Posted by admin - June 4, 2015 10:39 am Driver’s Beware – Changes to Driver’s Licence imminent

Don’t be caught unawares of new driver’s licence changes

From 8 June 2015, the paper counterpart to the photo-card driving licence will become invalid and will no longer be issued by the DVLA, a change which still may take many drivers by surprise.

Counterpart

The counterpart was introduced to display driving licence details that could not be included on the photo-card. These details include the vehicle classifications that the license holder is authorised to drive together with any endorsement/penalty points.

Drivers with an older style license (pre 1998) and drivers from Northern Ireland are unaffected by this change.

Recording driving offences

In future

From 8th June any driving offences will still result in a fine and the driver’s license will still need to be submitted with the payment to the courts. However, the way in which the courts will deal with the paperwork is also changing, as follows:

• for photo-card licences, the court will retain the paper counterpart and only return the photo-card to you
• for paper licences, the court will return it to you but they won’t have written or printed the offence details on it

This means that from 8 June 2015 neither the photo-card driving licence nor the paper licence will provide an accurate account of any driving endorsements you may have. Instead, this information will be held on the DVLA’s driver record, and can be viewed online, by phone or post.

Do you drive for a living?

If you drive for a living then you will need to provide evidence of your driving history. This can now be done by accessing the DVLA Share Driving Licence. The service should be used by drivers with both paper and photocard driving licences alike.

This website will generate a check code which can be shared but which is valid only once and up to 72 hours from the time it is issued. Every time you need to prove your driver record you will need to repeat this process. If you do not have online access or have experienced problems generating a code through this website, call the DVLA on 0300 083 0013 who will be able to action this for you. Alternatively, you can phone the DVLA on 0300 790 6801 to give prior permission for your driving record to be checked by a nominated person or organisation.

The DVLA have designed a step-by-step guide to help you share your driving licence information.

Checking the license of someone who drives for you

You can check a driver’s history through the DVLA’s Check driving licence service. You will, however, need the driver’s consent to view, print or copy their details. To help companies or employers to use this new service the DVLA have also created a step by step guide.

If you don’t have a check code from the driver you will need the driver to call the DVLA to give permission for their details to be shared. The DVLA can be contacted on 0906 139 3837 although calls will costs 51p per minute.

Hiring a car

This summer many drivers could unwittingly be caught out when hiring a car under this new policy. We therefore suggest that you check with your hire company as to the information they will require from you when hiring a car. If you are asked to provide evidence of the types of vehicles you are licensed to drive or for a history of your driving record and any endorsements/penalty points then you can once again get a code from the DVLA or provide the DVLA with permission for a hire company to access your records.

Motoring groups raise concern

Motoring groups have raised concerns that these new changes are not widely known and that many foreign hire companies will not be aware of the withdrawal of the paper counterpart although ironically this could initially work in the favour of the British motorist by hire companies who continue to process a rental car in the same way as they have previously done. Whilst the DVLA has stated that anyone with a photo card license should destroy their paper counterpart perhaps initially this would be inadvisable. Either way, however, it still pays to go prepared or face lengthy delays at the rental check-in desk.