ADHD, Autism and Dyslexia in GB: What Learners Must Tell the DVLA

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In Great Britain a diagnosis of ADHD or autism is not a bar to a driving licence, and you only need to tell the DVLA if the condition, or your medicine, affects your ability to drive safely. Dyslexia and dyscalculia never need reporting for a car licence. The one condition in this group that does stop you driving is a severe learning disability.

What GB learners must tell the DVLA

What “affects safe driving” means for ADHD and autism

The DVLA guidance for doctors lists the areas that matter. You should tell the DVLA if, alone or together, you have significant difficulties with:

• attention and concentration
• memory
• behaviour, and awareness of its impact on others
• emotional regulation
• impulsive decisions
• insight
• anticipating what other people will do
• cognitive flexibility (switching between tasks)
• sensory processing
• motor coordination

If you are unsure whether any of these applies to you, ask your doctor. Once you have passed, the guidance says the DVLA only needs to know if your condition changes or there are concerns about your safe driving.

ADHD medicine and drug-driving law

Amphetamines, including dexamfetamine, are on the GOV.UK list of prescription medicines covered by drug-driving law. You can still drive on them if all of these apply:

• the medicine was prescribed for you
• you take it as your doctor or pharmacist advised, and as the leaflet says
• it does not make you unfit to drive

That medical defence works even if you are over the legal blood limit. It does not cover driving while impaired. Carrying evidence of your prescription can help if the police stop you. The detail is in prescription medicines and medical cannabis.

Getting support on the theory and practical tests

• Theory test: with a reading difficulty such as dyslexia you can ask for extra time and an English voiceover. The process is in extra support for the theory and driving tests.
• Eyesight check: if you have a reading difficulty, you can write down the number plate instead of reading it aloud.
• Independent driving: with a learning difficulty, the examiner can adjust this part, for example by asking you to follow traffic signs instead of a sat nav.
• Say so at booking: GOV.UK asks you to mention a learning difficulty or health condition when you book.

Making lessons work for you

• Ask instructors before booking whether they have taught neurodivergent learners and how they adapt lessons.
• Agree a plan for each lesson in advance, and ask for one new skill at a time.
• Try shorter or more frequent lessons if long ones are tiring.
• Practise the same routes with a supervising driver to build confidence before new ones.
• If sensory overload is an issue, tell your instructor which situations are hardest so you can build up to them.

Common questions

Will I have to tell the DVLA just because I have a diagnosis?

No. The guidance says diagnosis alone is not a bar. It is about how the condition affects your driving.

Which form do I use if I do need to report?

Car licence holders can report online through GOV.UK’s condition checker. First-time applicants answer the health questions on the provisional licence form.

Back to the GB medical conditions and disability guide. Related: anxiety, depression and mental health, theory test languages and support, learning to drive with a disability.

Sources

• DVLA, “Psychiatric disorders: assessing fitness to drive”, updated 7 November 2025 (gov.uk)
• GOV.UK, “Drugs and driving: the law” (gov.uk)
• Department for Transport, “Drug driving guidance for healthcare professionals” (gov.uk)
• GOV.UK, “Driving test: if you have a disability, health condition or learning difficulty” (gov.uk)
• GOV.UK, “Medical conditions, disabilities and driving” (gov.uk)