Author: Driving Eyesight Test

Licensing authorities set one vision standard for ordinary car and motorcycle licences and a higher one for lorry, bus and coach drivers. The published numbers and the paperwork differ between countries. This guide compares what the official sources say for Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the United States (federal commercial rules) and Ontario. It reports licensing standards only and gives no advice about eyes or eye conditions. A driver with any question about their own sight should see an optometrist or doctor.

Great Britain: Group 1 and Group 2

In England, Scotland and Wales, the car and motorcycle standard is called Group 1 and the lorry and bus standard Group 2. Group 1 appears in regulation 72 of the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999: a visual acuity of at least 6/12 (decimal 0.5), the ability to read a number plate in good daylight at the prescribed distance, and a horizontal visual field of at least 120 degrees with extensions of at least 50 degrees left and right and 20 degrees above and below, and no significant defects in the central 20 degrees.

GOV.UK sets the Group 2 figures higher: visual acuity of at least 0.8 (6/7.5) in the better eye and at least 0.1 (6/60) in the other, reached with glasses of no more than plus 8 dioptres or with contact lenses. The uninterrupted horizontal field must be at least 160 degrees, with extensions of at least 70 degrees left and right and 30 degrees up and down, and no defects within the central 30 degrees. A driver who held the licence before 1 January 1997 may still be able to renew without meeting these standards.

The reporting duty is also wider. GOV.UK says a lorry or bus driver must tell the DVLA about any problem with eyesight that affects either eye, whereas a car driver reports only problems affecting both eyes or the remaining eye. The driver duties guide explains the car rules.

Great Britain: the paperwork

A provisional lorry or bus licence needs a D2 application and a D4 medical examination report completed by a doctor, and an optician or optometrist can complete the vision section if the doctor cannot. GOV.UK says a lorry or bus licence must be renewed every five years, and every year once the holder reaches 65. From age 45, DVLA sends a D47P renewal form and a D4 56 days before the licence runs out, and renewal is free. The doctor, optician or optometrist usually charges for the medical.

Northern Ireland

nidirect describes a similar route run by the DVA. Provisional entitlement for larger vehicles, buses or minibuses needs the DL2 application and a DLM1 medical report form filled in by a doctor, and the visual assessment section can be completed by a doctor or an optician or optometrist. The DLM1 is valid for four months from the signature date. Drivers with “grandfather rights” for C1 or D1 categories, from passing a car test before 1 January 1997, must meet the higher Group 2 standards at 70, or if a licence is refused or revoked for a medical reason, to keep those entitlements.

Republic of Ireland

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) says a medical report form, completed by a doctor on the Irish Register of Medical Practitioners, is required to apply for, renew or add categories to a truck or bus licence or learner permit, and for anyone aged 75 or over. It also lists the Medical Fitness to Drive Guidelines 2026 as the reference for Group 1 and Group 2 drivers. Standard renewals of car licences do not require an eyesight report form, as the Irish eyesight report page explains.

United States (federal commercial rules)

The US federal rule for commercial motor vehicle drivers (49 CFR 391.41) sets out distant visual acuity of at least 20/40 in each eye (with or without correction), distant binocular acuity of at least 20/40, a field of vision of at least 70 degrees in the horizontal meridian in each eye, and the ability to recognise the colours of traffic signals and devices showing standard red, green and amber. The driver must be medically certified as physically qualified, normally evidenced by a medical examiner’s certificate. State rules for ordinary licences differ: the US page covers California and New York.

Ontario

Ontario’s class G standard is acuity not poorer than 20/50 and a horizontal field of at least 120 continuous degrees. For commercial classes A to F, the ministry sets acuity not poorer than 20/30 with both eyes open and 20/100 in the weaker eye, a horizontal field of at least 150 continuous degrees, and 20 degrees above and below fixation. Commercial licence holders also submit medical reports every five years under 46, every three years from 46 to 64, and every year from 65. The Canada page covers the class G side.

Frequently asked questions

Do the Vision Arcade games measure any of these standards?

No. The Vision Arcade is for practice and enjoyment and cannot confirm that anyone meets a licensing standard.

Where do the car standards come from?

In Great Britain they sit in regulation 72 and Schedule 8 of the 1999 regulations, as the 20-metre rule guide explains.

The bottom line

Professional licences carry tighter published numbers and recurring paperwork in every system reviewed: Group 2 in Great Britain, Ontario’s commercial classes, and the US federal commercial rule, with Ireland requiring medical reports for truck and bus categories. Figures are updated from time to time, so the issuing authority’s current page is the reference. This is general information, not medical or legal advice.

Sources

• Driving eyesight rules (gov.uk)
• The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999, regulation 72 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Become a qualified heavy goods vehicle (HGV) or bus driver (gov.uk)
• Renew or change a lorry or bus licence: if you’re 45 or over (gov.uk)
• Applying for a provisional driving licence (nidirect.gov.uk)
• Renew your driving licence at 70 plus (nidirect.gov.uk)
• Medical fitness to drive in Ireland (rsa.ie)
• Physical qualification standards, 49 CFR 391.41 (ecfr.gov)
• Medical, vision and hearing standards for commercial drivers (ontario.ca)
• Medical review for Ontario drivers (ontario.ca)

There is no single worldwide rule for when driving vision is checked. Each licensing authority decides whether sight is tested at the first application, at renewal, at set ages or only when something changes. This guide compares what the official sources of six authorities say: the UK (Great Britain and Northern Ireland), the Republic of Ireland, California, New York, Ontario and New South Wales. It is a licensing summary and gives no advice about eyes. Anyone with a concern about their own sight should see an optometrist or doctor.

United Kingdom

In Great Britain, GOV.UK lists the ability to read a number plate from 20 metres as a condition of applying for a first provisional licence, and the practical car test begins with a plate reading from a parked vehicle. A driver who fails it fails the test, and the licence is revoked. After that, the system relies on standing duties: a driver must tell the DVLA about specified sight problems, as explained in the driver duties guide. GOV.UK says a photocard licence is renewed every 10 years, and the 70-and-over renewal service lists meeting the minimum eyesight requirement as a condition of use, with renewal every three years.

In Northern Ireland the DVA runs the same plate check at the practical test, and nidirect says licences for applicants aged 70 or over are normally valid for up to three years. See the UK page for the rules in full.

Republic of Ireland

The National Driver Licence Service (NDLS) requires an eyesight report from an optometrist or doctor with a first learner permit application, with an application to exchange a licence issued by a non-EU country, and when removing the 01 sight-correction notation. At a standard licence renewal, or an exchange of a licence from another EU member state, the form is not required unless the driver wants to remove the 01 notation. The report must be signed in the presence of the professional and submitted within one month of its date. The Irish eyesight report page has the practical steps.

California

The California DMV says all new and renewing licence applicants must pass a vision test. Applicants should bring current glasses or contacts, and a corrective lenses restriction is added if the test is passed with them. The standard is 20/40 with both eyes, or 20/40 in one eye with at least 20/70 in the other. Drivers who fail the screening need a Report of Vision Examination completed by a vision specialist.

New York

New York’s DMV says a vision test must be passed both when applying for a licence and when renewing one. The test must show visual acuity of at least 20/40 in either or both eyes, with or without corrective lenses. It can be taken at a DMV office, or a provider enrolled in the DMV Online Vision Registry can submit the result electronically, or a provider can complete a Vision Test Report. Vision results expire twelve months after the test date, although an optometrist or ophthalmologist may set six months. A New York licence renewal is valid for eight years. The US page introduces both California and New York.

Ontario, Canada

The Ontario government says a vision test is needed when applying for a G1 or M1 licence. Vision is screened with both eyes open and examined together, with or without lenses, against a standard of acuity not poorer than 20/50 and a horizontal visual field of at least 120 continuous degrees. An Ontario licence lasts five years and can be renewed online if no tests are needed. Drivers aged 80 and over must renew every two years and complete a vision assessment and a five-minute screening exercise at the appointment. The Canada page covers Ontario and British Columbia.

New South Wales, Australia

Transport for NSW publishes an age-banded schedule. An eyesight test must be passed:

• when applying for a licence for the first time, and when upgrading to a higher class
• every 10 years for drivers under 45, every five years from 45, and every year from 75
• when applying for a 10-year licence
• when renewing or replacing certain heavy vehicle classes without a test in the previous 12 months

Staff at a service centre ask the applicant to read a chart of letters aloud, and an applicant who fails cannot resit there and must provide a report from an optometrist or ophthalmologist. Some low-risk drivers renewing online may have the test deferred and then given up to eight weeks to complete it. The Australia page adds Victoria.

Frequently asked questions

Which place tests vision at every renewal?

Of the six covered here, California and New York both state that renewing applicants must pass a vision test.

Can the practice games stand in for any of these checks?

No. The Vision Arcade and the other tools on this site are practice and learning aids. Only the licensing authority, or the professional it names, can carry out a check that counts.

The bottom line

The UK checks the number plate at the test and then depends on drivers reporting changes, Ireland asks for professional reports at defined points, California and New York test at renewal, Ontario ties more checks to age 80, and New South Wales runs an age-banded schedule. Rules change, so the current page of the issuing authority is the one to rely on. This is general information, not medical or legal advice.

Sources

• Apply for your first provisional driving licence (gov.uk)
• Driving eyesight rules (gov.uk)
• Renew your driving licence (gov.uk)
• Renew your driving licence if you’re 70 or over (gov.uk)
• Renew your driving licence at 70 plus (nidirect.gov.uk)
• Driving eyesight requirements (nidirect.gov.uk)
• Do I need to submit an eyesight report form? (ndls.ie)
• Maintaining driving independence and safety (dmv.ca.gov)
• Vision requirements and restrictions (dmv.ny.gov)
• Medical review for Ontario drivers (ontario.ca)
• Renew a G driver’s licence: 80 years and over (ontario.ca)
• Renew a driver’s licence (ontario.ca)
• Eyesight tests for driver and rider licensing (nsw.gov.au)

Passing the eyesight check at the start of a driving career does not end a driver’s responsibilities. UK law places continuing duties on licence holders, and the authority to notify depends on where the licence was issued. The DVLA handles licences in England, Scotland and Wales (Great Britain). The Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) handles them in Northern Ireland. This guide reports the published rules for each. It does not describe eye conditions or offer medical advice; where a driver is unsure, GOV.UK and nidirect point to the licensing authority and to an optometrist or doctor.

The standing duty in Great Britain

GOV.UK says a driver must tell the DVLA about any problem with eyesight that affects both eyes, or the remaining eye if there is sight in only one eye. It lists three exclusions: being short sighted, being long sighted and being colour blind need not be reported. A driver who has had surgery to correct short sightedness and can still meet the eyesight standards also need not report it.

The duty sits in section 94 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, which applies in England, Wales and Scotland. A licence holder who becomes aware of a relevant or prospective disability that has not been disclosed must notify the Secretary of State without delay, in writing. The section carves out a newly arising problem that the person reasonably believes will not last beyond three months, and it makes failure to notify, without reasonable excuse, an offence. It is also an offence to drive after failing to give a required notification.

GOV.UK states that a driver could be fined up to £1,000 for not telling the DVLA about a condition that might affect the ability to drive safely, and could also be prosecuted after an accident.

How reporting works in Great Britain

For a car or motorcycle licence, a driver checks whether a report is needed and, if so, can report it online. Lorry and bus licences need a form or questionnaire sent to the DVLA. If a vision-related report is made, the DVLA may refer the driver for an eyesight test with its contracted optician, and GOV.UK says that test is free. A driver who has a test elsewhere can submit the result, but the result must include an Esterman visual test, the driver pays, and the DVLA does not guarantee to accept it. The DVLA then considers all medical evidence provided with a licence application.

Group 2 holders (lorries and buses) have a stricter duty: GOV.UK says they must tell the DVLA about any problem that affects either eye.

The position in Northern Ireland

nidirect tells applicants to let the DVA know about any condition that affects both eyes, or any condition affecting sight such as having sight in one eye only, again excluding short sight, long sight and colour blindness. Its guidance on medical conditions says there is an offence in not telling the DVA about a condition that may affect driving, punishable by a fine of up to £1,000. A separate offence of driving after making a false declaration about health to the DVA carries a fine of up to £2,500. A new or worsening condition must be reported straight away and not left until renewal.

Renewal and age 70

In Great Britain, GOV.UK says a photocard licence must be renewed every 10 years. A driver aged 70 or over, or turning 70 within 90 days, renews through a separate service and must then renew every three years. That online service lists meeting the minimum eyesight requirement as a condition of use, and notifiable conditions are declared in the application form without separate contact. A driver renewing at 70 or over pays no fee.

In Northern Ireland, nidirect says licences issued to applicants aged 70 or over are normally valid for up to three years. The DVA sends a renewal notice about two months before expiry, although it is not obliged to, and renewal is free if applied for no more than two months before the expiry date.

Roadside and test-day consequences

Duties are separate from the number plate check. The police power to test a driver at the roadside is explained in the 20-metre number plate rule guide. A driver whose lenses are part of the licence should also read the guide to lens conditions.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to tell the DVLA that I am short-sighted?

No. GOV.UK says being short sighted, long sighted or colour blind does not need to be reported. Reporting is for problems affecting both eyes, or the remaining eye.

Can a practice game replace an official check?

No. The number plate practice and the Vision Arcade are practice tools only. They cannot satisfy a licensing authority and are no substitute for an optometrist.

Do these rules apply in the Republic of Ireland?

No. Ireland is a separate system run by the National Driver Licence Service and the RSA, so the UK rules above do not apply there. See the Irish eyesight report page.

The bottom line

Licence holders in Great Britain report to the DVLA and those in Northern Ireland to the DVA, with the same broad exclusions and with penalties of up to £1,000 for failing to report a condition affecting driving. Renewals at 70 and over run every three years in both parts of the UK. Anyone unsure should ask the relevant authority or an optometrist. This is general information, not medical or legal advice.

Sources

• Driving eyesight rules (gov.uk)
• Medical conditions, disabilities and driving (gov.uk)
• Renew your driving licence (gov.uk)
• Renew your driving licence if you’re 70 or over (gov.uk)
• Road Traffic Act 1988, section 94 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Driving eyesight requirements (nidirect.gov.uk)
• How to tell DVA about your medical condition (nidirect.gov.uk)
• Renew your driving licence at 70 plus (nidirect.gov.uk)

Needing glasses or contact lenses to meet the vision standard for driving usually turns into a legal condition on the licence. The wording, the code and the way a condition is removed differ between licensing authorities. This guide sets out what each official source states for the United Kingdom (Great Britain and Northern Ireland separately), the Republic of Ireland, California, Ontario and New South Wales. It covers licence rules only and gives no advice about eyes or eye conditions; anyone with a question about their own sight should see an optometrist or doctor.

Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales)

GOV.UK says glasses or contact lenses must be worn every time you drive if they are needed to meet the standards of vision for driving. DVLA’s list of licence codes shows code 01 as “eyesight correction, for example glasses or contact lenses”, and GOV.UK notes that some codes may be different in Northern Ireland.

The law backs this up. Section 96 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, which applies in England, Wales and Scotland, makes driving with uncorrected defective eyesight an offence, and a constable can require a test using only the means of correction the driver was using at the time. The number plate rule guide explains that power.

Northern Ireland

nidirect states that if you wear glasses or lenses for the eyesight test, the law requires you to wear them whenever driving or riding, and during the practical test. An examiner will remind a candidate that this is a legal requirement and the test will not continue if the candidate refuses to wear them. Anyone who has broken, forgotten or brought the wrong glasses should tell the examiner at the start. The DVA’s information code list also uses code 01 for eyesight correction. The same list includes a medical restriction coded 005.01, “limited to daytime journeys”, as one of several limits that can be applied to an entitlement.

Republic of Ireland

The National Driver Licence Service (NDLS) calls code 01 “sight correction and/or protection” and treats it as the requirement to wear corrective lenses when driving. Renewing a licence does not normally need an eyesight report form. One is needed for a first learner permit, for exchanging a licence issued by a non-EU country, and for anyone who wants to remove the 01 notation, for example after corrective eye surgery. The form must be signed in the presence of the optometrist or doctor who completes it and submitted within one month of that date.

California, United States

The California DMV says all new and renewing licence applicants must pass a vision test and should bring their current glasses or contacts. If a driver is tested with corrective lenses, a “corrective lenses” restriction is added to the licence. Where a driver fails the screening, the DMV requires a Report of Vision Examination, and it notes that restrictions such as “daylight driving only” may apply depending on the condition and the doctor’s input. Its standard is 20/40 vision with both eyes, or 20/40 in one eye and at least 20/70 in the other. Each US state sets its own rules, so this describes California only.

Ontario, Canada

ServiceOntario’s guidance covers changes to a licence. Adding a glasses or contact lenses condition requires an in-person visit to ServiceOntario with the current driver’s licence. Removing it requires a visit to a DriveTest centre or ServiceOntario Bay and College in Toronto with the current licence, a letter from an optometrist where applicable, and an eye test. Ontario’s bus handbook, in its section on medical requirements for classified licences, says a driver whose licence is conditional on corrective lenses must not drive without wearing them.

New South Wales, Australia

Transport for NSW says licence conditions are legal requirements, printed on the licence as a code on the front with a description on the back. Code S means the holder must wear corrective lenses at all times while driving. More specific codes are S001 (glasses or contact lenses while driving), S002 (when driving at night) and S003 (when driving a vehicle over 8 tonnes GVM). NSW states that if glasses or contact lenses are needed to pass the eyesight test, a condition will be added. Conditions apply even when they are not printed on the licence, and a driver who gets lenses for the first time, or who no longer needs them, must sit a new eyesight test. NSW notes that “drive only during daylight hours” can also appear as a medical condition. Other Australian states have their own conditions.

Frequently asked questions

Do other states, provinces and territories follow the same rules?

No. US states, Canadian provinces and Australian states and territories each run their own licensing, so this guide describes only the jurisdictions named.

Can the Vision Arcade games check a licence condition?

No. The Vision Arcade is for practice and enjoyment. Only an official test or a professional assessment counts.

The bottom line

Every authority above records a lens requirement on the licence, but the label (01, a “corrective lenses” restriction, a condition coded S or S001) and the route to remove it differ. Great Britain and Northern Ireland share the principle, Ireland requires an eyesight report to remove code 01, and NSW explicitly distinguishes night-time use. Check the authority that issued the licence. This is general information, not medical or legal advice.

Sources

• Driving eyesight rules (gov.uk)
• Driving licence codes (gov.uk)
• Road Traffic Act 1988, section 96 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Driving eyesight requirements (nidirect.gov.uk)
• Information codes on your driving licence (nidirect.gov.uk)
• Do I need to submit an eyesight report form? (ndls.ie)
• Maintaining driving independence and safety (dmv.ca.gov)
• Vision conditions (dmv.ca.gov)
• Change information on a driver’s licence (ontario.ca)
• Licence conditions (nsw.gov.au)
• Licence conditions on medical advice (nsw.gov.au)
• Eyesight tests for driver and rider licensing (nsw.gov.au)

Every UK learner meets the number plate check at the start of the practical car test, but few people see where the rule is written down. In Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) it appears in regulations made under the Road Traffic Act 1988 and in the DVSA test procedure. Northern Ireland has its own licensing system run by the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA), and its guidance describes the same distances with a slightly different procedure. This guide follows the published texts only.

What the Great Britain regulations say

The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999 set the standard for Group 1 licences, which cover ordinary car and motorcycle entitlement. Regulation 72 includes a visual acuity standard with two limbs: a visual acuity of at least 6/12 (decimal 0.5), and the ability to read in good daylight a registration mark on a motor vehicle with characters of the prescribed size, in each case with corrective lenses if necessary. For most vehicles the prescribed size is characters 79 millimetres high and 50 millimetres wide, viewed from 20 metres. A separate visual field standard sits in the same regulation, and the site’s UK page summarises all three parts of the UK standard.

So the plate is not only a test-day hurdle. It is part of the licensing standard that applies to applicants and to existing licence holders in Great Britain.

Why there are two distances

Schedule 8 of the same regulations sets out what a candidate must do in the practical test for categories B and B+E (cars) and for motorcycle categories. The eyesight element allows either of two readings, in good daylight and with corrective lenses if worn:

• a registration mark with letters and figures 79 mm high and 57 mm wide, read at 20.5 metres
• a registration mark with letters and figures 79 mm high and 50 mm wide, read at 20 metres

GOV.UK describes the practical result: 20 metres for a vehicle with a new-style plate (two letters followed by two numbers) and 20.5 metres for an old-style plate.

What happens at the test in Great Britain

GOV.UK states that at the start of the practical test the candidate must correctly read a number plate on a parked vehicle. A candidate who cannot read it fails and the test does not continue. DVLA is told and the licence is revoked. When the person reapplies, DVLA asks for an eyesight test with the DVSA at a driving test centre, and the standard DVSA eyesight test must still be passed at the next practical test.

Roadside checks and the offence

Section 96 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, which applies in England, Wales and Scotland, makes it an offence to drive a motor vehicle on a road while eyesight is such that a person cannot meet a prescribed requirement, whether the defect is uncorrected or insufficiently corrected. A constable who has reason to suspect this may require the driver to take a test, using no other means of correction than the driver used at the time of driving. Refusing is a separate offence.

Schedule 2 to the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 lists the offence as summary only, punishable by a fine at level 3 on the standard scale, with discretionary disqualification and obligatory endorsement. GOV.UK summarises the position by saying a driver could be prosecuted for driving without meeting the standards of vision for driving.

What the DVA says in Northern Ireland

nidirect describes the same distances. The examiner asks the candidate to read a number plate on a stationary vehicle with letters and figures 79 mm high and 57 mm wide at 20.5 metres, or at 20 metres if they are 50 mm wide. If the candidate cannot read it, the examiner asks for a second plate. If that also fails, the examiner measures the exact distance from a third plate. A candidate who fails the third and is judged unable to meet the requirement ends the test, and is asked to sign a declaration that the requirement was not met. The legal wording in Northern Ireland comes from its own legislation, so the GB regulation references above should not be applied there.

Using the practice tools

The rule is about a real plate at a real distance. The step-back number plate practice and the approaching car number plate game help candidates become familiar with plates at roughly the right size, and the Vision Arcade offers more practice games. They are practice aids and cannot confirm that anyone meets the legal standard. Anyone with doubts should see an optician.

Frequently asked questions

Does the 20-metre rule apply to motorcycle tests too?

Yes. Schedule 8 sets the same two plate readings for motorcycle categories A and P as for cars.

Is the plate read with glasses?

Yes, with the aid of corrective lenses if worn. GOV.UK says glasses or contact lenses must be worn every time you drive if they are needed to meet the standards, and nidirect adds that they must stay on throughout the test.

The bottom line

The 20-metre check traces to the Group 1 licensing standard and to Schedule 8 of the 1999 regulations in Great Britain, with distances of 20 metres for 50 mm-wide characters and 20.5 metres for 57 mm-wide characters. It can also be enforced at the roadside under section 96. Northern Ireland applies the same distances through DVA procedure. This is general information, not legal or medical advice.

Sources

• Driving eyesight rules (gov.uk)
• The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999, regulation 72 (legislation.gov.uk)
• The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999, Schedule 8 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Road Traffic Act 1988, section 96 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, Schedule 2 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Driving eyesight requirements (nidirect.gov.uk)