Hi All, a mate of mine has hit 45 and has forgotted to renew his HGV/ LGV medical. 
So…can he still drive and is his licence still valid until he gets the medical sorted and PASSED or is it suspended until such a time■■?
Secondly, he claims that it should be down to the DVLA to inform him that his medical is due and yet he recieved no such notice or information, is this also true■■?
Answers on a postcard please… 
Cheers all.
Check the licence expiry in 4(b) on a photocard, this is the licence expiry date.
Look at the entitlements on the back for their valid dates, ie class C, from date to date, if the to date is expired (normally at the point of needing a medical) then you cant drive that class until you pass the medical.
I think the DVLA do send reminders but has he changed address and not changed it. And do people not have any idea of the date on their licence? Seriously, if you booked a holiday and your passport had expired, would you turn up at the airport to find out first? Maybe some people do? I’m sure the answers to that are coming now…
bullitt:
Hi All, a mate of mine has hit 45 and has forgotted to renew his HGV/ LGV medical.
BIG QUESTION before I go anywhere with this…
At what age did he get his very first LGV C1 or C licence 
His HGV licence expired the day before his 45th birthday, so no, he can’t drive.
I’ve had two compulsary medicals now and both times the licence renewal form and medical stuff arrived six weeks before my licence expired. General experience on here tends to suggest that that is the norm, and DVLA would no more forget you had an HGV licence than TV Licensing would forget that you had a telly. 
Harry Monk:
His HGV licence expired the day before his 45th birthday, so no, he can’t drive.
This can be an ASSUMPTION which is why I asked that particular question in my post above
His licence will have expired the second he turned 45 UNLESS he only got it in the first place less than 5 years before that, in which case it will expire 5 years from the date he got it. I assume that is what ROG is alluding to although why he doesn’t just say that instead of asking questions I’m not sure…
To know for definite all he has to do is look at the back of the photocard and it will tell him on what date his C and C+E entitlements expire. If that date has passed, he no longer has a licence to drive those categories, and he’s in big trouble if he’s caught doing so.
Paul
ROG:
Harry Monk:
His HGV licence expired the day before his 45th birthday, so no, he can’t drive.This can be an ASSUMPTION which is why I asked that particular question in my post above
I assumed he was a 45 year old HGV driver. Do you have some minor technical detail which might alter his situation?
Feel free to share
ROG:
bullitt:
Hi All, a mate of mine has hit 45 and has forgotted to renew his HGV/ LGV medical.BIG QUESTION before I go anywhere with this…
At what age did he get his very first LGV C1 or C licence
Doesn’t matter, as stated above if the category has expired then…
If its one that requires a medical then he needs a medical.
Harry Monk:
I assumed he was a 45 year old HGV driver. Do you have some minor technical detail which might alter his situation?Feel free to share
I think what he’s getting at is that if he is, for example, a 45 year old HGV driver who first got his HGV licence (and therefore had a medical) when he was 42 then he’ll have another 2 years still before he needs another medical.
As has already been said though all he needs to do to be sure is check the expiry date on his licence.
Paul
Thanks for the replies chaps, very quick!!
He has had his licence around 15 years or so and yes he has moved house recently and knowing him he hasnt even thought about changing the address on his licence so if DVLA did send him a reminder then its gone to his old address!! 
So, i take it that he cant drive now until he passes his medical then all just carries on as normal for another 5 years??
bullitt:
Thanks for the replies chaps, very quick!!He has had his licence around 15 years or so and yes he has moved house recently and knowing him he hasnt even thought about changing the address on his licence so if DVLA did send him a reminder then its gone to his old address!!
So, i take it that he cant drive now until he passes his medical then all just carries on as normal for another 5 years??
5 years unless other medical probs occur if its LGV or PSV entitlement. Car should be OK unless he’s 75?
bullitt:
So, i take it that he cant drive now until he passes his medical then all just carries on as normal for another 5 years??
That’s about the size of it, yes.
Paul
Surely if he has not had a medical, and he has passed 45 then the entitlement for lgv has gone and now he will have to take his test again
Dafman:
Surely if he has not had a medical, and he has passed 45 then the entitlement for lgv has gone and now he will have to take his test again
No you can have a medical expired for years, get a new medical and then your entitlement can be put back on.
little bit of incorrect info here, your 45th birthday isn’t the cut off point for your hgv entitlement, you are simple required to take a medical within your 46th year, the date shown in 4b is actually when your current photograph expires and needs replacing with a more upto date version, the dvla are responsible for sending out a reminder along with the medical form (d4) to be filled out by the doctor and the application form (d474 i think) for example i turned 45 on 19th nov 2008 but my hgv entitlement didn’t run out until 13th sep 2009, the dvla sent all the bumf out at the beggining of june so i had plenty of time to get it sorted but just a little tip, once you’ve got everything in order send it back by recorded delivery, i didn’t, instead i used the prepaid envelope they sent, 3 or 4 weeks went by with no new lisence but when i rang up they claimed to have never recieved it! which meant i had to go back to the doctor and get him to fill out a new form from his records etc if i hadn’t been able to do that i would’ve had to pay for a new medical and start again!
if you look on the back of the potocard licence it will give you the expiry dates of each catogory your entitled to drive if the fella here has gone past that date for his hgv he needs to get a medical as soon as,(theres loads of medical centers advertissing on the net some even do same day appointments) get all the forms filled in and then ring the dvla tell them situation i.e you can’t earn a living without the license etc and they can fast track the application, thats what i did when i had to resubmit the forms and i got my license back 4 days after they recieved the application.
just another thing, the dvla actually state that once you’ve passed a medical you can legally drive even if your application hasn’t been processed, so what i would do is get the medical done take a photo copy of the form and then send it all in, then if for any reason you have to show your license while your waiting for the new one to come, you can show you’ve had the medical and are entitled to drive for another five years.
Download the 8 page D4 Medical Form Please print (colour, not black & white)
£49 MEDICALS
cheap medical places around the UK
As many have stated - the LGV expiry dates are on the back of the photocard in section 11
MY LGV expires the day before my 45th birthday and my car expires the day before my 70th and I was of the opinion that until they were both renewed and updated driving entitlement was suspended.
mrpj:
MY LGV expires the day before my 45th birthday and my car expires the day before my 70th and I was of the opinion that until they were both renewed and updated driving entitlement was suspended.
DVLA wanted one of their registered opticians to take a look at my problem right eye but by the time they got around to getting an appointment it was well passed the expiry time - no problem, as the D4 form had already been received on time, I could carry on driving as normal.
Once the eye test had been done I got my licence back from DVLA with a later renewal date than would otherwise have been given.
I did check with DVLA about driving during the end of one period and the start of the other and they aid it is not a problem as this happens quite often and it is their fault which is not the same as a driver not sending in the completed D4 medical form on time
If he wants to drive, he needs to get to a doctor & have the medical done. I believe you can get the forms from a post office. Have the medical & get it off to Swansea. I needed mine back in time for a Ride & Drive session at a dealers recently & phoned Swansea, they were very helpful & offered to send me a certificate showing I held the licence but couldn’t promise my licence would be back in time. The lady told me I could continue to drive while they processed the application so your mate might be fine to drive once the medical is done & the forms sent to Swansea. But I’d phone to make sure.
BB