To report an unsafe driver to the DMV, submit a written driver reexamination request to your state’s motor vehicle agency describing the specific unsafe behaviors you have personally witnessed, with dates, times, and locations. The process is free, usually keeps your identity confidential, and asks the agency to decide whether the driver should be called in for vision, knowledge, road, or medical testing before keeping their license. It is not the tool for an emergency happening right now.
When to Call 911 Instead
If you are watching someone drive erratically at this moment and people could get hurt, call 911. Law enforcement can respond in real time, pull the driver over, and assess the situation on the spot. A DMV report is not built for that.
The reexamination process is the right move when you have noticed a pattern that points to a lasting problem: a neighbor who regularly drifts into oncoming traffic, a parent who has started running stop signs they used to handle without a thought. Those situations suggest a medical or cognitive issue rather than one bad afternoon, and the DMV can evaluate whether the person should still hold a license at all. Police responding to a single traffic call typically won’t take that step.
Who Can File
In most states, anyone can submit a request for driver reexamination. Concerned neighbor, friend, adult child, coworker: all fine. A handful of states restrict reports to specific categories of reporter, such as physicians, law enforcement, or members of the court system. If your state limits who can file, you will generally be directed to ask the driver’s physician or local police to make the referral instead.
Before filling anything out, check your state motor vehicle agency’s website to confirm whether citizen reports are accepted. Searching your state name plus “request for driver reexamination” will usually land you on the correct page.
The Physician Route
Six states require physicians or other healthcare providers to report patients whose medical conditions could impair driving: California, Delaware, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, and Pennsylvania. The triggering conditions vary but generally involve seizures, lapses of consciousness, and severe cognitive impairment. In other states, physician reporting is voluntary, and most medical licensing boards encourage it as a matter of patient and public safety.
If you are worried about a family member’s medical fitness to drive and cannot file the DMV report yourself, talking to their doctor is often the most effective path. Physicians in mandatory-reporting states have legal immunity for good-faith reports, and doctors in most voluntary-reporting states are also protected from civil liability when they flag a patient’s driving risk.
What Behaviors Actually Justify a Report
A DMV report carries the most weight when it describes a pattern, not a single bad day. The behaviors that typically prompt reexamination fall into a few categories:
- Vehicle control problems: repeated weaving between lanes, drifting onto shoulders, or inability to stay centered in a lane.
- Navigation confusion: getting lost in familiar areas, driving the wrong way on one-way streets, or turning from incorrect lanes.
- Reaction-time failures: running red lights or stop signs, delayed braking, or multiple near-misses with other vehicles or pedestrians.
- Speed inconsistency: driving well below the speed limit on highways, or accelerating and braking unpredictably.
- Physical signs of impairment: observable difficulty turning the steering wheel, checking mirrors, or operating the vehicle’s controls.
You do not need to diagnose the driver. Most states explicitly instruct reporters to describe driving behavior rather than speculate about medical conditions. “She drove through a red light at Oak and Main on three separate occasions last month” is far more useful to a reviewing officer than “I think she has dementia.” The agency will determine the cause; your job is to document what you saw.
Two limits worth knowing before you file. Age alone is never a valid basis for a report. Neither is a medical diagnosis by itself, unless the condition is actively producing dangerous driving behavior that you have personally witnessed. A DMV report is about what someone does behind the wheel, not how old they are or what appears on their medical chart.
What the Form Asks For
Each state uses its own form, commonly titled “Request for Driver Reexamination,” “Driver Condition Report,” or “Letter of Concern.” You can download it from your state motor vehicle agency’s website or pick one up at a local office. Expect to provide:
- The driver’s identity: full legal name, date of birth, and home address. If you do not have all three, provide what you can. A license plate number and the vehicle’s make, model, and color help the agency identify the person.
- Your own identity: most states require your name and contact information. Anonymous reports are generally not accepted because the agency needs a way to follow up for clarification.
- Detailed observations: specific dates, times, and locations of each incident. The more documented entries, the stronger the case for reexamination.
Write your observations in plain, factual language, and stick to what you personally saw. “On June 3 at approximately 2 p.m., the driver crossed the center line on Elm Street and nearly struck an oncoming vehicle” gives the reviewer something concrete. “He’s a terrible driver and shouldn’t be on the road” does not. Most forms also ask about physical signs, such as difficulty moving the driver’s arms or appearing disoriented.
Sign the form. Unsigned submissions are typically rejected without review.
How to Submit It
The most common method is mail. The form usually lists an address that routes to a driver safety or medical review unit rather than a general DMV counter. Many states also accept forms dropped off in person at a local branch. Some agencies offer fax submission, and a growing number provide online portals or accept scanned forms by email.
The form itself typically lists every accepted method. If you mail it, consider using certified mail or at least keeping a copy for your records; the agency will not usually send a confirmation of receipt.
What Happens After You File
Your report does not automatically trigger a reexamination. A staff member at the agency’s driver safety or medical review unit first screens it to decide whether the information is specific enough and credible enough to justify action. Vague complaints with no dates or details are more likely to be set aside. Reports backed by multiple documented incidents, or corroborated by a physician or law enforcement, carry more weight.
If the agency moves forward, the driver receives a written notice requiring them to appear for reexamination. Depending on what your report flagged, that can include vision screening, a written knowledge test, a behind-the-wheel road test, or a medical evaluation form that the driver’s own physician has to complete. The agency tailors the testing to the concerns raised. A report about confusion and wrong-way driving will likely prompt a knowledge test and medical evaluation; a report focused on physical difficulty operating the vehicle might lead to a road test and a look at whether adaptive equipment could help.
Possible Outcomes
After reexamination, the agency lands on one of several outcomes:
- No action: the driver passes everything and the case closes.
- License restrictions: corrective lenses, daytime-only driving, no freeway driving, or required adaptive equipment. For progressive conditions, the agency may also require periodic medical updates.
- Suspension: temporary, often until the driver provides medical clearance or passes a later reexamination.
- Revocation: reserved for cases where no restriction can adequately address the safety risk.
Restrictions are more common than outright revocations. Most state programs aim to keep people driving as long as they can do it safely rather than pulling licenses at the first sign of trouble. A driver with early-stage vision loss, for example, might lose nighttime privileges but keep daytime driving for years. Dementia is the notable exception: most agencies will not issue a restricted license to someone with dementia because the condition itself means the driver may not reliably follow the restrictions.
Will the Driver Find Out It Was You
Usually not. Most states keep the reporter’s identity confidential by law, meaning the driver cannot obtain your name even by requesting their own file. The point of the protection is practical: people would not report unsafe family members or neighbors if they feared retaliation.
Confidentiality also runs in the other direction. You will not receive updates about what the agency decides to do, because the driver’s medical and licensing information is protected from you. If the person you reported is still on the road months later, that could mean they passed reexamination, or that the process is still underway. Nothing stops you from filing an additional report if you observe new incidents.
Your Legal Exposure
Filing in good faith carries minimal personal risk. Most states extend legal immunity to reporters, meaning the driver cannot successfully sue you for filing as long as you were not knowingly lying. Filing a deliberately false report to harass someone or settle a personal grudge is a different matter and can expose you to penalties. Stick to factual observations you personally witnessed, and you are on solid ground.