Registering as sight impaired or severely sight impaired in Scotland

How do I register as sight impaired or severely sight impaired?

Your GP or optician can refer you to an eye specialist (ophthalmologist) who will be able to conduct assessments to determine if you meet the criteria to be registered as either sight impaired or severely sight impaired.
They will assess your vision and complete a Certificate of Vision Impairment (CVI) Scotland form if you meet the criteria, certifying you as either sight impaired or severely sight impaired.
They will then discuss registration with you and, if you consent to being registered, they will send a copy of your CVI form to your local authority service that manages this, often known as the Social Services Sensory Impairment Team.
Social services in your local council will then contact you to arrange an assessment of your needs and discuss being part of the official register. They will be able to advise what specialist visual impairment support they can provide.
If you were not registered in the early stages of your sight loss diagnosis and are interested in being registered now, speak to your eye clinic or social worker who can support you with the process.

The Certificate of Vision Impairment (CVI)

In Scotland, the Certificate of Vision Impairment (CVI) certifies someone as sight impaired (SI) or severely sight impaired (SSI). Being registered means that you will be added to your local authority’s register of sight impaired or severely sight impaired people.

Helpful things to note are that:

‘Sight impaired’ and ‘severely sight impaired’ have replaced the terms ‘partially sighted’ and ‘blind’.
The CVI form has replaced the BP1 form.

Registration is entirely voluntary – it’s completely up to you whether or not you would like to take this step. The sight impaired and severely sight impaired registers are confidential and your consent must be sought prior to the release of any information from the register. If you would prefer not to be registered, you may still be able to receive support from local social services.

What are the benefits of being registered?

There are some benefits and concessions to being registered, they depend on whether you are registered as SSI or SI. Some concessions include free travel on buses and trains and ferries within Scotland (registered SI / SSI), TV licence concession (registered SSI) or applying for a blue badge (registered SSI). It is also a ‘gateway’ to services.

Registering as sight impaired or severely sight impaired can also:

give you access to certain benefits and concessions such as tax allowances and the National (Scotland) Concessionary Travel for Blind Persons card (National Entitlement Card)
help with quicker access to other benefits and services
provide you with a needs/social care assessment from your local authority social services to determine additional suitable support they can provide to you to help you maintain independence, for example referral onto their rehabilitation team for mobility training.

Registration for children and young people with visual impairment in Scotland and access to support services

In Scotland, the CVI form does not include children and young people under the age of 16.

Since this change in 2018, children and young people with visual impairment in Scotland are no longer registered.

If your child has been diagnosed with a visual impairment, eye hospital teams should follow the Visual Impairment Network for Children and Young People (VINCYP) national care pathway to ensure relevant services are notified at an early stage and your child is provided with the support and services they need.

Confirmation that your child has a visual impairment is sometimes required for some support services or benefits applications, such as a letter from your child’s ophthalmologist or other visual impairment healthcare professional who supports your child.