The DVLA said some of these unofficial sites are charging people for changing the address on their driving licence or V5C vehicle registration certificate, or for renewing a driving licence from age 70, which are all free to do on the government website.

It comes as figures reveal the DVLA has been contacted by customers more than 1,200 times about unofficial websites purporting to offer DVLA-related services.

Julie Lennard, chief executive of the DVLA, said: “GOV.UK is the only site where customers will find our official services, many of which are free. You may be charged a premium when using other websites offering services that are not connected to DVLA.

“We recommend you always double check you’re using GOV.UK when accessing our online services or looking for information. This means you won’t be paying more than you need to for services that are cheaper or free of charge on GOV.UK and can be sure that you’re dealing with us directly.”