DVLA subject access request: how to get your medical file

If DVLA has revoked or refused your licence, or a medical decision is taking a long time, it helps to see exactly what DVLA has: the reports from your doctors, the questionnaires, the letters. A subject access request asks DVLA for a copy of the personal data it holds about you. It’s free.

Your right to see your data

GOV.UK says you have a right to ask for the personal data DVLA holds about you, known as the right of subject access, under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). You can ask about your driver record, your current vehicle, or a vehicle that used to be registered to you. There is no charge.

For a medical case, the part that matters is the medical information DVLA holds about your fitness to drive. GOV.UK asks you to give as much detail as possible if you want that retrieved.

Why it’s worth doing

GOV.UK says DVLA might contact your doctor or consultant, arrange an examination, or ask for a driving assessment or an eyesight or driving test, and DVLA’s guide for medical professionals says DVLA relies on doctors and other healthcare professionals for medical information. Seeing the reports it relied on tells you:

• whether DVLA had the whole picture, which matters if you’re thinking of sending further evidence;
• whether a date or fact in your decision letter is wrong;
• what an appeal would have to answer, before you decide whether to appeal;
• on a slow case, whether DVLA is still waiting for a report.

What to include

For information about your driver record, GOV.UK says to include:

• your full name;
• your date of birth;
• your current address, and the address on your GB driving licence if it’s different;
• your driving licence number (16 characters);
• as much detail as possible, if you want DVLA to retrieve medical information held about your fitness to drive.

DVLA will also need information to help prove your identity, so it can find what you’re asking for.

How to send it

GOV.UK lists these ways to make a request:

• fill in DVLA’s form and attach it to an email to [email protected];
• print the form, fill it in and post it to Subject Access Request (SAR) Enquiries, DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BX;
• email or post a letter that includes the information the form asks for;
• apply by webchat or phone.

GOV.UK asks you not to use these contact details for general enquiries.

How long DVLA has to reply

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) says an organisation normally has one month to respond to a subject access request, which it can extend by up to two further months if the request is complex. If the organisation needs proof of your identity, the time limit starts once it has received it.

Diary the date the reply is due. If you’re also facing an appeal deadline, don’t wait for the reply before you act on the deadline: the appeal clock runs whatever else is happening.

If the reply is late or incomplete

DVLA’s complaints procedure says that if you feel DVLA hasn’t followed data protection law, you can make a data protection complaint. Data protection complaints can’t be referred to an Independent Complaints Assessor. You also have the right to complain to the ICO.

Northern Ireland

GOV.UK says that if you live in Northern Ireland, you can ask the Driver & Vehicle Agency for information about you on your driver record.