Catheter ablation and driving

You can be fined up to £1,000 if you don’t tell DVLA about a medical condition that affects your driving. You may be prosecuted if you’re involved in an accident as a result.

If you have a car or motorcycle licence

You do not need to tell DVLA if you’ve had a catheter ablation.

You must not drive for 4 weeks after an ablation for:

  • ventricular tachycardia (VT) when there is impaired ventricular function
  • congenital heart disease (even if you’ve had corrective surgery)

If you’ve had an ablation for other reasons, you must stop driving for 2 days.

If you have a bus, coach or lorry licence

You must stop driving for 3 months and tell DVLA if you’ve had a catheter ablation for:

• ventricular tachycardia (VT), due to impaired ventricular function
• congenital heart disease (even if you’ve had corrective surgery)

Fill in form VOCH1 and send it to DVLA. The address is on the form.

If you’ve had an ablation for other reasons, you must stop driving for 2 weeks. You do not need to tell DVLA.

Related content