A bus driver must have a medical certificate — a health approval for bus driving. Here are the central requirements for vision, health status and renewal.
Introduction
All who seek a driver's license for buses (cat. D or D1) and all who renew such a license must have a medical certificate (health approval) from a doctor. The certificate confirms that you medically meet the requirements for bus driver operation.
The most important requirements
- 01Vision: enhanced vision requirements for group 2 driving licences (bus, truck). Vision acuity, visual field and colour vision are checked. Corrective glasses are permitted within set limits.
- 02General health: no conditions that reduce driving ability, e.g. uncontrolled epilepsy, serious heart/circulatory disease or substance abuse.
- 03Medicine: medicine that affects reaction ability can disqualify — inform your doctor about all medicine.
Validity and renewal
Group 2 driving licence (bus) is issued for a maximum of 5 years at a time — shorter than for a car. Validity shortens with increasing age (e.g. down to 4 years from age 70) and can be further shortened by health conditions. The exact validity periods depend on your age and health and are set out in the driving licence regulations — clarify this specifically with your doctor and the Road Authority.
Vision requirements in group 2
Buses and lorries fall under category 2, where vision requirements are stricter than for an ordinary car driving license (category 1). The requirements are set out in the Danish Patient Safety Authority's guidance on health requirements for driving licenses. Glasses or contact lenses count when visual acuity is measured — it is vision with correction that must meet the requirement.
| Requirement | Group 2 (bus/truck) |
|---|---|
| Visual acuity, best eye | At least 0.8 |
| Visual acuity, worst eye | At least 0.1 |
| Horizontal field of view | At least 160° (at least 70° to each side) |
| Vertical field of view | At least 30° up and down |
| Central visual field | No defects within the central 30° |
| Double vision (diplopia) | Must not occur |
Illnesses with observation period
A number of chronic conditions can suddenly impair driving ability (loss of consciousness, seizures, sleep attacks). Therefore, the guidance requires a documented, symptom-free observation period and often more frequent renewal for group 2. The most important:
- 01Epilepsy: group 2 is significantly stricter than group 1 — generally requires several years of documented seizure freedom (up to 10 years) and typically without anti-seizure medication during the period. Always assessed individually.
- 02Diabetes with risk of hypoglycaemia: no cases of severe hypoglycaemia within the last 12 months. If treated with insulin or other medication with hypo-risk, group 2 driving licence is issued with individual time restriction of at most 3 years.
- 03Obstruktiv søvnapnø (OSAS): moderat/svær søvnapnø (AHI ≥ 15) med udtalt træthed kræver dokumenteret, velbehandlet tilstand — fx CPAP brugt mere end 4 timer pr. nat på mere end 70 % af nætterne.
- 04Cardiovascular disease: serious heart disease, poorly controlled blood pressure or conditions with risk of loss of consciousness are assessed individually and may exclude group 2 driving.
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