DVLA revoked my licence after GP form error about anxiety treatment

[Dolly89]

Not sure where this post fits but wondering if anyone has experience of the following situation.

I’ve suffered with mild anxiety for a very long time and in 2018 it all came to a head with work and my husband being involved in a car accident. So through consultation with my dr I began taking Citalopram 10mg and it made my daily life so much better. Anyway fast forward to a few years ago, I collected my prescription and on the sticker was a note caution:driving may be impaired. This was never an issue for me and I spoke with the pharmacy who said it can cause issues but usually when you begin taking it. I looked up on the DVLA website at the time and anxiety and depression are conditions they need to be aware of. So I diligently informed them and got a letter back saying this was fine and no restrictions. Then April this year, my job became incredibly stressful and I was in my second trimester of my second pregnancy which had taken much more of a toll on me and my body. I went back to the GP who suggested we up my dose to 20mg. As there was a change in my dose I thought I needed to let the DVLA know (I didn’t as it turned out!) this was mid April. Anyway 3-4 weeks later they wrote to me and said that they would need more information my from doctor before making a final decision. This form was sent to them and from my records I can see the GP did this on the 29th May, well over a month after I’d first been seen! Unfortunately the error on my part was I put down who my GP was and not who I saw. So this GP went off the notes And ticked the boxes to say that I wasn’t well and stable to drive (as I’d mentioned mild brain fog and cognitive fatigue) and my anxiety was likely to impair my driving. This has never been the case. Then this week I get a letter from the DVLA who have now revoked my license due my mental health condition not being well and stable for me to drive safely!

I phoned the GP straight away after checking the notes that had been sent to the DVLA and a really lovely GP has written in my defence. She noted that the GP should have been more careful in completing the form and I suggested they should have called me as the time passed had been over a month! I’ve also contacted the DVLA who have said that they can make my case priority and I’ve given them the details of the email sent from the GP.

So I guess I’m asking has anyone been in this situation and their license was successfully reinstated and the timeframe was quick? The irony is, I’m now anxious there’s going to be a back log or some complication meaning I don’t get it back, simply because it’s was too honest!

This is what worries me, ive had non' epileptic seizures and currently going through the process to get my licence back. Its hard with a young child and working ! They have said i can get my license back now but have to wait for all the paperwork etc which is taking ages!

Yeah, sorry Just realised what I said wasn't especially helpful! Sorry you're dealing with this though and hope it's sorted soon x

6-8 weeks after c-section? I think it was about 10 days for each of my 3 c-sections and 4 weeks after my major abdominal surgeries.

Hopefully you’ll get your license back soon.

@Dolly89 I had a notifiable injury a few years ago, it was drummed into me by the hospital I had to inform the dvla, which they followed up with a letter saying the same. I did and months later had heard nothing from the dvla. One phone call and the dvla said they were happy for me to continue driving, took a few more weeks for the official letter to arrive though.

Hopefully you'll get your answer by phone call, just make sure you get the name and time stamp of the call and follow up in writing confirming what you were told to cover yourself.

Try not to worry!

My brother has had a few major abdominal surgeries too and it was always a minimum of 6 weeks before he could drive. Probably comes down to what sort of op you have.

3 C-sections, 2 major open abdominal surgeries, including hysterectomy and 10 cm malignant tumour, and 2 laparoscopic abdominal surgeries. My belly modelling days are over!

I do have to agree with this post - sorry OP

To be fair, you should wait at least six weeks to drive after a c-section. The internal wound takes longer to heal than your stomach, an emergency stop is going to hurt.
I was chatting to a nurse about this after a hysterectomy and she said new mums are shoved out the door with very little post section support. We should be resting and recovering properly.

This!! I was very uncomfortable for the first 2 weeks and didn’t feel I wanted to drive anyway so waited until my check up. By that point I was healed and in no pain!

That’s reassuring. There are so many bad stories out there but I’m really hopeful as my case isn’t serious or involved multiple doctors they will reinstate quickly! I will be calling weekly!

What a nightmare. Really hope this gets sorted for you.

I wouldn't have bothered telling the DVLA about this. As others have said, a lot of the population are on stuff like citalopram and drive without issues.

The DVLA are arses to deal with, and often very, very slow. One of the worst of government departments.

Last August (2025) we had to inform them that my DH had been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (obligatory, and it really can affect driving ability). At Christmas we got an acknowledgement that they had received our notification. Nothing else.

After DH died in early March of this year, and we had used the government's Tell Us Once service to inform all government departments (including the DVLA) they then, in their wisdom, wrote to us saying that they had written to his neurology consultant to ask whether or not he could be considered fit to drive??!! That was after they had also just revoked his licence following the Tell Us Once notification.

So, I have little faith in the DVLA to act logically or in a timely fashion and will only contact them at all if I really must, can't be avoided etc.

Good luck getting your licence back. Don't be so ready to flag every little prescription or change to one with the DVLA immediately. Ask your doctor first whether that would be necessary if you are in doubt. The vast majority of the time the answer is likely to be that it won't be necessary at all.

The DVLA are not medics. They are also very slow acting so you don't want to provoke them into unnecessarily cancelling your licence unless you can afford to do without it for weeks and months.

If they were under a consultant their experiences and or medication would have been more difficult and more likely to impair driving than just SSRIs off the GP. I’ve had patients on antipsychotics who’ve been revoked for only three months as consultants have wrote back saying their fine and dose is low etc. don’t worry too much just keep chasing them. I’d also consider asking the GP to complete a bus pass form for you as your currently not allowed to drive to due to meds and what they said!

I h a TIA a couple of years ago.
The hospital doctor told me not to drive for a month.
I contacted the DVLA and they couldn't care less.

This is my thought. I e only ever seen a GP. Also my letter just states that they will consider reinstating my licence when I am well and stable (I’ve never not been) it doesn’t mention anything about 3 or 6 months!

@Dolly89 Please re-read my post above. If your licence is revoked you must not drive at all, its not the same situation as others have described with their relatives etc.

I think people are trying to be helpful but misunderstanding the reasons your licence has been revoked and why for other people DVLA seem unconcerned.

Re-read my post above. It contains the information you need and what is needed to get you back on the road as soon as possible.

Thank you for coming back to me. So I’m not driving at all. Luckily I have family near by. It’s just the inconvenience and the worry it’s going to take awhile, particularly when I have a newborn.

There is nothing in my letter that gives a time frame for when I can reapply. It just says when your mental health condition is stable and meets the medical licensing standards for driving. They won’t accept my application without this medical evidence from a healthcare professional. Hence my GP has sent in the evidence.

You might be lucky and they might change the revocation but i don't think they will.

They have not put a time frame on the letter because they do not know when you will be well. They only "know" that you weren't well at the time the GP filled in their enquiry form.

You have to be well for three months before you can reapply.

At present you cant say you were well on or before the GP filled in the enquiry form because he said you weren't well, so to keep things safe, i would wait for three months after the second GP wrote to them. If you remain well you can start to drive once three months have passed and they have received your application because at that point you will be fulfilling the medical requirements for licensing.

In the context of depression and anxiety you can drive with mild to moderate depression but not severe. DVLA class severe as ....."Significant memory or concentration problems, agitation, behavioural disturbance or suicidal thoughts"

So as long as you are 3 months clear of those symptoms, you would be eligible to hold a group 1 (car) licence and therefore you will be "fulfilling the medical requirements" at that point. To be certain, see your GP or speak to them at that three month mark to be certain they agree and that there is nothing in the medical notes which may make you sound unfit and then post off your application and when DVLA receive it you can drive.

I think you're catastrophising and some of the posts on here are making it worse because they're not understanding the reasons why your licence has been revoked. There will likely be something in your record that says you have had
"Significant memory or concentration problems, agitation, behavioural disturbance or suicidal thoughts" and the GP who filled in the form has answered factually.

I am almost certain that three months after that GP appeal letter, you will be able to drive.

I have a medically restricted license for my mental health. When I know there is a serious chance of it being revoked I hand back my license as once I am better and have had three months of stability (which is the dvla’s baseline) I can reapply and drive under section 88 whilst my license is being processed. The reprocessing often takes 6 months or so as dr’s need to complete forms etc. However, this is not your situation…

However, as you were revoked I guess it depends on if your gp has gone back and said oops I submitted this in error and actually it’s xyz box. Or if they are saying yes that was accurate but now it doesn’t apply. The former will not hopefully take loads of time but it will still be a few months.

The latter well from when it was revoked then the well and stable they reference is at least three months, once three months has elapsed assuming your mental health stays good you can reapply but they then do medical enquiries and these take time so feasibly you would be looking at 6-9 months minimum in part depending on when the three months occurs.

Importantly section 88 only applies if you have surrendered your license but as you have had yours revoked it won’t apply and as you say you can’t drive.

It is an absolute nightmare but one thing that might help going forward is familiarising yourself with the DVLA’s medical condition things as I found it really helpful https://www.gov.uk/guidance/psychiatric-disorders-assessing-fitness-to-drive

Thank you for your reply. So I spoke again with the DVLA today and the email is not on the system yet but can take up to 10 working days and we’re on 4 at the moment. The lady did say I could reapply now as it’s been 3 months already but as I’ve already sent in a supporting letter try that route first.

I’m trying to keep positive that it will be resolved and reinstated before too long.

The actual timeline from them receiving the quest from the Dr and informing me was only 5 weeks so hopefully their timelines have sped up and my case is not complex. 🤞

If it’s been three months I would reapply as well as appeal. They’ll still need to send out a questionnaire to your GP if you reapply or appeal. Find out which gp is likely to do the form and write it them or speak to them first to ensure they’re happy you’ve been well for three months.

Looks like as your licence was revoked rather than surrendered you can’t drive on a section 88 either so the quicker the paperwork goes through the better.

Good luck with it all