Photo Card Driving Licenses

UK photo card driving licences need to be updated every 10 years. The photograph on the licence is only valid for 10 years, therefore the driving licence and photo needs to be updated accordingly. Drivers will not need to retake a driving test but will of course need to submit a new photo taken at time of renewal. This started to happen in July 2008, with the DVLA starting to issue reminders in May 2008. The holder must renew their licence before their current photo expires. Renewal is necessary to avoid a £1000 fine. The licence expiry date can be found in the section marked 4b on the front of the photo card. The paper part of the licence however does not contain an expiry until the holders 70th Birthday.

Businesses will need to review licence holders who drive for work as employees with an out of date licence could affect vehicle insurance and therefore the entitlement to drive legally. All businesses that have employees driving for work should have a record of all drivers’ licences and expiry dates, which should be updated at least annually, or every six months for any driver that is getting near the limit for a ban. However a DVLA spokesperson has said that a motorist’s entitlement to drive will not be affected by failure to update the photo on the licence but it will invalidate their insurance. This is because with an out of date licence their entitlement to drive legally has ended, invalidating their car insurance, beware!!

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