Monitoring the medical fitness to drive

Monitoring the medical fitness to drive is an essential part of driving licence supervision performed by the police. Drivers with an insufficient state of health for driving constitute a great risk not only to their own safety but also to the safety of other road users. 

In the following, we present different processes for monitoring the fitness to drive. They are based on the active participation of the driving licence holder, the police and health care professionals. 

Age-related health checks, driving licence issued before 19 January 2013

You must periodically submit a medical certificate of your continuing fitness to drive to the police if

• you have the right to drive a lorry or a bus,
• you reside permanently in Finland and
• your driving licence was issued before 19 January 2013. 

A medical certificate must be submitted within two months of each of the dates when you reach the age of 50, 55, 60 or 65. 

You do not need to submit a medical certificate if 

• by the date the deadline count begins, less than five years have passed since you last proved that you meet the health requirements by submitting a medical certificate to the police in connection with, for example, upgrading of your driving licence category.
• your driving licence has been replaced with a duplicate copy or a new driving licence, for example, when a marking of a special condition has been attached to your licence.

The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom sends you a reminder of your obligation to submit a medical certificate about a month before you turn 50, 55, 60 or 65. 

The physician usually sends the certificate directly to the police. You can also personally deliver the certificate to the police station of your place of residence.

You can submit a medical certificate to the police in person by bringing it to the police station or sending it by letter. You can also send a medical report by email, in which case we recommend using a police safety email. In some cases, the police may also ask you to provide the original medical certificate by letter.

Medical fitness to drive of the holders of foreign driving licences residing permanently in Finland

 You must periodically submit a medical certificate of your continuing fitness to drive to the police if

• you have a driving licence issued in an EU or EEA Member State or elsewhere abroad,
• you reside permanently in Finland,
• your foreign driving licence entitles you to operate motor vehicles in Finland,
• the validity of the foreign driving licence is longer than that of Finnish driving licences (2–15 years, depending on the driving licence category and the age of the driver). 

Submit a medical certificate or comprehensive medical report to the police as follows:

• A comprehensive medical report when you have a category 1 driving licence, you have turned 70 and more than five years have elapsed since the granting of your foreign driving licence.
• A medical certificate when you have a category 2 driving licence, you have turned 45 and more than five years have elapsed since the granting of your foreign driving licence.
• A comprehensive medical report when you have a category 2 driving licence, you have turned 70 and more than two years have elapsed since the granting of your foreign driving licence.

After having fulfilled the obligation to submit the medical certificate for the first time, you must present a new certificate at the intervals specified above.

The medical certificate must be submitted within two months of the relevant points in time. 

The physician usually sends the certificate directly to the police. You can also personally deliver the certificate to the police station of your place of residence.

A police order on submitting a medical certificate or completing a driving demonstration or a driving test

The police may order you to submit a medical certificate or a comprehensive medical report about you meeting the health requirements by a specific date if there is reason to suspect that

• you no longer meet the health requirements for being granted a driving licence permit, or
• due to your state of health, you can no longer drive safely the kind of vehicle which you have a right to drive.

On the same grounds, you can be ordered to submit a certificate of the completion of a driving demonstration or a new driving test by a specific date.

Notifications by physicians, nurses and public health nurses on medical fitness to drive

Physicians must notify the police if they find that you no longer meet the medical standards for a driving licence due to continuous use of intoxicants or health impairment other than on a temporary basis.

Nurses and public health nurses also have the right to notify the police if you no longer meet the health requirements pursuant to the Driving Licence Act due to continuous use of intoxicants.

Prior to submitting the notification, the health care professionals must inform you about their obligation or right to submit a notification and the impact of the state of health on the fitness to drive.

More detailed instructions on how to assess medical fitness to drive and submit the notification, as well as the form used for submitting the notification can be found on the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom’s website.