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Has Your Photocard Licence Expired?
It was estimated in 2013 that there were 2 million photocard driving licences that had expired and not been renewed. This is your chance to save a friend, colleague, or family member from a completely avoidable legal problem. For a £20 fee, you can apply to convert a paper licence into a photocard one. You will need to show evidence of your identity in order to do this. It is often easier to use a photocard licence when travelling abroad, rather than a paper licence.
To do this, you’ll need your driving licence photocard, your passport and your National Insurance number. You also need to be a resident of Great Britain (there’s a different process in Northern Ireland) and be able to provide all the addresses you’ve lived at over the previous three years. Failing to update the details on your licence could land you with a fine of £1,000. Drivers do not need to apply for the extensions, and the DVLA says it will remind motorists when they need to renew their photocard. However, the new rule does not apply to holders of provisional licences, for whom the original licence expiry dates remain.
Drivers do not need to apply to renew their licence until they receive a reminder before their extension expires. As you age, your facial features change and over time may differ significantly from the photo on your licence. It’s due to the photo that a photocard driving licence is valid for 10 years. Before your current licence expires, you must renew it if you intend on driving. The DVLA write to all photocard licence holders informing them that their licence is due for renewal.
Check out Renewing Your Photo Driving Licence Every 10 Years to keep yourself up to speed on what's required to stay legal. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on our website. However, if you would like to, you can change your cookie settings at any time. Ordinarily, drivers have to renew the photo card licence every 10 years, and vocational every five years.
So if it’s your 70th birthday soon, read on to find out what happens to your existing licence and how to renew it. As well as a cheque or postal order for this amount, you’ll need to send the DVLA a recent passport photo, your current photocard licence, and a completed pack of D1 forms. You can order these via the Department for Transport’s website, or pick them up at the Post Office.
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