Your eyesight

These pages include extracts from the DVLA's D100 leaflet called "What you need to know about driving licences". You can download the original document by following this link.
This leaflet and these pages gives general information. It is not a statement of law.
Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the information reproduced is correct, Select All cannot not be held responsible for any inaccuracies.

The new number plate format introduced on 1 September 2001 means that the characters displayed
on all new and replacement number plates must be 50mm wide instead of 57mm. It is a criminal offence to drive a motor vehicle if you cannot read a car number plate, in good daylight, from 20.5 metres away (20 metres if the old-style narrower characters are displayed).

Applicants for category K (pedestrian-controlled) vehicles, must be able to read a number plate from 12.3 metres (12 metres if narrower characters are displayed).

Extra rules if you want to drive medium or large vehicles, minibuses or buses.

New drivers
Your eyesight must be at least:
• 6/9 on the Snellen scale in the better eye and 6/12 on the Snellen scale in the other eye (while wearing
glasses or contact lenses if you need them); and
• 3/60 in each eye without glasses or contact lenses.

An optician will be able to tell you about this.

Drivers who held a licence before 1 January 1997
If you had a licence before 1 January 1997 and you do not meet the eyesight standards above, get more
information from our Drivers Medical Group, DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1TU (phone 0870 600 301).