Driver's Licensing: Medical Review

Bioptic Telescopic Lens Wearers

Minimum Vision Requirements

Visual Acuity: must be 20/200 or better in one or both eyes through the carrier lens (eyeglasses), AND must be 20/70 or better in one or both eyes through the bioptic telescopic lens, which must be mounted to the carrier lens.

Horizontal Vision (without field expanders): must be 70 degrees or better. If one eye only, standard is 40 degrees or better temporal and 30 degrees nasal.

License Restrictions
Bioptic drivers are subject to the following minimum restrictions:

1. The licensee must wear the bioptic and the carrier lens while driving.
   
   
2. Driving is permitted during daylight hours only (beginning 1/2 hour after sunrise and ending 1/2 hour before sunset).

   NOTE: This restriction may be lifted after one year if the licensee’s visual acuity is 20/40 or better in one or both eyes without field expanders and the licensee can pass a night driving road skill examination.
   
   

3. Endorsements to drive special vehicles, such as buses, large trucks, commercial vehicles, and motorcycles, are not permitted.

How to Apply for a License
Persons who meet the vision requirements may apply to be tested for an instruction permit or driver’s license by submitting the following forms to DMV.

• Driver’s License, Identification Card, and Voter Registration Application (DL1M)
• Vision Examination for Bioptic Telescopic Lens Wearers (MED 40) 14Kb in PDF format.
  Have your eye care practitioner complete the top portion; you will complete the bottom portion.
• Certification of Use of Bioptic Telescopic Lens (MED 41) 15Kb in PDF Format.
  Have your eye care practitioner complete the top portion; you will complete the bottom portion.
• Driver Education Completion Certificate -- Not required for applicants 19 or older.
  To be completed by a driver education instructor.

Please submit all required forms at the same time. All forms must contain all requested information and be signed. You may present the forms at any DMV Customer Service Center or mail them to the address below.

Your application documents will be reviewed by DMV’s Medical Review Services staff to certify whether you are eligible to be tested. If you are eligible to the take the license examinations, DMV will send you a letter within 30 days telling you how to schedule the examinations.

Testing for an Instruction Permit
The following examinations must be passed before an instruction permit can be issued:

1. Knowledge Exam -- This examination requires you to answer questions about driving rules, regulations, and laws. (The examination will be given orally upon request.) To prepare for the examination, please study the Virginia driver’s manual.
2. Pre-skills Exam -- As a passenger in a DMV vehicle, you will be asked by the license examiner to identify objects through your bioptic and your carrier lens while the vehicle is moving and stationary.

If you pass these examinations, you will be issued an instruction permit at that time.

Testing for a Driver's License
You must first pass the knowledge and pre-skills examinations described above. If you have already done so and have a valid instruction permit, you will not have to retake these examinations.

The final test required is the road skills examination that will be conducted by the license examiner. You will provide the vehicle in which to be examined. The license examiner will ride as a passenger in the car and tell you where to drive and what driving maneuvers to perform. The examination will last about 30 minutes.

If you pass the examination(s), you will be issued a driver’s license at that time.

Forms, Additional Information, or Assistance
Additional information is available on the Driver Licensing Information for Bioptic Telescopic Lens Wearers (MED44) information sheet.

To receive forms, additional information, or assistance, you may:

Call	toll free 1-866-DMVLINE (1-866-368-5463) or 1-800-435-5137(Voice) 1-800-272-9268 (Deaf or Hearing Impaired only)
Write	Department of Motor Vehicles Medical Review Services P.O. Box 27412 Richmond, Virginia 23219-0001
Contact	any DMV customer service center