How to complain to DVLA about a medical case

When a medical case has stalled, with letters unanswered, documents lost or months passing without news, DVLA’s complaints procedure gives you a set of steps, each with an independent check above it. This guide explains them in order, and what each one can and can’t do.

What a complaint can do

A complaint is about the service you’ve had: delay, lost documents, unanswered letters, poor communication. It is not the way to overturn a medical decision. If DVLA has revoked or refused your licence and you think it’s wrong, the routes are further medical evidence, reapplying or an appeal, which our guide to what to do after a medical revocation explains.

First, contact the team dealing with your case

DVLA’s complaints procedure says you should first contact the department you’ve been dealing with, as this is often the quickest and easiest way to resolve a query. Give them your full name and address, your date of birth, your driver number, and any reference number from earlier letters.

Step 1: a formal complaint

If that doesn’t help, you can make a formal complaint to DVLA’s complaints team, online or by post to:

Complaints Team
DVLA
Swansea
SA6 7JL

DVLA says it will acknowledge your complaint and aims to send a full reply within 10 working days. Keep your complaint short and factual: the dates you applied and were last contacted, what you’ve sent, what you’re asking DVLA to do, and the harm the delay is causing.

Step 2: the Head of Complaints

If you feel the complaint hasn’t been resolved, you can contact DVLA’s Head of Complaints, online or at the same address. DVLA says the Head of Complaints will make sure your case is reviewed and responded to, and aims to respond within 10 working days. The Head of Complaints can’t deal with general enquiries.

Step 3: an Independent Complaints Assessor (ICA)

If your complaint still isn’t resolved, you can ask DVLA to refer it to an Independent Complaints Assessor. The Department for Transport says ICAs are appointed by ministers to act independently of the department, and review complaints from people who think they’ve been treated unfairly or received poor service. The service is free, independent and impartial.

An ICA looks at whether you had a reasonable service and whether your complaint was handled appropriately, and expects you to have tried DVLA’s own procedure first. The Department for Transport says the part of the department involved aims to send your correspondence to the ICA within 15 working days of your request. Data protection complaints can’t be referred to an ICA.

Step 4: your MP and the Ombudsman

If you’re still not satisfied after the ICA has investigated, DVLA’s procedure says you can ask a Member of Parliament to refer your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. You can find your MP on the UK Parliament website.

You can also write to your MP at any stage and ask them to raise your case with DVLA, as the kit’s escalation ladder notes (page 26); a referral to the Ombudsman, though, comes after the ICA stage.

Data protection complaints

If you think DVLA hasn’t followed data protection law, for example in how it has handled or shared your personal information, DVLA’s procedure has a separate data protection complaint route, and you can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Keep a record

Every rung expects you to show what you’ve already tried. Keep copies of everything you send and receive, with dates, and a log of every call and webchat. Our guide to DVLA medical delays covers how long decisions take and what else you can do while you wait.