If you've been diagnosed with a brain tumour, you MUST tell the DVLA (Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency) or, in Northern Ireland, the DVA (Driver & Vehicle Agency) as soon as possible. You must also notify them if your condition worsens, or if any treatments or medication could affect your driving.
When you contact the DVLA /DVA, it is a good idea to consider voluntarily surrendering (give up) your licence. If you do not, they could revoke (take away) your licence, which may feel more distressing. It can also make administrative matters less straightforward and often makes it harder to gain permission to drive again in the future.
When you contact the DVLA / DVA, it is useful to have the following information to hand:
Failure to notify the agency about your brain tumour could result in a fine of up to £1,000, and you may be prosecuted if you are involved in an accident as a result of your tumour affecting your ability to drive.
How long you will be unable to drive, and whether you are allowed to drive again, depends on a range of factors:
The DVLA/DVA will have sent you a letter when your licence was taken away or surrendered, which will have told you if there was a period of time you needed to wait before getting a new licence.
If you have an urgent need for getting your licence back once this time has expired, you can call the DVLA /DVA Drivers Medical section to discuss.
If you voluntarily surrendered your licence, you can apply to have it back eight weeks before the end of the period for which you have been disqualified to drive, as long as your doctor has told you that you are fit to drive.
Information about how to apply, can be found in the downloadable fact sheet at the bottom of this page.
If needed, the DVLA /DVA will check with your medical specialists about your individual circumstances and they (the DVLA/DVA) will make a decision about your driving licence.
One of the major factors that will be considered by the DVLA in driver licensing for brain tumour patients is the prospective risk, or chance, of a seizure occurring as a result of either the tumour itself of the effects of treatments for a tumour.
Once you have reapplied for your licence, you may be able to drive under Section 88 of The Road Traffic Act 1988 (or the Road Traffic [Northern Ireland] Order 1981), while your application is being processed. This is providing you have completed the specified time off driving for your condition and meet all of the following criteria:
If your licence was revoked, the same process applies for getting a new licence, but you cannot start driving until the DVLA/DVA decides that you are medically fit to drive.This means you can't drive under Section 88/Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981. (See previous section.)
The DVLA/DVA will often check with your medical specialists about your individual circumstances before they (the DVLA/DVA) make a decision about your driving licence. This can be a long process.
You may be given a 'medically restricted' licence that is valid for 1- 3 years. Three years is most common. At the end of this time, if your doctor confirms that you are still fit to drive, you can apply to have your licence renewed.
If you had a brain tumour as a child, but have not had any recurrence of the tumour since, and do not have epilepsy as a result of your tumour, you should be able to have a driving licence.
You do have a 'duty of disclosure' to tell your insurers. They may ask you for more information and evidence that you are safe to drive, but they cannot increase the cost of your policy if your medical condition does not affect the risk of making a claim.
They could put up your insurance while you are 'getting used to a new disability or condition' or if you have had your car adapted. This is because it can cost more to repair an adapted car.
Not being able to drive is one of the things that people diagnosed with a brain tumour often report as being one of the most difficult to deal with, in terms of changes to their daily life. Loss of your licence is often seen as loss of independence.
It can have both emotional and practical impacts.
Speak to your health team – they can provide psychological and practical support.
Speak to others in a similar situation, such as via a support group or The Brain Tumour Charity's closed Facebook group.
You may be entitled to free or concessionary fares on public transport. Many areas also have community transport or charities that provide door-to-door trips to shopping centres or medical appointments.
There are also various travel apps that help people to plan journeys and some give an idea of costs - examples include Citymapper or Moovit.
If you are working, you may also be able to apply for an Access to Work /Access to Work(NI) grant to pay for taxi fares to work, if you are unable to use public transport because of your tumour.
More information about the help available can be found on our travelling by public transport webpage.
If you do not agree with the DVLA/DVA's decision, you can write to them including your reference number and any new medical evidence to support your claim in order to ask them to review your case. If your request for a review is not sucessful, you can make a formal appeal. This has to be asked for within a certain time limit, and it is advisable to get legal advise first.
If you have further questions, need to clarify any of the information on this page, or want to find out more about research and clinical trials, please contact our team:
0808 800 0004 (free from landlines and mobiles)
support@thebraintumourcharity.org
Phone lines open Mon-Fri, 09:00-17:00
clinicaltrials@thebraintumourcharity.org
You can also join our active online community on Facebook - find out more about our groups.