Is it possible to replace a driver's license after 60 years of age?

This is when older drivers will not be able to renew their driver's license.

We all know that driver’s licenses in our country are issued from the age of 18 for a period of ten years. After this period, drivers are required to exchange their license for a new one after undergoing a mandatory medical examination, including a visit to a narcologist and a psychiatrist. And if you have no health problems (no contraindications to driving), you are not registered with a drug treatment clinic, or with a psychiatrist, then you will be given a medical certificate without any problems, which is necessary to replace your license.

In this case, you just need to pay the state fee, contact the traffic police or the MFC (in Moscow “My Documents”) with a corresponding application, attaching a valid medical certificate with notes from a psychiatrist and narcologist. But what about older people who may have health problems? How can older drivers change their license?

In our country, in fact, there is no direct ban on driving by older drivers. Even an 80-90 year old person can get behind the wheel. The only thing is that the driver should not have medical contraindications to driving, and he should not be registered with a drug treatment clinic or a psychiatrist. That is, it doesn’t matter what age you are. The main thing is a valid medical certificate, which gives you the right to renew your driver’s license for a new period. Thus, it turns out that, in principle, for medical reasons, it will not be possible to extend the license not only for older people who may have diseases that prevent them from driving, but also for younger motorists who, for medical reasons, are prohibited from driving.

However, for older people it is a little more difficult to obtain a medical certificate confirming the absence of contraindications. After all, the older a person is, the more various chronic diseases he may have. And, unfortunately, many diseases can be an obstacle to driving, since in this case the person behind the wheel poses a real danger to road users.

Naturally, when passing a medical driver's examination, attention to older people is much greater. True, if we are talking about a medical commission in state medical institutions. In commercial medical organizations, it is much easier for older people to undergo a medical examination. You understand that any commercial organization is interested in issuing the maximum number of medical certificates. After all, for many of them this is, in fact, their main income.

But this does not mean that older drivers are more likely to pass a driver's test at commercial medical centers. Not so simple. Although there really is some truth in this. In a regular clinic, such a patient may not undergo a medical examination. Especially at your place of residence (in your district clinic, where the driver’s medical record is stored). Indeed, in the clinic at the place of residence, doctors who will examine an older driver can familiarize themselves with the driver’s medical history, paying attention to all the chronic diseases he has.

In this case, if some chronic diseases do not allow a person to drive, then most likely he will not pass the driver’s examination. In commercial medical centers, as a rule, there is no access to your medical record, since it is stored in the district clinic to which you are assigned. This means that in most cases, a commercial medical institution will issue you a certificate of authorization to drive a vehicle without any problems. True, this does not mean that in our country there is a 100% way to avoid losing your license due to contraindications to driving.

Replacing a driver's license after 60 years of age: how to change your license after sixty

Is it necessary to replace a driver's license after 60 years of age? Are there any age thresholds in current legislation? Such questions are often asked by people over sixty who want to get their license.

Is it possible to get a driver's license?

As stated in Article 26 of the Federal Code No. 196, persons who have reached a certain age can take the driver's license exam. The following rules apply today:

persons over 16 years of age can drive a vehicle of categories A1 and M;
Driving cars of categories A, B, B1, C, C1 can be driven by persons over 18 years of age. But people over 17 years old can take exams for these categories;
to obtain a driving license for categories D, D1, Tm and Tb, you must be 21 years old;
pass a medical examination and have no health restrictions;
study at a driving school or other licensed institution.

Thus, the current legislation contains restrictions on the minimum age threshold for future motorists. That is, any person aged 60 years has the right to take exams and obtain a driver’s license for any category.

Medical examination process for driving license after 60 years of age

The stages of completing a medical commission to obtain a certificate are indicated in Appendix 1 to Order of the Ministry of Health No. 344-n dated June 15, 2015. You can undergo a medical examination:

in private clinics that have the appropriate license;
in public hospitals.

Examination by a psychiatrist and narcologist is carried out only in municipal health care institutions at the place of permanent or temporary registration. At the time of examination it is necessary to undergo the following specialists:

therapist or general practitioner. It is this specialist who signs the final conclusion and issues a certificate of completion of the commission;
ophthalmologist;
psychiatrist;
narcologist. When checked by this specialist, you need to take a urine test to detect prohibited substances.

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The therapist may prescribe other doctors:

neurologist. Each future driver is sent to undergo electroencephalography;
otorhinolaryngologist.

To avoid any difficulties when passing the medical examination, you need to provide the following package of documents:

current ECG results;
if the driver has chronic pathologies, you must provide an extract from the medical record, which can be obtained at the place of observation;
If you have vision problems, you need to undergo an examination with glasses or contact lenses.

After passing the medical examination, a certificate is issued with the following marked items:

the name of the medical institution that issued the certificate. Address, contact details and details of the active license;
Full name of the future driver;
Date of Birth;
permanent registration address;
date of document execution;
medical report, which was the result of the examination performed;
a list of categories of vehicles to which the future driver is allowed;
health restrictions that were identified during the examination;
Full name of the doctor who issued the certificate;
seal of a medical institution.

Thus, rights are replaced after 60 years or any other age.

Are there any health restrictions?

If you decide to change or get a new license, you should know the list of diseases, the presence of which will not allow you to drive a vehicle:

mental disorders, regardless of what provoked them. This may be a consequence of long-term use of any medications, the consequences of any disease;
schizophrenia and other disorders leading to delusions;
depression, sudden mood swings, panic attacks;
disorders related to stressful situations;
other personality disorders;
mental disorders that appeared due to adulthood;
mental retardation. This medical term is characteristic of those people who cannot simply add numbers;
epilepsy;
human inability to identify colors;
blindness.

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The unified list of contraindications is supplemented by restrictions that correspond to individual categories of the certificate.

People who have the following list of disabilities are not allowed to drive vehicles:

visual acuity is below 0.6;
surgical interventions performed on the eye shell;
the presence of chronic diseases of the eye membranes that lead to impaired human vision;
limited visibility angle (more than 20 degrees);
absence of both upper limbs;
the presence of diseases that provoke disruption of the vestibular apparatus.

In addition to contraindications, the Ministry of Health has also created a list of restrictions under which a person can drive a vehicle equipped with additional devices. Persons who have no contraindications, but have the following deviations, can drive vehicles or replace their licenses:

foot deformity;
absence of lower limbs;
paralysis of limbs;
impairment of motor function of the legs.

The following persons can drive a car with an automatic transmission:

who have no upper or lower limbs (no more than 1 arm or leg);
the presence of deformities in the arms or legs that complicate movement;
absence of more than two phalanges on one finger;
the presence of residual effects of damage to the nervous system.

If drivers are blind in one eye, they can drive a vehicle equipped with an acoustic parking system. If there is partial loss of vision or hearing, the driver must wear glasses or a hearing aid. This need is noted in the medical certificate.

Can the validity of an older driver's driver's license be limited?

Did you know that even if you received your license for a new term, you can lose it if you are found to have contraindications for driving? How so?

It's simple. Every year, the prosecutor's office checks a certain number of driver's licenses issued by the traffic police in order to identify drivers who have contraindications to driving a vehicle. How does such a procedure take place?

The prosecutor's office is asking the traffic police for a list of drivers who recently received a license for a new term. Next, inquiries are made about the drivers to the medical organizations that issued the medical certificates. Then, data is requested from government clinics to which the drivers who came under inspection are assigned. And if the clinic receives information about the presence of contraindications for driving a car for some drivers, then the prosecutor's office goes to court, which in the future will impose restrictions on the validity of newly issued driver's licenses.

More precisely, this procedure does not deprive the driver of his driving license, but only limits it. That is, if your health improves and no longer prevents you from driving, restrictions on your license can be lifted. In this case, you do not need to retake the exams at the traffic police, as after the end of the period of deprivation of rights. After all, in essence, you were not deprived of your rights, but only their scope was limited.

Validity period of the medical certificate

The most popular question remains: how long is a medical certificate for a driver’s license valid after 60 years for a man or woman?

Article 12 of the Order of the Ministry of Health No. 344 and the medical report is valid for 12 months from the date of its receipt. There are no divisions into risk groups, professional drivers, etc.

This means that, having received a medical certificate, a person over 60 years of age does not have to worry about a new document for 1 year.

Thus, any person over 18 years of age can obtain a driving license. To do this, you must obtain a medical certificate of fitness to drive a vehicle, undergo training at a driving school and successfully pass qualifying exams at the State Traffic Inspectorate.

There are no restrictions on the maximum age for driver candidates in the current legislation.

How to pay the state fee for an international driver's license is explained in the article: state fee for an international driver's license in 2020. For information on the decision to revoke a driver's license, see the page.

Find out what law governs the revocation of a driver's license from this information.

What diseases can cause a driver's license to be suspended?

In fact, within the framework of this article it is impossible to describe a complete list of diseases that interfere with driving, since there are so many of them. Moreover, each disease has a number of symptoms, some of which are grounds for restricting a driver’s license, while other symptoms may not restrict the driver’s driver’s license. And unfortunately, with the same disease, different people can have completely different symptoms. So, only doctors decide after an appropriate examination whether to restrict a person’s driver’s license or not.

The most common grounds for restricting a driver's license are illnesses associated with high or low blood pressure. Drivers who frequently have high blood pressure (hypertension) are at particular risk. Moreover, it is most dangerous when such drivers drive public transport or taxis. After all, such a driver poses a danger not only to all road users, but also to passengers. That is why drivers in bus depots, car depots and taxi companies must undergo a pre-trip medical examination every day.

In this case, the risk of a driver with high blood pressure being behind the wheel on a flight is reduced. Although it is worth recognizing that the procedure for medical pre-trip examinations in our country is not entirely transparent and many motor depots and fleets often turn a blind eye to the condition of their personnel, releasing drivers who are not entirely healthy for the flight, thereby jeopardizing the safety of road users and passengers.

But why is a person with high blood pressure dangerous on the road? Why, if systematic problems with blood pressure are detected, may the driver fail a medical examination? The fact is that high blood pressure is a huge risk of stroke and heart attack. Also, a person with high blood pressure may suddenly lose concentration on the road, moreover, he may even lose consciousness. And there are many such cases in our country.

So, hypertension (especially chronic) can become a basis for refusing to issue a medical certificate to renew a driver’s license? Yes maybe. This is especially true for older drivers, for whom hypertension is more dangerous, since their blood vessels are not in the same condition as those of young people. Therefore, older people suffering from hypertension have a greater risk of heart attack and stroke, as a result of which they often do not receive a positive conclusion from the driver's commission.

Neurological diseases can also interfere with the management of TS. For example, a common cause of health problems among older people are diseases of the musculoskeletal system, in particular herniated discs of the spine, which can pinch nerves, leading not only to numbness of the limbs, but also often cause disability due to limited freedom of movement.

Naturally, with this type of illness, an elderly person may not be issued a medical certificate to obtain a driver’s license for a new term.

Indeed, with spinal hernias, a person may suddenly lose sensitivity in their arms or legs, which is very dangerous when driving a car.

And, of course, the most important thing for any driver is vision, without which it is impossible to imagine driving any vehicle. Unfortunately, as most drivers age, their visual acuity decreases, which negatively affects the safety of driving. So, when undergoing the next medical examination, older people should be prepared that the ophthalmologist will reveal a decrease in the quality of their vision, which may at least result in them being allowed to drive a car only with glasses. However, there are many eye diseases that prevent driving even with glasses. Therefore, the older a person is, the more likely it is that he will not pass the driver’s examination to renew his driver’s license for a new term.

A complete list of diseases that may interfere with driving can be read in our other detailed article here.

Is there a unified database of diseases in Russia, and if so, does the traffic police have access to it?

No, there really is no such base. There are, of course, various internal databases of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. But neither the traffic police, nor the prosecutor’s office, nor any other organization have access to them. To obtain any information about the disease of a particular person, various government agencies must make a corresponding request to the Ministry of Health. Thus, the traffic police cannot directly find out whether the driver has diseases that prevent him from driving a vehicle.

Why haven’t the traffic police and other structures in Russia yet opened a database in which it would be possible to check any driver’s contraindications to driving? It's all about medical confidentiality. According to the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, information about diseases in a database available to various organizations can harm citizens if such information gets to unscrupulous people. That is, the Ministry of Health protects the confidentiality of patients in order to protect Russian citizens from attacks by scammers and unscrupulous people.

Although, as the traffic police recently stated, they do not need complete information about the diseases of drivers. Information about the presence of contraindications to driving will be sufficient. Simply put, there are restrictions or not. According to the traffic police, if we gain access to such a database in the country, it will be possible in a short period of time to restrict the driver’s licenses of a huge number of drivers who currently pose a danger on the road. This is especially true for drivers who are registered with a narcologist and a psychiatrist.