Registering

To register you will need to be certified as blind or severely sight impaired by an eye specialist (a consultant ophthalmologist). You will normally need to see your GP first, and they can then refer you.

If the eye specialist decides you should be registered they will fill in a certification form. If you agree, a copy can be sent to your local authority social services department, who will then contact you to arrange for your name to be added to their register.

You will be registered from the date that the eye specialist signed your certification form.

If there is a delay in putting you on the register there is a special concession. You can claim blind person’s allowance for the previous tax year if you had been certified blind during that year even though you were not registered until the next tax year.