Information about Medical Assessments for Taxi and PHC Hire Car Drivers
As licensing authority, the council has determined that hire car drivers should have their medical fitness to drive assessed against the Group 2 standards applied by DVLA.
This standard requires current licensed drivers who have reached the age of 45 or who advise of a change to their medical history since their last medical assessment, or new applicants over the age of 45 or younger drivers who answer yes to any part of the question about health on the application to undergo a medical examination to determine their fitness to drive. Once you have reached the age of 65 you are required to be medically assessed annually.
If you answer yes to any of the questions in the application regarding health or if you are aged 45 or over when you apply for a taxi or private hire car driver's licence you will be referred to the Council's appointed medical advisor who will assess your fitness against the group 2 standards. If you are unsure of the DVLA group 2 standards and how this would affect you applying for a private hire car driver's licence, you should discuss this and your medical history with your doctor before applying.
Information on what to expect and what's expected of you during the medical assessment can be found in this document Medical Leaflet revised March 2023 (PDF, 140 KB)(opens new window)
The council had agreed to temporarily relax the requirement for currently licensed hire car drivers to hold an up to date certificate of medical fitness if required under the DVLA group 2 guidelines for those drivers who can certify that they are fit to drive.
Assessments have now resumed and currently licensed hire car drivers are being invited to attend for an assessment based on the chronological order of when they should have been assessed from March 2020 onwards.
The current online self-certification procedure will remain until such times as an appointment can be scheduled. The Licensing Team will contact affected drivers to ask them to self-certify. If any of your contact details have changed, we would ask that all drivers waiting to hear about medicals contact the team to update any changes as a matter of urgency.
All drivers who are continuing to operate as hire car drivers and may have a current certificate of fitness that is due to expire in the coming months will be contacted by the Licensing Team and asked to certify that:
- They have no new medical conditions that would affect them driving a licensed hire car vehicle, including any of the conditions listed in the application form and any other conditions; and
- They are currently managing any pre-existing conditions which they suffer from in line with medical advice, and
- They are following government guidance on coronavirus and will cease driving for the required period as required by that guidance, and
- They acknowledge that if they suffer from, or are diagnosed with any new medical condition which may affect their fitness to drive a licensed vehicle (see the list of conditions in the hire car driver application form) they must report that information immediately to the Licensing Team (in terms of condition 58 of the taxi driver's licence conditions and condition 54 of the private hire car driver's licence). The Licensing Team will review that information and decide what steps are required to be taken in light of the information disclosed. Any driver requiring to disclose such information to the Licensing Team must do so by using the online form.
- They understand that when medical assessments are able to resume they will be contacted by the Licensing Team to arrange a medical appointment to undergo an assessment with a view to obtaining an up-to-date medical certificate of fitness
If drivers do not respond to contact from the Licensing Team or cannot answer yes to all the certification questions, consideration will be given to suspending those licences until further medical assessments can take place.
If drivers are not intending to drive a hire car at present they should return their ID badge and licence to the Licensing Team at the Civic Centre and indicate whether this is a temporary surrender of their documents or if they want to permanently surrender their licence.
You should arrive in good time for your appointment and at least 15 minutes before the scheduled time.
You will need to take a number of items with you to your appointment. Please read the information below carefully as failure to bring the necessary items may lead to the examination being cancelled or you being certified as unfit.
- If you wear glasses or contact lenses for driving, you should bring these with you along with a copy of your most recent eye prescription from your optician.
- If you have been prescribed any medication you should also bring the items with you.
- Existing licence holders must bring their hire car ID badge and taxi or private hire car driver's licence with them. Licences are printed on yellow or pink card. ID badges have your licence number on them. Emailed copies of documents cannot be accepted. If you do not have your licence you should apply for a duplicate immediately.
- Applicants for new licences should bring either their passport or their DVLA photocard driving licence with them.
- Medical assessment questionnaire from Optima Health if you have been sent one to complete
You should contact the Licensing Team as soon as possible if you are unable to bring any of the above items with you.
If you do not bring all of the above items with you the examination cannot take place and you will be charged a fee for the wasted appointment. A fee will be also be payable if you cancel or fail to attend the appointment on time. For existing drivers this may result in your licence being suspended. For new applicants there will be a significant delay in the processing of your application.
Further medical assessments will not be arranged until the fee has been paid.
New Applicants
It is Council policy that new applicants for hire car driver's licences must be certified fit to drive a hire car for a minimum period of one year. You should therefore discuss your medical history and the application of the DVLA Group 2 standards with your GP prior to submitting your application as additional tests may require to be arranged by your doctor before you can be certified as fit to drive a hire car. You should bring any additional information which your own doctor obtains to the medical assessment.
If you fail to be certified fit to drive for a minimum period of one year your application will be refused.
Normally when an application is refused you cannot reapply for the same type of licence within a period of 12 months from the date of refusal. However where an application is refused the Chief Solicitor has a discretion to allow you to submit another application within the 12 month period if she is satisfied that there has been a material change of circumstances since your application was refused.
If you consider that that that there has been a material change of circumstances since your application was refused you should send us an email or letter explaining your reasons for that. Your reasons will be considered by the Chief Solicitor and we will advise you of her decision. If she agrees that there has been a material change of circumstances we will ask you to lodge a further application and all parts of the application process must be followed and once the application is deemed competent you will be given a link to allow you to pay the fee.
Current Licence Holders
If you are a current licence holder you should contact the licensing team as soon as possible if any of the following occurs:
- If you fail a medical; or
- report a change to your medical history which may mean that you no longer comply with the DVLA group 2 standards
Once you have been advised by your GP that in their view you now meet the DVLA group 2 standards and that you are in a position to resume driving a hire car you can contact the Licensing Team to arrange a further medical appointment. Please ensure that you discuss the DVLA group 2 standards with your doctor as they may not be aware that these are applied to hire car drivers in West Lothian. Depending on your medical history if no evidence is available from your GP the council's medical advisors may be unable to certify you fit immediately and may need to request follow up reports. These reports can only be requested following a medical assessment and with your consent.
If you consider that you might qualify for an exemption from assisting wheelchair passengers or that you may be unable to transport a passenger who has an assistance dog on the grounds of a disability or medical condition you should contact the licensing team licensingservices@westlothian.gov.uk (opens new window) who will arrange for you to be assessed by Optima Health. As part of this process Optima Health will need to see information from your GP or medical team about your condition.
You should note however that if you are a taxi driver or the driver of a type 2 private hire car and are granted an exemption from assisting wheelchair passengers it does not mean that you can refuse a hire solely on that basis, you are required to explain this to a potential passenger and show them your Certificate of Exemption and ask if they are able to load the wheelchair themselves and if not you should ask them to wait for the next suitable taxi or arrange for another private hire car. You should be aware that all taxis and private hire car drivers have legal obligations to disabled passengers under the Equality Act 2010 and you should undertake training in relation to these requirements.
