When the Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles (OSMV) is determining a driver’s fitness to drive, they will mail a Driver Medical Examination Report (DMER) to the driver and ask the driver to have their physician complete it.  If you, as a physician, receive a DMER from your patient and your patient is suspected of having a cognitive impairment, administer a SIMARD MD screening test. Enter the SIMARD MD score on the DMER. On completion of the DMER, fax a copy to the OSMV as directed on the report.

The OSMV will review the completed DMER and any other information on your patient’s driving record to determine if your patient can continue to drive. If the OSMV is unable to make this determination from the available information, the OSMV may require your patient to undergo further medical or functional assessments (e.g. DriveABLE).

If the OSMV determines that your patient is not fit to drive, they will mail a letter to your patient explaining that decision, and ICBC will send a follow-up letter revoking their driver’s license.

If the OSMV determines your patient is safe to continue driving, the OSMV does not send any correspondence to your patient. To confirm the OSMV fitness to drive determination, your patient can phone the OSMV toll-free at 1-855-387-7747.  If you, as a physician, have questions about OSMV forms or Driver Fitness procedures, you can phone an OSMV hotline in Victoria which is just for medical professionals: 250-953-8612.