British Columbia form
RoadSafetyBC Driver's Medical Examination Report (DMER)
RoadSafetyBC uses the Driver's Medical Examination Report to decide whether a person is medically fit to drive. You are not issuing or cancelling a licence. You are reporting cognition, vision, and physical function so an adjudicator can apply the CCMTA medical standards with B.C. guidelines.
What the DMER is
RoadSafetyBC mails or issues the DMER to the driver. The driver brings it to a doctor or nurse practitioner. You examine, complete, and fax it. Do not email copies, and do not send duplicates. The fax number is on the current government page.
A DMER may be required because the driver is 80 or older, holds a commercial class, has a known medical condition, or because RoadSafetyBC received a report from a clinician, family member, police, or ICBC. The report is not a road test.
Mandatory reporting is separate
Doctors, nurse practitioners, psychologists, and optometrists in B.C. must report a patient they believe may be medically unfit to drive. Completing a DMER when RoadSafetyBC asked for one does not replace that duty if you form that belief on another visit.
Who completes it
A physician or nurse practitioner. MSP may cover a DMER for a known or suspected medical condition up to a stated maximum; the driver may be billed the rest. Age-based commercial or senior DMERs follow the billing rules on the current RoadSafetyBC page, not this guide.
How to complete the exam
- Identify the licence class. Class 1–4 is a different functional bar than Class 5.
- Vision: acuity and fields as the form requires. If you cannot do fields properly, say so and do not guess.
- Cognition: attention, memory, judgment, visuospatial. A clock-draw or similar office test belongs here if you used one. 'Alert and oriented' is not a driving-cognition exam.
- Neurologic and musculoskeletal function that affects steering, pedals, head check, and sustained sitting.
- Conditions that cause sudden impairment: seizure, syncope, sleep apnea, insulin-treated diabetes, alcohol, drugs. Include last event dates and treatment adherence.
- Medications that sedate. Name them. 'On several meds' is not usable.
- Your opinion on fitness, restrictions you would support, and whether a functional driving assessment is needed. RoadSafetyBC decides.
If the driver minimizes symptoms and the family sitting in the waiting room describes getting lost on familiar routes, write both. The adjudicator needs the conflict.
Worked example (fictional)
Class 5, age 81 — mild cognitive change
Fictional 81-year-old. Do not copy into a real DMER.
Licence: Class 5. Reason for DMER: age 80+. Vision: 20/30 OU with correction. No field cut on confrontation. Cognition: MoCA 23/30 (missed cube, delayed recall 1/5, serial 7s 2/5). Clock-draw numbers correct, hands off. Knows own medications. Daughter reports one missed turn on a familiar grocery route in the last 3 months; no crashes, no getting lost overnight. Neuro/MSK: walks with a cane outdoors, neck rotation adequate for shoulder-check, can operate pedals, no parkinsonism, no recent syncope. Sleep: no witnessed apneas. Alcohol: 2 beer/week. Meds: ramipril, atorvastatin, donepezil 5 mg. No benzodiazepines. Opinion: possible early cognitive impairment. I cannot clear unrestricted Class 5 on this exam alone. Recommend RoadSafetyBC consider an enhanced road assessment. No emergency unfitness today — no acute delirium, no seizure, no visual failure. Faxed; no email copy.
Why RoadSafetyBC cannot use the form
- Missing licence class or driver number.
- Cognition left as 'normal' in an 80-year-old without any test.
- Illegible exam, or a form completed from the chart without seeing the driver.
- Contradicting yourself: 'unfit' in the comment and 'fit' in the tick box.
- Emailing the DMER after faxing it.
Draft the DMER from the driver exam
In Scribeberry, open Forms, search for the RoadSafetyBC driver's medical, or upload the current DMER PDF. Generate from the encounter and your notes, then edit every field before you fax. Scribeberry does not pre-map this form. You still review and sign.
Frequently asked questions
Who pays for a DMER?
MSP may cover a DMER for a known or suspected medical condition up to the maximum on the RoadSafetyBC page. The driver may pay any remainder. Confirm the current rule before you bill. Age-based or commercial exams are not always covered the same way.
What if the driver lost the mailed DMER?
ICBC can issue a replacement at no charge. You should not invent a blank substitute. Use the official report.
Does a DMER include a road test?
No. If you think a functional drive is needed, say so. RoadSafetyBC may order an enhanced road assessment, an occupational therapy assessment, or a re-examination.
Does Scribeberry fax the DMER?
No. Scribeberry helps you complete the PDF from the exam. You fax it as RoadSafetyBC instructs and keep a copy in the chart.
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