvenience) with waiting the 12 months before reapplying for my licence…borne out by me not appearing on here until 18 months post-stroke. The frustration is that almost 6 months further than that down the line, not only has my application apparently not been considered but I am arguably a step further BACK from where I was, as my licence (which I thought I had surrendered at the start of the year) has only this week been revoked. I provided evidence of meeting all of the exceptional case criteria when I reapplied back in July almost 6 months ago and it doesn’t appear this has even been looked at, as the most recent letter has provided a list of the criteria that I have already supplied proof of meeting, and a new address that I need to send them to. My ‘case’ isn’t complex and whilst I grant that I’ve in some ways been fortunate that my stroke experience has meant that I met these criteria a long time ago, it does make the delay, lack of clarity around the process and the difficulty in speaking to anyone more frustrating.
As for driving, unfortunately I don’t live in London but fairly rural South West and driving here very much correlates to independence, at least for my circumstances (with work, and a young family, and of course a public transport network which compared to London is essentially non existent). In addition, my partner (who has since been diagnosed with a second type of stage 4 cancer on top of the stage 4 cancer she already had when I had the stroke) is still receiving fairly regular treatment for this, treatment which means she can’t drive for days or weeks afterwards, and that she needs to go to hospital for. She also dislikes driving anyway-another thing that we have accepted as part of the process until now. Unfortunately I also wouldn’t say cycling now is necessarily better, as I often cycled to work anyway, I can’t cycle her to hospital, or do a full grocery shop on my bike, or cycle my daughter to school/clubs etc when my partner isn’t able to drive following treatment. These are just the daily/weekly things. I also didn’t mention that driving is a fairly fundamental part of my job-not a large component, but something I need to be able to do nonetheless. Whilst I have returned to work, this hasn’t been at full capacity and whilst the 12 month period was accepted without major issue, another almost 6 months past this with zero progression towards being able to drive again (despite having supplied the required information) is almost certainly raising some eyebrows. So yes, there is absolutely a necessity around doing checks and ensuring that I am safe to drive before allowing me back on the road…..my issue is that parts of my life are effectively on hold, there are times and situations where I and my family are reliant on other people (and therefore inconveniencing them as well), and all the while these checks AREN’T being done, with seemingly no good reason for the additional delay.
Apologies if I my original post came across as insensitive, I am fully aware that in some ways I have been lucky with how this has affected me, it certainly could have been worse. The issue for me here is, the biggest impact has been the loss of my driving licence, and the associated ability to carry out basic things for my family or do my job at full capacity…..my frustration isn’t with the DVLA wanting me to wait 12 months for safety reasons, it’s the 6 months (and counting) on top of that where they have done nothing, it’s the uncontactability, it’s the unnecessary steps (such as sending off forms, waiting 2 months and receiving another set of generic forms to fill in-why couldn’t I just have filled in THOSE forms to begin with?!) and the lack of clarity around the whole process.
Cheers 
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Hi Jon - I’m so sorry! It was me who was being insensitive if anything.
You have not been insensitive in any way whatsoever. I do understand your frustration and I am impressed how restrained you have been in your post I was merely trying to help you feel less angry by responding in the way I did. I am sorry your wife has had further bad news regarding her cancer and hope this is not adding extra stress to the already difficult situation you are in.
As I mentioned, the DVLA (and it is the DVLA) is the worst body stroke survivors are having to deal with - just do a search for DVLA on this forum and you will see what I mean.
They are an absolute disgrace and they really do need a kick up the backside as no one should have to go through what you are going through. I commend you and others like you for standing up to them and trying to get them into shape. I really hope your MP will take this to parliament and get it addressed as it is a major shortcoming and totally unnecessary.
I am totally supportive of your case and am happy to offer you any support I can.
I hope you get your license back as a matter of urgency.
My thoughts are with you and your family at this difficult time.
Best wishes.
ManjiB
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I found that Ophthalmologists wouldn’t sign the full functional adaptation bit of the form without evidence. In the end I had to hire a private Occupational Therapist to assess me at home and doing daily tasks eg shopping, cycling, travelling, crossing the road. Her report convinced the hospital eye doctor to sign. I got my licence back today! It took a total of 20 months including the 12 month stability wait. It was a real battle and involved using my MP and emailing many times, plus using call back at DVLS. Good luck!
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Hi ManjiB,
No need to apologise- don’t worry I can see where you were coming from. I don’t actually disagree with the bit you describe as possibly an unpopular opinion- I totally get it and in many ways support it….up until the ridiculous delays I’m experiencing now!
Thanks again, really appreciate the response and it’s great to hear that it is possible to move on…..eventually.
Cheers!
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Hi StephenW,
Thanks for this, really useful idea. I think I was a bit too stubborn when I left the stroke ward, the NHS OT wasn’t in contact for very long 
. Looks like that may have backfired on me now!
Cheers!
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Hi @JonG accepting that you may have to wait for the DVLA & all the inconvenience that brings with itwiukd your partner be eligible for hospital transport? I too live in a rural area with a non existent public transport network so appreciate how important a car is. The DVLA are awful to deal with & there doesn’t seem to be any hurrying them. Perhaps ask your local MP to intervene. An MPs letter usually gets a quick response.
Really hope you get sorted soon and send my very best to you and your partner. It must be very stressful all round.
Best wishes
Ann
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Hi Ann,
Thanks for the suggestion…to be honest I have no idea, and hadn’t thought of that. I suppose we are fortunate in that she is still very mobile and independent at the moment (I would suggest there is a healthy dose of stubbornness there too!), and when it’s absolutely necessary we have been able to arrange taxis etc-also we both desperately want to retain our independence, not inconvenience friends/family by asking for lifts, and not use services that are quite literally a lifeline for other people.
Yes the MP’s case worker replied in less than 24hrs, I was genuinely impressed.
Having said that, it’s a great idea and will probably be needed at some point, thanks.
Cheers!
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Nothing wrong with some stubbornness - it helps us get through and move forward. But don’t be afraid to ask for help either. In my experience people are only too willing and very happy to help. I know what you mean about independence. I feel the same but I still need help and have learnt over time to accept it and know I will repay those favours some day.
Best wishes
Ann
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The Glasgow assessment center has outreach centers in Aberdeen and Inverness which offer assessments a couple of times a month. I didn’t realize this and swapped from Endinburgh to Glasgow and got an assessment in Westhill just outside Aberdeen (i live in rural Aberdeenshire
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