Getting Used to New Glasses: What’s Normal in the First Two Weeks and When to Come Back
13 October 2026
07:18
Almost everyone remembers reading a number plate at the start of their driving test. Very few people realise that the standard did not stop applying the moment they passed.
Meeting the eyesight requirement is a continuing obligation for as long as you hold a licence. Nobody re-checks it for you, there is no reminder, and for most drivers the only point at which anyone looks is if something has already gone wrong.
This is what the standard actually is, how to check yourself against it, and when you are obliged to tell DVLA something.
Requirement | What it means | How to check |
|---|---|---|
Number plate at 20 metres | Read a plate about five car lengths away | Try it in daylight, with correction if worn |
Visual acuity 6/12 or better | Both eyes open, or one eye if monocular | Measured at an eye examination |
Adequate field of vision | Enough peripheral awareness to drive safely | Field test at an examination |
Wear correction if needed | Every time you drive, without exception | Keep a spare pair in the car |
Tell DVLA where required | Eyesight problems affecting both eyes | Check the DVLA A to Z of conditions |
Stricter rules for lorry and bus | Higher acuity and wider field required | Ask your optometrist to assess against those |
The number plate test is the one everybody knows, but it is not the whole standard. Acuity and field of vision matter too, and neither is something you can reliably self-assess at the roadside.
You must be able to read a number plate from 20 metres — about the length of five parked cars. If you wear glasses or contact lenses to do it, that is entirely fine; the standard is about what you can see, not whether you need help to see it.
If you want to check yourself honestly, do it in daylight, on a clean plate, standing still, wearing whatever correction you normally drive in. Do not try to work it out from memory or by guessing at the shapes. And if you find yourself leaning in, or you can manage it on a good day but not a dull one, treat that as a result rather than a pass.
Alongside the number plate test, there is a measured standard: at least 6/12 on the Snellen scale, with both eyes open, or in the single eye if you have sight in only one. That is a clinical measurement rather than something to judge for yourself, and it is taken as a matter of course during an eye examination.
You need an adequate field of vision. This is the one most people have never considered, and it is also the hardest to notice losing, because the brain fills in missing areas so convincingly. Conditions such as glaucoma affect peripheral vision first and silently, which is covered in our piece on glaucoma and OCT scanning.
Drivers of lorries and buses are held to stricter requirements on both acuity and field. If you drive professionally, say so at your appointment so you are assessed against the correct standard.
If you need glasses or contact lenses to meet the standard, you must wear them every time you drive. Not usually, not on long journeys. Every time. A spare pair in the glovebox is a sensible precaution and costs very little.
This causes a lot of unnecessary worry, so here is the shape of it.
You must tell DVLA about an eyesight problem affecting both eyes, or your remaining eye if you have sight in only one. The rules specifically exclude short sightedness, long sightedness and colour blindness — so an ordinary prescription is not something to report.
Conditions that may need reporting include those affecting the field of vision or causing double vision. DVLA publishes an A to Z of medical conditions setting out what to do for each, and that is the place to check rather than relying on general articles including this one.
Two practical points. Telling DVLA is not the same as losing your licence — many conditions are perfectly compatible with continuing to drive, sometimes with conditions attached. And if you are unsure whether something applies to you, ask your optometrist; we would far rather have that conversation than have you guess.
Licences must be renewed at 70 and every three years after that. Renewal involves declaring that you meet the eyesight standard.
It is a self-declaration, which is where a genuine problem sits. Gradual vision change is difficult to notice from the inside — cataract in particular develops so slowly that people adapt without ever registering that anything has altered. Somebody can sign that declaration in complete good faith while no longer meeting the standard.
The straightforward answer is to have an eye examination before you renew, so the declaration is based on a measurement rather than an impression. It is a ten-minute conversation to arrange and it removes the doubt entirely. Our article on cataracts explains why this age group in particular is worth checking.
Worth separating out, because people conflate the two.
You can comfortably meet the legal standard and still find night driving genuinely difficult. The standard is measured in good light; night driving asks for contrast sensitivity and glare tolerance, neither of which a chart captures.
So “I passed the number plate test” does not mean there is nothing to address. Uncorrected astigmatism, an out-of-date prescription, early cataract and uncoated lenses all make night driving harder while leaving you comfortably legal. We have written about that in detail in night driving and winter glare, and the underlying cause is most often the one explained in astigmatism explained.
This is the most common reason people book with us in autumn, and it is a perfectly good reason. You are not asking us to pass or fail you; you are asking for a measurement so you know.
Our examinations run a full forty minutes and include acuity, field assessment and OCT imaging. Tell us at booking that driving is the reason, because it changes what we concentrate on and what we explain at the end. If you want to know what each stage involves, what happens at an eye test sets it out.
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You must be able to read a number plate from 20 metres, about the length of five parked cars. You must also have visual acuity of at least 6/12 on the Snellen scale with both eyes open, or in the single eye if you have sight in only one, and an adequate field of vision. Glasses or contact lenses may be used to meet the standard.
If you need glasses or contact lenses to meet the standard of vision for driving, you must wear them every time you drive. Not just on long journeys or at night. Keeping a spare pair in the car is a sensible precaution, since the usual reason people drive without correction is having left it somewhere.
Roughly the length of five parked cars. It is further than most people assume, which is why the honest way to check yourself is in daylight, standing still, with whatever correction you normally drive in, rather than estimating from memory or guessing at letter shapes.
You must tell DVLA about an eyesight problem affecting both eyes, or your remaining eye if you have sight in only one. Short sightedness, long sightedness and colour blindness are specifically excluded. DVLA publishes an A to Z of medical conditions setting out what applies, and that is the place to check for your specific situation.
Renewal at 70, and every three years after, involves declaring that you meet the eyesight standard. It is a self-declaration rather than a test. Because gradual vision change is hard to notice from the inside, having an eye examination before renewing means the declaration is based on a measurement rather than an impression
Yes. Drivers of lorries and buses are held to stricter requirements for both visual acuity and field of vision. If you drive professionally, tell your optometrist at the appointment so you are assessed against the correct standard rather than the ordinary car licence one.
Yes, and it is common. The legal standard is measured in good light, whereas night driving depends on contrast sensitivity and glare tolerance, neither of which a chart captures. Uncorrected astigmatism, an out-of-date prescription, early cataract and uncoated lenses all make night driving harder while leaving you comfortably legal.
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