The California DMV may revoke or suspend your driver’s license if you have epilepsy, seizures, or other consciousness disorders that negatively affect your ability to drive safely.
Here are four main points to know if you have epilepsy and drive in California:
- The DMV typically learns that you are epileptic by a report from your physician, police officers, judges, or concerned family or citizens.
- Once the DMV learns you have epilepsy, it may let you keep your license pending the result of a DMV reexamination interview.
- If the DMV believes you present an immediate danger, the DMV will bypass the reexamination interview and suspend your license immediately – though you can then contest the suspension at a Physical and Mental Hearing.
- Ultimately, the DMV hearing officer will decide whether to let you keep your license, put you on medical probation, or else suspend or revoke your license completely.
Our California criminal defense attorneys will highlight the following in this article:
- 1. Can the DMV revoke my driver’s license because of epilepsy?
- 2. Do doctors report seizures to the DMV?
- 3. Can I keep my license if I have epilepsy?
- 4. What happens if the DMV decides I cannot drive safely?
1. Can the DMV revoke my driver’s license because of epilepsy?
Yes. California’s Department of Motor Vehicles can revoke or suspend your driver’s license if you suffer from
- epilepsy,
- seizures, or
- a lapse of consciousness.
However, the DMV can only do so if your ability to operate a motor vehicle is negatively affected.1 As California Vehicle Code 12806 VC states:
The department [DMV] may refuse to issue to, or renew a driver’s license of, any person:
(c) Who has a disorder characterized by lapses of consciousness or who has experienced, within the last three years, either a lapse of consciousness or an episode of marked confusion caused by any condition which may bring about recurrent lapses, or who has any physical or mental disability, disease, or disorder which could affect the safe operation of a motor vehicle unless the department has medical information which indicates the person may safely operate a motor vehicle. In making its determination, the department may rely on any relevant information available to the department.
The DMV’s reasoning is to protect the safety of motorists. If you suffer a seizure or lapse of consciousness while driving, you pose a safety risk to yourself and others on the road.2
1.1. What is epilepsy?
Epilepsy is a central nervous system disorder in which brain activity becomes abnormal, causing:
- seizures or periods of unusual behavior and
- sometimes loss of awareness.
Most people with epilepsy will experience one or both of the following:
- primary generalized seizures, and/or
- partial seizures.
While the first type of seizure involves both sides of the brain, a partial seizure only involves one limited area of the brain.3
1.2. What is a lapse in consciousness?
Epileptic seizures cause lapses in consciousness. As stated in 17 CCR 2806,
(a) “Disorders characterized by lapses of consciousness” means those medical conditions that involve:
(1) a loss of consciousness or a marked reduction of alertness or responsiveness to external stimuli; and(2) the inability to perform one or more activities of daily living; and(3) the impairment of the sensory motor functions used to operate a motor vehicle.(b) Examples of medical conditions that do not always, but may progress to the level of functional severity described in subsection (a) of this section include Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders, seizure disorders, brain tumors, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, and abnormal metabolic states, including hypo- and hyperglycemia associated with diabetes.
2. Do doctors report seizures to the DMV?
Yes. The most likely way the DMV learned about your epilepsy is from a report by your physician, particularly your neurologist. In California as in most states, doctors, surgeons, and physical and mental health care providers are obligated to report to the DMV any medical condition that can:
- lead to a lapse of consciousness or
- interfere with your ability to drive a motor vehicle safely (even if you never had a seizure while driving).
As Health and Safety Code 103900 HS states:
(a) Every physician and surgeon shall report immediately to the local health officer in writing, the name, date of birth, and address of every patient at least 14 years of age or older whom the physician and surgeon has diagnosed as having a case of a disorder characterized by lapses of consciousness.
2.1. Reports from non-doctors
Other people who may report an epileptic driver to the DMV include:
- law enforcement officers (especially after a traffic stop where you are having a seizure),
- judges, and
- concerned family members, friends, or other private citizens through anonymous tips.
Any concerned citizen can fill out a “DMV request for a driver reexamination” form and submit it to the DMV.
If you have epilepsy, you can also report yourself to the DMV. For example, you may disclose a condition of epilepsy in response to questions on a driver’s license application.
A licensed driver who has been reported to the DMV for epilepsy or other medical reasons has the right to a DMV reexamination.
3. Can I keep my license if I have epilepsy?
It depends on how the DMV proceeds once it learns you have epilepsy.
3.1. Reexamination interviews
In most cases, the DMV will mail you a “Notice of Reexamination” once it discovers you are epileptic.
Your driver’s license remains active pending the result of this reexamination interview. Though if you do not respond, the DMV will suspend your license until you comply.
The Notice of Reexamination contains a five-page Driver Medical Evaluation (DME) report that your physician must complete and sign. The DMV heavily relies on DMEs to evaluate your fitness to drive.
3.1.1. What happens at the interview
At the reexamination interview, your hearing officer will review all the evidence and ask you questions. Some evidence you may introduce that can show your ability to drive safely includes:
- a clean, safe driving record going back several years,
- your own testimony regarding your epileptic condition,
- medical records showing physician reports, medical examinations and the steps you are taking to control your condition, and
- testimony from family, friends, and doctors who treat you to show that you are able to drive safely.
3.1.2. What the hearing officer can do
At the end of the interview, the officer will decide to either:
- let you keep your license;
- put you on medical probation (where you can keep driving but with conditions); or
- suspend or revoke your license.
If your driver’s license gets suspended or revoked, you can request an evidentiary hearing – called a Physical and Mental (P&M) Hearing – to contest the officer’s decision. P&M hearings are more intricate and like a mini-trial.
3.1.3. When reexamination interviews are not necessary
Note that the DMV will not always require a reexamination interview following lapses of consciousness. In some cases, it may only require a:
- “DMV driver medical evaluation” (“DME”) and
- medical history from your doctor.
Once the DMV receives your DME and medical history, it will then decide on your license status.
3.2. Order of suspension/revocation
If the DMV hears from your doctor or another credible source that you pose an immediate public safety hazard, the DMV will dispense with the reexamination interview and instead issue an Order of Suspension/Revocation.
This typically happens when your doctor sends the DMV a confidential morbidity report, in which they recommend you do not drive because you had a seizure and risk placing the driving public in jeopardy.
As California Vehicle Code 13953 VC states:
[I]n the event the department determines upon investigation or reexamination that the safety of the person subject to investigation or reexamination or other persons upon the highways require such action, the department shall forthwith and without hearing suspend or revoke the privilege of the person to operate a motor vehicle or impose reasonable terms and conditions of probation which shall be relative to the safe operation of a motor vehicle. No order of suspension or revocation or the imposition of terms or conditions of probation shall become effective until 30 days after the giving of written notice thereof to the person affected, except that the department shall have authority to make any such order effective immediately upon the giving of notice when in its opinion because of the mental or physical condition of the person such immediate action is required for the safety of the driver or other persons upon the highways.
3.2.1. P&M hearings
After the DMV issues an Order of Suspension/Revocation, you are eligible for a Physical and Mental Hearing (P&M Hearing). You (or your attorney) can present such evidence as:
- medical records
- expert testimony
- testimony from friends, family, and neighbors who can attest to your safe driving
- proof that you completed a traffic school course to reacquaint yourself with strategies for driving safely
Once the P&M Hearing ends, the DMV hearing officer may decide either to:
- revoke your license if it appears there is no safe way for you ever to drive;
- keep your license suspended, though you can petition to reopen the case and ask for a new hearing in 94 days;
- reinstate your license on medical probation, requiring you to file regular medical reports attesting to your stability;
- impose an “end action,” which is where your license is reinstated without conditions because your epilepsy is well-controlled; or
- impose a “set aside,” which is where your license is reinstated without conditions because the hearing officer finds that you do not have epilepsy at all.
4. What happens if the DMV decides I cannot drive safely?
The DMV has many options for restricting epileptic drivers. Not all of them involve revoking or suspending your driving privileges.
If the DMV determines that your seizure disorder negatively affects your ability to drive safely, the DMV may:
- issue you a restricted license that contains restrictions on where and when you may drive,4
- issue you a “limited-term license” for one or two years, or
- place you on type II or type III medical probation, which allows you to keep your license subject to certain conditions (such as submitting ongoing medical reports or reexaminations).5
4.1. Medical probation
Medical Probation Type II is for drivers who have achieved three to five months of control over seizures and lapse of consciousness (“seizure-free periods”). You are required to authorize your treating physician to:
- complete the Driver Medical Evaluation form and
- submit it to DMV on a prescribed basis.6
Medical Probation Type III is for drivers who have achieved six or more months of control, but due to contributing factors there is a slight possibility of another seizure or lapse of consciousness. Medical probation Type III requires you to report, in writing, on a regular basis to the DMV on the status of your disorder.7
The California DMV may revoke or suspend your driver’s license due to epilepsy, seizures, or other neurological consciousness disorders.
For additional help…
For additional guidance or to discuss your case with a criminal defense lawyer, we invite you to contact our law firm at the Shouse Law Group. Our attorneys provide both free consultations and legal advice you can trust.
Also visit the Epilepsy Foundation and the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV.ca.gov).
Legal References:
- California Department of Motor Vehicles’ website – Lapse of Consciousness Disorders. Drivers who experience fainting or syncopes are at risk of losing their license even if they do not have seizures.
- California Department of Motor Vehicles’ website – Lapse of Consciousness Disorders. See also Wang v. Heck (Court of Appeal of California, Second Appellate District, Division Four, 2012) 203 Cal. App. 4th 677; Mason v. Office of Admin. Hearings (.
- Mayo Clinic website – Epilepsy. Primary generalized seizures initiate with an extensive electric discharge that simultaneously involves both hemispheres of the brain. Various hereditary factors play a crucial role in the occurrence of such seizures. These types of seizures (Grand Mal) may lead to shaking, bladder incontinence, and tongue biting. Meanwhile, partial seizures arise due to an electric discharge in a limited area of the brain. Several factors such as brain infection, head injury, stroke, tumor, or cortical dysplasia (changes in the development of a brain area prior to birth) may cause partial seizures. In some instances, there may be no apparent cause, and genetic factors may contribute to the development of these seizures. Depending on your level of consciousness and awareness, partial seizures may or may not result in convulsions or a lapse in consciousness. You may only experience a momentary “loss of time” while still being able to perform your routine functions. You may experience various seizure types and accompanying neurological symptoms. Though the seizure’s symptoms may impact any part of the body, the electrical events causing the seizure occur in the brain. The event’s location, how it spreads, and the extent of the affected area in the brain all significantly affect your condition. Suffering from seizures may also adversely affect your job, social life, safety, and ability to drive a vehicle. Note that lapses in consciousness are prevalent with diseases other than epilepsy, such as sleep apnea, diabetic events due to hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia, brain tumors, dementia and other cognitive disorders, and Alzheimer’s disease.
- See same. California Vehicle Code 12806 CVC.
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