Driving Licence Changes: How do they affect you?

On the 8^th June this year, a new law will be put in place that means you no longer need the D740 Counterpart for your driving licence. The DVLA aims to simplify its service as part of the `Red Tape Challenge`, reducing unnecessary paperwork and making savings of around £8million. So how does this affect you?

The benefits to the motorist

The changes are designed to make it simpler for drivers to access their information and not have to provide a separate piece of paper as and when needed. So any affects should be positive and save time.

This also means that any endorsements on your licence will be automatically added to the DVLA’s online record. No longer will you need to send your counterpart off to be updated, or produce it if stopped by the police.

Who it affects

If you have a paper licence that was issued before 1998, it won’t affect you. You MUST keep hold of your paper licence.

However, if you received your licence after that time, you only need to keep your photocard and have no need for the counterpart.

If you renew your licence or change details, such as your address or medical conditions, from the 8^th June you will only be issued with a photocard.

Storing your information

All of the information usually stored on the counterpart will now be stored online. You will be able to access your own driving licence informationvia the website, phone or posts, which will store the usual information such as the vehicles you are licenced to drive and endorsement points.

Police officers will also have access to this information road-side through the Police National Database, so they have immediate access to the most up-to-date information.

Renewing your licence

You can renew your licence as normal when it’s due. The renewal of the licence will be free in the first instance, but will be charged at around £20 thereafter. This would include any new medical conditions or changes to your address.

If you fail to renew your licence or update it with specific information, the same fines of up to £1,000 will apply as they do now.

Drivers over the age of 70 will still need to renew their driving licence every 3 years and update any new medical conditions as necessary.

Renting a vehicle

There is still some uncertainty at this stage as to how it will affect car rentals, as you usually need to provide the counterpart. However, organisations that rely on checking your counterpart will have access, with the driver’s knowledge, to the DVLA’s driver record online.

There are still some questions about how this will affect rentals abroad, and no doubt there will be some confusion and some further developments to the service once it is in place.