I suffered a spinal cord injury in August 2024. I voluntarily surrendered my driving licence to the DVLA, only for it to revoke it instead. This makes it much, much harder to get it back later on.

I’ve since been told that I need to take a medical driving assessment to get the licence back, but I am unable to take one because I do not have a licence. I am now on my third application, with evidence from my spinal consultant and an off-road driving assessment confirming that I can drive with hand controls. This was submitted two months ago, and the DVLA still can’t update me.

CT, Colchester

Long are the backlogs of reviews of medically revoked licences if my inbox is anything to go by. The DVLA blames “exceptionally high demand” from drivers with medical conditions that has affected processing times, and it says it is introducing a new system to address delays.

After my contact, the DVLA belatedly sent you an application for a provisional disability assessment licence, which it should have told you about when you first applied a year ago, and told you to apply for a DVSA appraisal, for which you would be expected to bring your own vehicle.

You don’t have your own vehicle because you need to be assessed for a new one with suitable hand controls and need a licence before you can be assessed for the most suitable options. Driving Mobility can help out here, and the DVLA should have referred you to its services, which include on-road assessments for drivers with medical conditions.

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