South West · driver medicals
Taxi driver medical in Cheltenham
Which doctor Cheltenham 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 Cheltenham’s answer and nobody else’s.
Who can carry it out
Any registered doctor with your records
You are not tied to your own surgery, which usually means a shorter wait and a lower fee. The condition is the records: the doctor must have seen your full history, not just examined you on the day.
What Cheltenham requires
- “You need to arrange to get your medical assessment done by a medical doctor who has access to your medical history or a medical based on a ‘summary of medical records’ from a suitably qualified medical practitioner”
- Possible exemption: Not published. No HGV/PSV exemption appears in the policy or on the driver pages, and no explicit refusal either. BEWARE THE NAMING TRAP: Cheltenham publishes a "Driver medical exemption application form" and Appendix P is titled "Medical Exemption Policy" - both are the Equality Act 2010 exemption from the duty to carry assistance dogs and wheelchair passengers, NOT an exemption from having a medical. Note also that requiring the DVLA D4 is not the same as accepting an existing HGV/PSV medical; the council requires the D4 form to be completed for this purpose and countersigned on its own declaration form
- This council's own wording on how long it lasts is contradictory: CONFLICT - 3 months or 4 months. The December 2025 policy says "A medical report form is only valid for a maximum of 4 months". The council's own driver licence web page, in both the new-application and re-licence sections, says the medical report form is only valid for a maximum of 3 months. Same council, same requirement, two different windows. Assume the shorter 3 months and ring 01242 264135 to confirm Ring them before you book.
- How often: At new application, then "at the age of 45 and then every 5 years until the age of 65. After 65, the medical must be carried out every year." So a driver first licensed in their twenties has no routine medical again until 45. The authority usually sends a reminder letter a few weeks before one is due, and failing to produce a satisfactory medical can lead to suspension of the driver licence under s.61
- Form: TWO forms, and this is the distinctive bit - Cheltenham does not publish its own medical examination report. You submit the DVLA's own D4 medical examination report for a Group 2 (bus or lorry) licence, downloaded from GOV.UK, AND it must be accompanied by the council's one-page Medical Declaration Form 2024, on which the examining doctor gives their details, applies the surgery stamp and signs to say the applicant is FIT or UNFIT to the DVLA Group 2 standard. Both can be uploaded with the online application, emailed to licensing@cheltenham.gov.uk, or posted to the Municipal Offices
Taken from Cheltenham Borough Council taxi and private hire licensing policy, December 2025 - driver requirement (h) Medical, and Appendix P Medical Exemption Policy. 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 Cheltenham compares
Of the 315 UK licensing areas checked so far, Cheltenham is one of 105 taking that line, which is the most common arrangement in the country.
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 |
|---|
| Tewkesbury | Any registered doctor with your records |
| Gloucester | Any GMC-registered doctor |
| Cotswold | Any registered doctor with your records |
| Stroud | Your own GP, or a doctor with your records |
| Wychavon | Any registered doctor with your records |
| Forest of Dean | Your own GP, or a doctor with your records |
| Worcester | The council does not say |
| Malvern Hills | Any registered doctor with your records |
| West Oxfordshire | Your own GP, or a doctor with your records |
| Swindon | Any registered doctor with your records |
What it costs to be licensed in Cheltenham
The medical is one bill among several. See what Cheltenham charges for the driver, vehicle and operator licences, taken from the same published sources.
Every line above is taken from Cheltenham’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.
← Medical rules for every UK licensing area