Driving Licence Changes: Everything you need to know
Here’s a summary of an article I found that highlights the driving licence changes in the UK from 8th June 2015, published by the Foray Motor Group.
What if you only have a paper licence?If you have only a paper licence – those which were issued until 1998 – do not destroy them as they will continue to remain valid until you reach 70 years of age, provided that no other details need to be changed. In addition to this, the green paper licence remains valid and if the details are correct, it remains your choice on whether you wish to upgrade to a photocard. If you do wish to upgrade and need to change your address, name or add a driving entitlement, this can be done completely free. For standard renewals, which you are instructed to do every 10 years, it will cost £14 via online and £17 via post.
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How will licences be issued after 8 June?
New licences will be in card form only. If you need to renew your licence or change your address after this date, only a new photocard will be sent back to you.
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Where can I see my driving licence information?
As the original purpose of your driving licence was to inform you how many penalty points you have, offer a full breakdown of the vehicles you can drive and also when it expires, this is all information you will obviously want to keep. Fortunately, the DVLA has now created the ‘View Driving Licence’ online service, which allows you to see all the information relating to your licence by putting in three details:
- Licence number
- National insurance number
- Postcode
From 8 June, penalty points will no longer be recorded on your paper licence and instead will be logged on the DVLA’s digital portal.
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You can now update your driving licence details by visiting the DVLA website, as well as by post.
- Online – If you need to change your address it is free. If you need to change your name, you will need to do so by post. It will cost £14 if you need to change your photo.
- By post – If you need to change your name or address it is free. It will cost £17 to change your photo. You can order the necessary forms here, or head to your nearest Post Office.
Be sure to change these details as soon as you can, as there is a fine of £1,000 for anyone who holds an invalid driving licence.
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Does the new photocard expire regularly?
Your photocard licence will expire every 10 years. To renew it will cost £14 online or £17 by post.
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What does this mean if I want to hire a car?
In the past, the paper counterpart was key for anyone intending to hire a car, offering a clear indication of speeding offences and other convictions to the hire company. It may seem like the abolishment of the paper licence could cause a huge problem with this, but the DVLA has developed a simple code system instead for drivers to use.
In order for this to work, you will need to obtain a code from the DVLA website when you go to hire a new vehicle. This code can then be used by the hire company to access all the necessary details relating to your licence. However, each code is only valid for 72 hours, meaning that you will have to log on and get a new code if you do not use it for three days. This feature isn’t yet live, but is scheduled to be active all ready for the change on 8 June.
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How will this affect me trying to take a test drive?
Finally, the subject of test drives has been hugely contested since these changes were first proposed, and car dealers have said that the removal of the paper counterpart licence could make the process far more confusing than it has to be. Although it’s expected that car dealers will have a host of tools at their disposal in this situation – such as a premium rate phone line and the aforementioned View My Licence portal, there is still a huge worry about the effect it could have on the thousands of test drives undertaken every day across the UK.
