South West · driver medicals

Taxi driver medical in Forest of Dean

Which doctor Forest of Dean 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 Forest of Dean’s answer and nobody else’s.

Who can carry it out

Your own GP, or a doctor with your records

Your own practice is the straightforward route, but another doctor can do it if they have had full access to your medical history. Private clinics that request your records can qualify. One that examines you without them cannot.

What Forest of Dean requires

“You must provide a satisfactory Group 2 medical certificate completed by your own General Practitioner or a medical practitioner that has access to your medical records at the following times:”
How long it lasts: 4 months - a certificate dated more than 4 months before you submit the application will not be accepted
How often: On application, every five years between 45 and 65, and every year from 65
Form: A Group 2 medical certificate completed by your own GP or a practitioner with access to your records
Possible exemption: MAYBE - a recent satisfactory Group 2 medical done for a PCV or HGV may be accepted instead, but it is at the Licensing Officer's discretion and you must show it was done by your own GP or a doctor with your records AND that the DVLA passed you for PCV/HGV. Do not assume it will be accepted

View official source ↗ ⚑ Report a change

Taken from Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy 2021 (updated 14 April 2026) - section 5.2 Medical Criteria. 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 Forest of Dean compares

Of the 315 UK licensing areas checked so far, Forest of Dean is one of 61 that will take another doctor provided they have had your full records.

Who may sign it elsewhere in South West

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
Bristol	Any registered doctor with your records
Exeter	Only a provider the council names
Plymouth	Your own GP, or a doctor with your records
Bath and North East Somerset	The council does not say
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole	Your own GP only
Cornwall	Any registered doctor with your records
Dorset	Any registered doctor with your records
Gloucester	Any GMC-registered doctor
Swindon	Any registered doctor with your records
Torbay	Any registered doctor with your records
Tewkesbury	Any registered doctor with your records
North Somerset	Any GMC-registered doctor

What it costs to be licensed in Forest of Dean

The medical is one bill among several. See what Forest of Dean charges for the driver, vehicle and operator licences, taken from the same published sources.

Every line above is taken from Forest of Dean’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