Is your driving licence still valid?

This month sees the biggest change to driving licences in almost twenty years.

From 8 June 2015, the paper counterpart to the photocard driving licence will not be valid and will no longer be issued by DVLA.

There will be no change to the current photocard driving licence or paper driving licence.

Any paper driving licences issued before the photocard was introduced in 1998, will remain valid.  If you need to update your name, address or renew your licence, your paper driving licence will be replaced with a photocard driving licence only.

Inspector Andrew Hamilton, Head of the Devon and Cornwall Police Serious Collisions Investigation Unit, said: “From 8 June we will see the abolition of the driving licence paper counterpart. We realise that this might cause some confusion, as the old paper only driving licences will still be valid. Whilst details of any penalty points will not be shown on either the paper driving licence or the photocard, the police will be able to access this information from the DVLA.”

Drivers will be able to check on their driving licence details using the free View Driving Licence service. This will provide information on which vehicles the licence holder can drive and any penalty points the licence holder may have.

The counterpart was originally introduced in 1998 to display driving licence details that could not be included on the photocard licence. These details include some vehicle categories you are entitled to drive and any endorsement/penalty points.

The DVLA has published official guidelines online on its website www.gov.uk/government/news/vehicle-tax-changes where you will also find a link to the online vehicle tax status check.