Goodbye Paper Driving Licences Counterpart!

As of the 8th June 2015, the paper counterpart to the UK photocard driving licence will be abolished. These will no longer be valid and will not be issued anymore by the DVLA.

The abolition of the paper counterpart has come with an updated communication toolkit to help raise awareness of the changes and how they affect UK drivers.

You can download this here. 

Why Get Rid of the Paper Counterpart?

The paper counterpart to the photocard licence was created in order to list details that could not be included on the plastic card, such as categories of vehicle the holder is entitled to drive or any penalty points.

From this date, this added information will only be recorded electronically. If you commit a driving offense after this date a court may keep your paper counterpart and only return the photocard, and nothing will be written on older paper licences. Instead, all details will be held on the DVLA’s driver record.

You can check your license for free here.

This action is in response to the government’s Red Tape Challenge consultation on road transportation and it aligns with the DVLA’s strategic plan to simplify public services.

What Should You Do After the 8th June?

Owners of a paper counterpart should destroy it after this date, as it will no longer have any legal status. You must, however, keep your photocard.

If you have a paper licence, which was issued before the photocard was introduced in 1998, don’t worry. These should NOT be destroyed and will still be valid. When you update your details you will be issued with a photocard only.

Confirming Your Driving History to an Employer or Hire Company

After the 8th June, if you are required to provide evidence of your driving history and any penalty points, you will be able to do this online for free. The Share Driving Licence service is currently under development but will be set up by the abolishment date. Using this you will be able to download a summary for printing.

This system is only accessible with the licence holder’s consent.

Alternatively you can contact the DVLA directly and ask them to give verbal access to a nominated person or organisation so details can be checked via telephone.

If you are asked for evidence of what vehicles you’re allowed to drive, you can request a unique code from GOV.UK which will allow you to share your records. This code will be valid for 72 hours only and allows hire companies to make any necessary checks.

So if you will require to run licence checks as part of your recruitment process as of June 2015 there will be a brand new system. If you have more questions or would like someone to do these DBS checks online for you get in touch!