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Drivers wasting £2m by not renewing licences online

Emma Lunn
Written By:
Emma Lunn
Posted:
Updated:
10/11/2021

Drivers missed out on £2.3m of savings between April 2020 and March 2021 by not renewing their photocard driving licence online.

The DVLA said that in the 12-month period about 23% of the 2 million renewal applications it received were sent in either by post or via the post office. This is despite its online service being quicker and cheaper.

Renewing a photocard driving licence using Gov.UK costs £14 and the driver will receive their new licence in five days. Posting an application to DVLA costs £17 and will take longer. Customers who apply online can also track the progress of their licence.

Drivers are legally required to renew their photocard driving licence every 10 years and will receive a reminder from DVLA before their current licence expires.

Julie Lennard, DVLA chief executive, said: “Our online services are the quickest and easiest way to deal with DVLA and customers usually receive their driving and vehicle documents in just five days. Remember to always use Gov.UK when using DVLA’s online services.”

Expired driving licenses were automatically extended for 11 months last year during the pandemic.

To apply for a provisional licence for the first time you can also use the Gov.uk website. This will be cheaper than using the postal or Post Office services.

You’ll need proof of identity, such as a valid UK biometric passport or a birth certificate, along with another form of ID, such as your National Insurance number, if you don’t have one of these. You’ll also need to provide proof of address for the past three years.


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