D4 MEDICAL EXAMINATION
DVLA advised of an extension to UK licence holders during the pandemic lockdown and have now taken steps to help vocational drivers access medical examinations in order to renew their entitlement.
The temporary scheme, introduced early in the pandemic due of the impact of the pandemic on NHS doctors, that allows for the issue of 1 year PSV licences to drivers aged 45 and over without a completed D4 is still in place, but is intended only to be used in exceptional circumstances, if a driver is unable to get a D4 medical examination.
This dispensation can only ever be used once, and applies to a licence that expired after 1 January 2020. Where a drivers vocational entitlement expired between 1 August and 31 December 2020, and the driver made use of the derogation made available by EU Regulation to automatically extend the entitlement for 11 months, the driver cannot then use the D4 waiver scheme for an additional one year licence without completing a D4. In these cases drivers must renew their entitlement, with a completed D4, when the 11 month extension is due to expire. It should be noted that because the drivers licence record was not updated by the automatic extension, drivers will not receive a reminder that the 11 month period has expired.
DVLA has been working with the British Medical Association (BMA), and the Royal College of General Practitioners has urged their members to prioritise vocational driver medicals, as a result of this GPs have now agreed to aim to accommodate D4 medical appointments for working drivers to make sure that they remain available to the sector.
DVLA continue to encourage drivers to book their D4 medical examination as soon as possible. The D4 medical report remains valid for four months from the date they are completed.
The BMA guidance to GPs to accommodate D4 medical examinations for working drivers excludes car driving licence renewals with small lorry (C1, C1E (107)) and minibus (D1 (101) and D1 (101,119)) entitlements issued before 1997 where these entitlements are used for driving large recreational vehicles rather than for working in the transport sector.
D4 appointments may also be available from private sector providers but these may also be subject to delay.
The DVLA guidance page has been updated to reflect this updated advice:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/dvla-coronavirus-covid-19-update
DVLA has produced a helpful Q&A document that can be found on the link below:
