DVLA officials may tell road users to ‘avoid driving’ if taking certain medications including opioid painkillers, tranquillisers and some antidepressants – with fines up to £1,000 for failing to notify authorities
James Rodger Content Editor
09:29, 15 Mar 2026
DVLA could ‘ban’ drivers on three common medications(Image: Catherine Falls Commercial via Getty Images)
The DVLA may ban drivers on certain common medications. DVLA officials might advise motorists to “avoid driving” if they operate a vehicle under the influence of common medications.
Greg Wilson, motoring expert at Quotezone.co.uk has cautioned: “If you are on strong medications, it is likely that you will be recommended to avoid driving.”
Greg pinpointed three medications as particularly risky: opioid painkillers, tranquillisers, and specific antidepressants. He stated these “are examples of medicines that can affect driving ability – as well as those that cause drowsiness or say ‘do not operate heavy machinery.”
Under DVLA rules, you only need to inform the DVLA if your depression impairs your ability to drive safely. The DVLA states that you can be fined up to £1,000 if you fail to disclose a medical condition that affects your driving.
And you could face prosecution if you’re involved in an accident as a consequence. If you’re unsure whether your depression will affect your driving, consult your doctor, reports Birmingham Live.
The Labour Party government website stated: “It’s illegal in England, Scotland and Wales to drive with legal drugs in your body if it impairs your driving.”
According to DVLA rules, you must inform the DVLA if you hold a driving licence and you develop a ‘notifiable’ medical condition or disability OR a condition or disability has worsened since you obtained your licence.
You are required to surrender your licence to the DVLA if your doctor advises you to cease driving for 3 months or more, your medical condition impairs your safe driving ability and persists for 3 months or more, or you fail to meet the necessary driving standards due to your medical condition.
The government website further stated: “Talk to your doctor about whether you should drive if you’ve been prescribed any of the following drugs.”
Additionally, the RAC clarified: “Failing to inform the DVLA of a medical condition and a prescription that can affect your driving can see you fined as much as £1,000.”
Did you know you can make ChronicleLive a preferred source of North East news in Google, which will mean you get more of our breaking news, exclusives, and must-read stories straight away? Here’s more information about what this means and how to do it – you can also do it straight away by clicking here.
Our ChronicleLive Daily newsletter is free. You can sign up to receive it here. It will keep you up to date with all the latest breaking news and top stories from the North East.
Join our WhatsApp communities
ChronicleLive is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our communities.
We have a number of communities to join, so you can choose which one you want to be part of and we’ll send you the latest news direct to your phone. You could even join them all!
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press ‘join community’.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘exit group’.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
Join the ChronicleLive Breaking News and Top Stories community
Join our Court & Crime community
Join the Things to do in Newcastle and the North East community
Join our Northumberland community
Join our County Durham community
Join our Great North Run community