East of England · driver medicals
Taxi driver medical in Babergh
Which doctor Babergh will accept, how often you have to repeat it and which form they want. Councils disagree with each other on every one of those, so this is Babergh’s answer and nobody else’s.
Who can carry it out
Only a provider the council names
The council will not accept a certificate from a doctor of your choosing. Use the provider they name, or you will have paid for a medical twice.
What Babergh requires
- “As a driver you will be required to provide the Council with a Group 2 medical to determine whether you are medically fit to hold a licence”
- Possible exemption: Not published. There is no HGV/PSV/PCV/LGV or vocational-licence exemption anywhere in the policy - the words do not appear in a driver-medical context at all (the only 'D4' hits besides the medical form are an unrelated condition numbered D4). The only concession of any kind is for insulin-treated diabetes, and that is an accommodation rather than an exemption: 'Exceptional arrangements may be made if you have insulin treated diabetes and are able to meet a series of medical criteria.' The 'exemption certificate' passages in the policy are Equality Act assistance-dog and wheelchair exemptions, not medical exemptions
- How long it lasts: Three months. 'The medical assessment must be no older than three months at the [time of submission with the relevant application]' - stated twice, in the new-applicant requirements list and again in driver conditions C1 and C2
- How often: Initial application, then every 3 years to the age of 65, then annually from 65. The policy stresses the annual cycle runs on its own clock: the medical is 'required annually irrespective of your renewal date'. Annual medicals are also required at ANY age if you are 'suffering from a known and notifiable medical disorder' (condition C2). The Council can additionally require certificates at more frequent intervals, or grant a shorter licence, where the examining practitioner recommends monitoring, and can demand a current certificate at any time under C3. Failure to produce a satisfactory medical on time means suspension of the licence until it is produced. Any deterioration in health, new diagnosis or change to an existing condition must be notified within 48 hours (C4)
- Form: The council's own form is mandatory. The policy calls for 'a medical examination on the specified D4 form' and condition C3 requires a certificate 'in the form prescribed by the Council'; in practice the Council publishes its own Babergh-branded Group 2 medical form, linked from Step 6 of the application steps as 'Group 2 medical' (the file is literally named MEDICAL TO USE.pdf). Warning for anyone re-checking it: that file is a 4.7 MB, 12-page SCANNED IMAGE - pypdf extracts only the Babergh District Council / Endeavour House address block from page 1 and nothing else, so any note conditions printed on it cannot be read without OCR. The policy body and driver conditions are therefore the usable source
Taken from Babergh and Mid Suffolk Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy 2024-2029 (Version 1.5, effective 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2029) - section 2.6 Driver Medicals, the new-applicant requirements list, and driver conditions C1-C4. Rules change and councils rewrite their pages without notice, so confirm before you book and pay. If something here is wrong please say and I will check it against the council and fix it.
How Babergh compares
Of the 315 UK licensing areas checked so far, Babergh is one of only 23 that insist on a provider of their own choosing.
Who may sign it in nearby areas
Neighbouring authorities do not follow each other on this, and a certificate accepted in one is regularly refused in the next. Check the area whose badge you actually hold.
| Licensing area | Who can carry out the medical |
|---|
| Mid Suffolk | Your own GP, or a doctor with your records |
| Colchester | The council does not say |
| Tendring | The council does not say |
| Braintree | Your own GP, or a doctor with your records |
| West Suffolk | Any registered doctor with your records |
| Maldon | Any registered doctor with your records |
| East Suffolk | Any registered doctor with your records |
| Uttlesford | Your own GP, or a doctor with your records |
What it costs to be licensed in Babergh
The medical is one bill among several. See what Babergh charges for the driver, vehicle and operator licences, taken from the same published sources.
Every line above is taken from Babergh’s own published guidance and read by hand against that source. Nothing here is from trade press, a forum or an estimate. This is not medical or legal advice.
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