June 8, 2015

DVLA Scrap Paper Counterpart for Online Driving Licences

The DVLA are finally bringing driving licences into the 21st century and going digital. Although nothing is happening to your photo-card ID, the paper counterpart of your licence is being axed. Find out what you need to do here.
DVLA Scrap Paper Counterpart for Online Driving Licences Header Image

You may have heard that you’ll need to destroy your driving licence after the 8th of June. Read on to make sure you don’t do something that will end up costing you.

The DVLA are finally bringing driving licences into the 21st century and going digital. Although nothing is happening to your photo-card ID, the paper counterpart of your licence is being axed.

What’s Happening to the Paper Counterpart of my Driving Licence?

The paper counterpart of your driving licence is used to store information about any penalty points and endorsements you may have. Going forward, this information will now be stored on the DVLA’s online system, Share Driving Licence, which will render your paper counterpart unnecessary. Unfortunately this is not yet available to the public.

This means your information will be accessible online, making it easier for companies (and anyone else) to review your driving history. However, a lot of drivers are worried and feel that their information should be kept private.

Why are they doing this?

The DVLA are making this change in an attempt to actually make life easier for drivers, but they’ll also save a lot on admin costs. It will give you one less thing to worry about. Plus, you won’t run the risk of damaging or losing your paper counterpart and having to pay £20 to get it replaced.

Why is it Happening now?

Originally, the new driving licence system was meant to come into action back in January. However, it had to be delayed by 6 months because the IT side of it was not ready. Many critics believe that the system still isn’t ready to go live and therefore wouldn’t be surprised if the DVLA delayed it yet again.

Driver’s warned about Scam Attacks

The DVLA have issued a release, warning drivers to be cautious. A number of scam artists have been sending fraudulent emails to drivers, posing as the DVLA. They’ve been asking drivers to confirm their personal information.

Unfortunately, a number of drivers have already fallen victim to this. Their bank details were obtained and their accounts drained by the criminals. If you receive an email that appears to be from the DVLA, be cautious and phone the DVLA using the phone number on their website for confirmation.

So what do you have to do?

Essentially, you don’t have to do anything. The paper counterpart of your driving licence will no longer be of value as all of its information will be stored on the DVLA’s Share Driving Licence system. Remember, you will need to keep your photo-card ID though.

The DVLA are suggesting that everyone destroy the paper counterparts of their drivers licence once the new system takes effect. However, before you destroy it, we recommend checking your online driving licence details (you can do this here). That way, you’ll still have proof if there are any issues with your online record, such as an incorrect endorsement.

But, I got my licence before 1998

If you’ve had your current licence for over 17 years, you might not have a photo-card ID. If your driving licence is just a paper copy, then do not destroy it.

Your driving history will not yet be available online, so make sure you keep your paper driving licence.

Your driving licence will remain unaffected until you have to renew your licence or if you need to change your name or address. When this happens, you will be issued a new photo-card licence and your details will automatically be uploaded to the Share Driving Licence system.

Other Important Information

With holiday season on the horizon, you’re probably thinking about booking your holiday, if you haven’t done so already. Firstly, we wish you a great holiday. Secondly, if you’re going to be driving abroad or using a hire car while on holiday, we urge you to read this article. Otherwise you may find your holiday fun being postponed or maybe even ruined all together.

We like to keep all of our customers informed of the latest motoring news so you’re not caught off guard by changes like this one. Follow us on social media to stay in the loop.