Do I need a medical certificate to replace my driver's license(s) in 2021?

Old rules

Not long ago, new rules came into force, according to which the form of a medical certificate and the conditions requiring a medical examination have changed. As it turns out, many drivers do not know in what cases a medical certificate is necessary. Do I need to undergo a medical examination when replacing a driver's license? In which medical institution can I obtain a doctor's opinion? Which specialists are involved in the medical examination? What is the validity period of the medical certificate? Answers to these and other important questions can be found by reading this article.

The rules and procedure for passing a medical examination are regulated by Federal Law No. 196 of December 10, 1995 “On Road Safety” and Federal Law 437 of December 28, 2013. According to the old rules, passing a medical examination and presenting a certificate required the following cases:

candidates obtaining their first driver's license;
loss, wear and tear, theft of the ID;
change of surname;
obtaining new driving categories;
expiration of the license to drive transport;
restoration of the certificate due to deprivation of rights;
obtaining an international driver's license;
replacement of the national ID form with the form of the Russian Federation.

Previously, a medical certificate was also required during the technical inspection of a vehicle, but Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 908 of November 13, 2010 abolished this rule.

To the delight of many drivers, the old rules have been partially simplified and modified, allowing them to narrow the range of circumstances under which they should be examined at a medical institution. Moreover, the process of obtaining a medical certificate requires certain time and financial costs from the driver.

New rules

Do I need a medical certificate when replacing a driver's license? As already mentioned, this document is not always required. There are exceptions in which you may not need to take a driver's test.

Under what circumstances is a medical certificate required? According to the law, there are only a few cases when the lack of a passed driving commission becomes an obstacle to the preparation of the appropriate documentation.

Such situations include:

initial order of a driver's license;
exchange due to the end of the validity of the paper.

There are no more circumstances. Is a medical certificate required when replacing a driver’s license in other life situations? Yes, but only in exceptional cases.

New position

From July 1, 2021, Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia N 831 n dated September 28, 2010 “On approval of a single sample Medical Certificate of Admission to Driving Vehicles” has lost legal force.

Now, in accordance with the new rules, a medical certificate is not required:

when changing personal data (for example, changing a surname upon marriage or divorce, changing place of residence);
when replacing a driving license that has become unusable as a result of wear or damage;
when the traffic police receives an application for the loss of a driver’s license (in case of loss or theft);
when replacing a domestic driver's license with an international equivalent.

When replacing a previously issued license, only these cases exclude drivers from undergoing a medical examination.

All other situations of obtaining and replacing rights still require a mandatory medical report:

restoration of a driver's license after a period of deprivation of rights;
obtaining a national or international certificate by candidates;
replacement of expiring rights;
opening a new category of driving a vehicle;
professional drivers.

Based on the results of the medical examination and examination, a medical report of the established form is issued.

Procedure for obtaining a medical certificate

The driver or candidate has the right to choose any medical institution to undergo a medical examination and obtain a conclusion. It is important that the medical institution has a valid license to carry out such activities. It is cheaper to obtain a medical certificate in public clinics than in private clinics.

The procedure for passing a medical examination is determined by Russian legislation. Violation of this law entails administrative or criminal liability for the driver, whose duty is to undergo examination by all necessary specialists. The process of obtaining a medical report may include some nuances, but in general it contains the following steps:

Selecting a medical institution and contacting the reception desk to obtain a patient card. It is necessary to inform the registry specialist of the categories for which admission will appear on the driver’s license. This is due to the fact that the list of medical examination specialists depends on the categories of transport to which the driver will be admitted.

Visits to doctors - according to the list provided in the table provided. Each specialist writes a note with a conclusion in the appropriate column of the patient’s personal medical record. If necessary, the therapist can give a referral for additional examination to a specialist.

Visiting a narcologist and psychiatrist in specialized state medical institutions - at the place of registration of the driver. The narcologist may refer the patient to undergo blood and urine tests to detect chronic use of alcohol and drugs. The results of the examination and a note about the patient’s registration at the dispensary are also entered by specialists into the appropriate sections of the medical record.

Obtaining admission to professional categories of transport (Tv, Tm, C1, C1e, C, Ce, D1, D1e, D, De) requires passing an EEG examination (electroencelography).

After passing the examination of all specialists, you must re-visit the general practitioner. According to the doctors’ notes and the results of the examinations, the therapist issues a final medical report and draws up a medical certificate form with his signature and the seal of the institution.

If a patient has poor vision, then for a correct diagnosis he must undergo a medical examination wearing glasses or contacts.

Validity of a medical certificate for drivers 2021 when replacing a license

In the law, or more precisely in the Order of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation No. 344n, the terms are prescribed not in years, but in months.

If the certificate is valid for 1 year, then clause 12 of the Order contains the following wording: “The medical report is drawn up by a doctor (therapist) ... and is valid for presentation to the traffic police ... within 12 months from the date of preparation (date of issue) of the document.”

This applies to the following types of driver's licenses, which require showing a valid medical certificate:

issuance of domestic driver's licenses;
issuance of international samples;
Russian exchange;
international exchange.

Without passing a medical examination by all the necessary doctors, the medical commission will not issue a certificate to drivers, even if you just need to change your driver’s license, but the certificate has already expired.

You should visit the following doctors:

therapist;
psychiatrist;
expert in narcology;
gynecologist (for women);
neurologist;
ophthalmologist;
ENT;
otolaryngologist (on the recommendation of a therapist) and others.

Since fake driver medical fitness certificates are not recorded anywhere, they are easy to spot.

Traffic police officers can contact any clinic that is listed in the certificate to find out whether such a driver is listed in the general database or archives or not.

Most often, a fake is detected right away - there is simply no data on the driver in the database. For falsifying documents, the driver may incur criminal liability in the form of a fine - from 30,000 to 50,000 rubles .

Or deprivation of a driver’s license until this certificate is issued and submitted to the traffic police.

Note! All information about the results of a driver’s medical examination is stored in the archived database of a medical institution for 10 years.

After this period, you will need to undergo a medical examination again in order to again receive a certificate for the traffic police.

Documents for inspection

To undergo a medical examination and obtain a medical certificate, you must provide the following list of documents to the registry:

passport;
compulsory medical insurance policy (for examination by some specialists free of charge at the place of registration);
military ID (in some cases);
patient's medical record;
driver's license (if available);
conclusions of a psychiatrist and narcologist.

From 2021, the requirement for a photograph when receiving a medical certificate has been abolished due to the lack of the required space on the new sample form.

Validity period and cost of a medical certificate

Currently, the validity period of a medical certificate is 1 calendar year. Certificates issued before July 1, 2021 and valid for 2-3 years are valid and retain legal force until the end of the period.

The form is issued every time you receive or replace a driver’s license, valid for 10 years. However, professional drivers must undergo a medical examination every 2 years.

The cost of a medical certificate depends on the prices of the medical institution where the driver or candidate decided to undergo an examination. In a clinic at the place of registration or residence, you can undergo an examination by specialists from 600-1800 rubles; in private clinics the amount may be higher.

In government institutions, you will have to pay 350-800 rubles for a medical report from a psychiatrist, and 350-600 rubles for an examination by a narcologist. Prices may vary depending on regions of the country.

It should be noted that the cost of a medical examination depends on the categories of driving, admission to which will appear on the certificate, since for each category there is a specific list of doctors required to visit. Thus, drivers of categories A, A1, B, B1, BE and M should be examined by 4 specialists: a therapist (or family doctor), an ophthalmologist (ophthalmologist), a narcologist and a psychiatrist. Drivers of freight and passenger transport, in addition to the doctors listed, should visit a neurologist and otolaryngologist (ENT), and also get an EEG result.

Thus, the total cost of undergoing a medical examination and obtaining a medical report ranges from 1 thousand to 4 thousand rubles, depending on the region, medical institution and driving categories.

The procedure for obtaining a medical certificate from 2021

Regular medical examinations must be carried out in institutions that have the right to issue certificates giving permission to drive. Doctors such as narcologist and psychiatrist are seen only in hospitals at the place of residence; other doctors can be visited at any other clinic.

All doctors visited by the driver or candidate driver put notes on the patient’s condition on the issued certificate, and the therapist completes the registration process: confirms the ability to safely drive the vehicle.

Required documents

The list of documents for males and females is practically the same. Both must have an identification card, a driver’s license (if the medical examination is carried out to replace the driver’s license) and 2 photographs with a matte surface measuring 3x4 cm.

Note! If a citizen is a military serviceman, it is necessary to provide a military ID, and for persons under 45 years of age - a registration certificate.

List of doctors to visit

Until 2021, the list of specialists required to visit was quite extensive, but it has noticeably decreased today. It remains mandatory to undergo a psychiatrist and narcologist, according to Federal Law No. 437 of December 28, 2013. They are the last to be examined; the following specialists are examined first:

ophthalmologist (vision control for visual acuity and color perception);
neurologist;
gynecologist (only for female drivers);
therapist.

The latter has the right to increase the number of specialists who need to be examined, based on the patient’s condition.
It is possible that you will have to undergo an ENT (for categories C and D this is mandatory), a dermatovenerologist, a surgeon and go to several additional procedures if your health condition requires it: ECG, EEG, experimental psychological research and urine testing. All requirements must be followed, otherwise the certificate will not be issued or it will indicate a negative decision, after which you cannot drive a car.

If a female driver is pregnant, the doctors’ approach to the examination will be more attentive and thorough. It is possible that you will have to visit many doctors and only if each one has a positive answer will a certificate be issued.

Cost of the examination procedure

The amount that will be needed to obtain a certificate varies depending on factors such as the region of residence and the medical institution (form of ownership: public or private) in which the medical examination takes place. The approximate range you should focus on is 900-1500 rubles. A discount is possible for older people. If a certificate is needed for employment in a new place, the employer pays a fee for it, but this applies only to professional drivers.

Sample driver's medical certificate form

Payment for a service provided by a medical institution is most often made upon receipt of the document. If doctors do not allow the driver to drive the vehicle, the latter may not pay anything.

Validity period of the certificate

There is a widespread belief that it is necessary to undergo a medical examination once every 10 years, if you do not need to change your license. This statement is erroneous: after the specified period, you will, of course, have to undergo a medical examination, but the certificate issued by doctors is valid for 1-2 years, depending on what category the VA belongs to. Thus, once every 12 months, the following persons must undergo an examination:

under 21 years of age;
having specific serious diseases;
providing professional transportation.

On a note! Drivers who have licenses of categories A, B, C, D, E and their subcategories only need to undergo a medical examination once every 2 years.

It should be taken into account that from February 16, 2016, you do not need to receive a new certificate when obtaining an international license, replacing old ones due to their unsuitability for use and changing your last name, if the validity of the previous one has not expired.

Can they refuse to issue a certificate and what to do?

A certificate may not be issued if the patient’s health does not meet the required criteria. Moreover, each doctor can write a refusal if pathologies are detected in his field, which will affect the final decision of the therapist. The latter may also not issue a document even with the consent of all other doctors: this could happen if he discovers diseases that can lead to a sharp deterioration in health. Other reasons for refusal may be:

Poor vision and no glasses or contact lenses.
Severe form of cataract.
Nervous, clearly manifested tension, which is noticed by a psychiatrist during an appointment.
Dependence on alcohol or drugs.

Since the listed grounds are quite compelling, they cannot be appealed. The patient can either improve his health as much as possible and try to repeat the examination, or go to another clinic. The second course of action is possible only when the previous diagnosis was truly biased, and the new doctor the patient sees has a category higher than the previous one visited.

Nuances and penalties

Passing a medical examination and obtaining a medical certificate takes some time and requires a satisfactory state of health from the driver.
In this regard, some citizens provide the traffic police with fake medical certificates obtained from private companies. Such a document is invalid and threatens the driver and the doctor who issued it with administrative and criminal liability.

Before starting the process of obtaining or replacing a driver's license, you should make sure that there are no outstanding fines. In accordance with current legislation, payment of the fine must be made within two months from the date of its issuance. You can check the availability and payment of fines on the State Services website, on the official traffic police portal or at any traffic police post.

Other statements

Do I need a medical certificate when replacing a driver's license? In certain cases - yes. Often the commission can be passed at will.

To replace a license, a driver sometimes needs the following papers:

divorce or wedding certificates;
statements about change of surname, given name or gender;
driving test certificates;
medical certificates for traffic police;
international law;
certificates from the police about the loss or theft of a driver's license.

This is all. We were presented with current information on the replacement of rights. From now on every driver will be able to cope with this task! We found out when a medical certificate is needed to change your license.