Your driving licence is a legal document and inaccurate information on it could see you hit with a massive £1,000 fine. Driving licences must be updated. Photocard licences must be renewed every 10 years and the DVLA says 2.4million people are at risk of heavy fines for not updating them on time. Photographs are important because the Police and other enforcement agencies use them to correctly identify whether a driving licence is being used fraudulently. They can be used by disqualified and perhaps dangerous drivers impersonating drivers entitled to be on the road. Failing to update simple information such as your name, title or address could also be enough to warrant a fine so you should update them regularly. Recent research revealed 1.5million motorists in the UK have incorrect information on their driving licence. Moving house is itself a stressful experience but you need to add to the “To-Do List” the need to change the address on your licence & the address DVLA have for vehicles registered to you. Addresses must be updated for any accommodation you move into even if this is temporary and not a permanent move. This means students and young people are also affected as hundreds of thousands of students will take their vehicles to university each year. Having the wrong details on your licence is an offence. If DVLA has the wrong address for a vehicle registered to you & that vehicle is caught speeding (or committing another offence) the Notice asking the registered keeper for the vehicle to identify the driver will go to an out of date address. If you do not receive the Notice and, as a result, do not comply with it, you could be prosecuted & have your licence endorsed with 6 Points! Applying for a new photo card is licence is simple and motorists are likely to receive their new one within a week of sending off an application. If you have forgotten to update your address you should do so as soon as possible. You will probably not receive retrospective punishment for coming clean as an offence will no longer be committed. Changing an address is free through the official DVLA platform and can be updated within just minutes. However, make sure you are on the official DVLA website as it is easy to be caught out by third-party firms using websites designed to look & read like the real DVLA site. One such site charged £35 for an over 70 licence renewal despite this being offered free from the DVLA’s official site. I was caught out once so be careful! Tips · Check the renewal date on your photo card licence; · Check the address on your photo card licence; · If the vehicle is registered to an address you do not live at do you have a system in place for mail received there to be checked & brought to your attention; · Make sure DVLA are aware of any medical condition (including eyesight issues) that may impact on your ability to drive; · Check that you are on the actual DVLA website when making changes.
