Check Your Driving Licence

You can check your licence online.

I think I'd "lose" my licence and apply for a new one. Then I could conveniently "find" the old one if necessary.

 

Yes, it'll be 10 years between photo updates. Re-issues for change of address don't reset the clock. Makes sense really, otherwise a lot of people would never update their photo.

I got my reminder letter about renewing last week; that was 2 months before it's due to expire.

 

I still have my old licence. Never was asked to update to the new passport type. When i got knocked of last year the two young officers were baffled by me giving them my paper one but the elder Sgt there said yes that's legal its the old type.
Joe.

 

Am 70 in couple of months and just done the gov.uk online application to renew my driving licence. I noted the information stating that I lose my entitlements to drive mini buses, and anything over 3.5 tonnes by applying online, but didn’t see anything about motorbike licences so assumed it’ll be renewed along with my car licence… anyone done this recently and can confirm a current bike licence is included with online applications? … Thanks

 

Hi I can assure you both your entitlements (car and bike) will transfer to your new licence, if you had applied via a paper copy then all your entitlements are placed on the new licence, what puts people off applying via the paper copy is the very long delay in processing these (3 months and more), and if your licence runs out in between then legally you cannot ride or drive any vehicle, that is why most people are put off by the paper process, at aged 70 the online application removes a lot of your entitlements, to me this appears to be quite a discriminatory process, most people at 70 appear to think "well what does it matter, I won't be driving those categories again", and this plays right into the system by stealth. One way around this is to apply 5 months before a licence expirers if you wish to retain all current entitlements. Any application to report a lost, stolen or damaged licence will be entitled to a new one, however it will be identical with the expiry date as per the original, you then end up in exactly the same position.

 

Cheers thanks for that... much appreciated … yes it’s a bit of a dvla trick to disallow the minibus licence etc with online applications as I’m sure a lot of the voluntary driving for groups & charities is quite safely done by folk over 70…

 

When I renewed my licence at 70 I wanted to retain my C1/D1 categories (minibuses and 7.5 tonners) so went through the paper route which requires a medical and eyesight exam.

Three years later and time to renew again the dreaded lurgi was with us and the DVLA had advised that they would forego the requirement for a new photo but said nothing about the medical exams. So I completed the paperwork and in my enclosing letter noted the absence of any relaxation for medical/eye exams but that I had assumed a similar waiving of requirement applied.

Licence expiry came and went. Months later I received a letter from DVLA returning my paper application form saying that the medical/eye exams were still a requirement. I immediately phoned DVLA and was advised that due to their tardiness in responding I had been driving for a number of months without a licence and therefore presumably uninsured.

Lessons to be learnt : Unless you own a minibus or a 7.5 tonner you are wasting your time retaining your C1/D1 categories because none of the vehicle rental companies will take you on. This really pissed me off.

With my new photo I thought how much can you expect your appearance to have changed after just three years? So I gave them another copy of the same photo.

Finally, during my chat with DVLA I was told that even if your licence has expired as soon as you make an application you are legal even though the licence has yet to be formally issued.

 

Hmmmmm…. Very interesting… disadvantages of advancing years ! … guess we’d better enjoy our motorbikes while we are still allowed to !

 

IIRC when renewing on line you tick a box promising to return your old license, I hung on to mine until the new one arrived. There were stories in MCN a few years back of A category getting dropped off their license and without proof had to re-sit their test.

I had to renew mine last year, had to pay full price for 10yr license but I'm 70 in a couple more years - think I ought to get a refund.
At least I believe renewals are free for 70+

 

Take a photo of both sides of the licence then if the motorcycle category disappears you have proof it was there. None of us have the test pass slip to prove we passed, you hand it over to get your full licence.

 

As I recall, DVLA won't accept photos/photocopies as proof.

Worst case, they will try to prosecute for fraud.

I would (did, but my new licence was correct)
1) check licence online
2) "lose" licence
3) apply for new licence
4) if new licence is incorrect, "find" old licence

https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/2010/april/apr0110-dvla-licence-hell-/

 

It's not true that you must not drive while waiting for a licence application to be processed.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inf1886-can-i-drive-while-my-application-is-with-dvla

Section 88 of The Road Traffic Act 1988 may allow you to continue driving even though you do not hold a current driving licence. In practice, this will be when you have applied to the DVLA to renew your licence, but the licence expires (runs out) while we are processing your application.

To continue driving under Section 88, you
must meet all of the following criteria:
• Your doctor must have told you that you are fit to drive. If your doctor is unsure about how a medical condition affects driving, they should refer to ‘Assessing fitness to drive – a guide for medical professionals’ at www.gov.uk/dvla/fitnesstodrive
• You have held a valid driving licence (see *below) and only drive vehicles you have applied for on your current application and were entitled to drive on your previous licence.
• If you hold a Group 2 (bus or lorry) licence, your entitlement has not been suspended, revoked or refused by a traffic commissioner.
• You meet any conditions that were specified on your previous licence that still apply.
• DVLA has received your correct and complete application within the last 12 months.
• Your last licence was not revoked or refused for medical reasons.
• You are not currently disqualified from driving by a court.
• You were not disqualified as a high risk offender on or after 1 June 2013 (a high risk offender is a driver convicted of a serious drink driving offence).

 

The alternative if you really want to guarantee is to take your licence to a solicitor before you send it of and get them to verify it as correct against your photo but that's really taking it to extremes

 

There are no guarantees...photo, solicitor or copy of old licence or a note from your mummy, about 10 years ago when DVLA were updating their I.T. several thousand licences (they never actually admitted how many) had various errors, most commonly deleting motorcycle and heavy goods vehicle entitlements from licences. More than 40 serving police officers had there motorcycle entitlement removed and despite there being "proof" on the police employment records etc, they were forced to re-take their test. DVLA were so worried at the time, they refused to take old paper copies as proof of entitlement on the basis that modern forgeries were as good as the real thing, after an address change my licence was in at the time and was returned with an HGV2 entitlement which I never passed a test for.