Paper part of UK driving licence to be scrapped

In an effort to digitize motor driving records, the paper part that comes along with photo card driving licenses will be discontinued. Good news about this significant change is that motorists will not have to cue to get new licences, but simply have to keep their current photo card driver’s license. Even those who have only a paper driver’s license, those introduced in 1988, will not be affected by this change. They will receive a photo driving license only and not the paper part when they update their details or renew their license. Adding to this, amending details on a driver’s license will be at no cost, and not cause any change in driver’s license status nor cost any penalty points.

However, motorists will be able to evade the £20 driver’s license renewal fee charged every 10 years, but paper licenses do not have to be renewed. These changes are a result of review completed by the DLVA into ways the department could save taxpayer money wasted on paper. A similar initiative was adopted  by many car insurance companies and motor trade insurance brokers to eliminate the need of paper for insurance certificates. According to roads minister Anthony Hammond, this is one of the most significant reforms to help achieve this goal. Timescales for discarding the paper driver’s license are still being discussed, but a free tool is already available for those motorists wishing to check license details. Driver’s can also authorize third party access by generating an OTP (one time password) to gain access to the same information.

The information available on this website can also be downloaded in PDF format, and the DLVA is also considering a Trusted Partner service, which will grant access to driving license information. There are also several reasons to celebrate the end of this 16 year daunting bi-partite arrangement. One of the biggest advantages to having just a photo card driver’s license is that you are less likely to forget your license at home. If you’ve even tried to hire a vehicle at the airport, you know that presenting both the photo and paper part of a driver’s license is necessary.

There are millions of driver’s in the UK, and the cost of providing them each with a paper driver’s license is rather steep. Plus in the technology driven world we live in complete with cloud systems, this is highly necessary. In terms of numbers, eliminating the paper part of the driver’s license would save the government and upwards of £8 million. Since all your records will be stored online, you will no longer see speeding fines such as SP50s on your paper counterpart.

Driver’s have been recently warned by the DLVA that fraudsters are on the prowl asking people to click a link to verify their driving license details and when followed could compromise them and their other personal and confidential details such as banking information. If you’re going to hiring a vehicle abroad, it is highly recommended that you check with the vehicle rental company as to what’s accepted and what’s not to avoid any inconveniences.