When CustomerFirst launched in January, we announced that DVLA was our first partner. Since then, we have been working closely with the DVLA team to understand the Drivers Medical service, its customers and how it makes licensing decisions.
Last month we shared our NewCo approach to transforming services. Building on that, CustomerFirst and DVLA have now formed a NewCo team that are working on improving the Drivers Medical service.
Our team brings together people from both organisations to look at every element of Drivers Medical across policy, operations, technology, and customer experience. Our NewCo approach helps us move faster, test ideas, and scale what works while maintaining continuity for customers.
What is Drivers Medical and why it matters
Drivers Medical matters most at moments that can feel uncertain or stressful for people. When someone has a medical condition that could affect their ability to drive, they are legally required to notify the DVLA. For many drivers, this raises questions about what happens next, whether they can drive in the meantime and what it means for their independence, livelihood or daily life.
The Drivers Medical service exists to support people through this process and to make fair, evidence-based licensing decisions. It considers medical information provided by customers and, where needed, by healthcare professionals, alongside clear legal and medical standards that support the safety of all road users.
The number of people with driving licences is increasing. People are also living longer and driving later in life. This means the annual number of medical notifications DVLA receives is rising – they expect to receive about 900,000 in this financial year. These decisions can have far-reaching effects on people’s lives and often come at a vulnerable time. It is vital that the service can meet growing demand and make timely, safe, and fair decisions.
Why DVLA and CustomerFirst are working together
Drivers Medical plays a critical role in keeping people safe on the road, but the service is under increasing pressure. Growing demand has led to a high number of cases being in progress at any one time and the average waiting time for customers to receive a licensing decision consistently exceeds the target of 50 days. For people who rely on driving for work or everyday life, wait times even within that target can be difficult.
Drivers Medical is complex. The hundreds of thousands of medical licensing decisions it makes range from straightforward to multi‑condition assessments. Up until recently, most conditions were only notifiable to the DVLA through paper-based forms. Customers often call DVLA to ask for updates on their application instead of being kept up to date. Many decisions also depend on information from third parties, including GPs and other medical professionals, which can delay decisions.
DVLA has already introduced new improvements to the service, making it more accessible for customers and simpler for staff making licensing decisions. Our NewCo team is now working to make sure the ongoing transformation delivers the best possible experience for Drivers Medical customers.
A joined-up approach to improvement
DVLA’s wider transformation ambition is to move away from fragmented services towards more seamless, end‑to‑end journeys that make sense from a customer’s perspective. Any changes to the service must keep all road users safe. The service must be easy to use and trusted. Medical licensing decisions can be complex, and people use the service in different ways.
Our priority is to make the Drivers Medical experience as smooth and joined-up as possible for customers and staff making licensing decisions. We will look at:
- how people interact with Drivers Medical at different points in their journey, from telling the DVLA about a medical condition, to receiving updates on their case, to receiving a licensing decision
- how information flows between Drivers Medical, other government services, and third parties, such as medical practitioners, that contribute to licensing decisions
We will take a test‑and‑learn approach, starting small to build a shared understanding of user needs and service complexity. We will then test improvements carefully before making any decisions about wider change.
What happens next
Now that we have established a NewCo team, we are working quickly to improve the Drivers Medical experience, with a clear focus on improving outcomes for customers, colleagues, and road safety.
We will do this by:
- prioritising areas of the Drivers Medical journey where delays and uncertainty have the greatest effect on customers
- running test‑and‑learn activities to reduce the number of cases awaiting a licensing decision, cut waiting times and improve communication with customers
- rethinking the processes behind licensing decisions to better support staff and simplify decision-making
When tests are successful, we will scale these changes.
We will share our progress openly. You can follow our work on the GDS blog and on our campaign page.
If you want to get in touch, email us at [email protected]
