I was 'told' by a colleague this morning, that photocard driving licences are going to be made compulsory.
I was under the belief that if I receive no convictions, remain healthy, and do not move house, I could keep the same licence until I am 70 years old?
Am I wrong?
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If you had visited the DVLC webb site you could answer your own question .
The DVLC no longer issues paper licences only plastic ,people applying for a new licence ,replacement licence due to loss or change of address will be issued with plastic.Your paper licence is good till its expirey date
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Hi Andrew,
Being in the position of about to move house I too have to change my licence, and have looked into this.
As in my case it is simply a change of address at least it is free, other than the cost of providing photos. Plus unless I pay the Post Office checking fee I have to lose my passport for a few weeks! After a fraught few days with the Passport Agency t'other year I hope the word lose is not taken literally, though Passport Agency staff were superb in the end, full marks to them.
The new licence only lasts 10 years or to your age 70 whichever occurs first, so a new stealth tax there.
Unbelievably it appears you still also get a paper licence (form 740?) which presumably contains all the details they cannot get on the plastic card and is necessary if you want to drive overseas.
Plus for non EU countries I have been advised that it is probably better to carry an International Driving Permit which I believe only lasts for a year, and costs more photos plus £4 as the new card and paper addenda is more likely to be less acceptable than the old green/pink paper jobbie. Do not know how true this last bit is, to be honest. But think I will buy shares in the photo booth companies!
If this is joined up Government then I am a......................
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Stuart
You don't have to send your passport. Your birth certificate plus a photo signed by an acceptable person is OK. See sections 4 & 5 of Form D750. I'd always use this method, especially with the holiday season approaching.
Regards
john
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John Slaughter wrote:
>
> Stuart
>
> You don't have to send your passport. Your birth certificate
> plus a photo signed by an acceptable person is OK. See
> sections 4 & 5 of Form D750. I'd always use this method,
> especially with the holiday season approaching.
>
I'm with John on this one,
Assuming you live in the town you were born, you should be able to
get yourself a duplicate birth certificate by visiting your local registry
office and handing over a (relatively) small fee.
Try doing that with a passport. (That would be a day trip to Liverpool
if I still lived up north, or two days queuing at Petty France...)
/John
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I have moved house several times without changing the address on my licence! Is this unwise or illegal? The licence says what I am allowed to drive and where I live wouldn't seem to be relevant. What would 'Plod-U-Like' do if he found I didn't live at the address on the licence?
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I think the fine is around £400!
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Nick Ireland wrote:
>
> I have moved house several times without changing the address
> on my licence! Is this unwise or illegal? The licence says
> what I am allowed to drive and where I live wouldn't seem to
> be relevant. What would 'Plod-U-Like' do if he found I
> didn't live at the address on the licence?
Last time I got a stop under circumstances too bizarre to relate on this site I had a licence with an address 6 months out of date. Once Herr Gruppenfuehrer had realised that he was on a loser re a conviction he just started to go through everything until he found something, the address on the licence was it. To his credit all he said was, "I think 6 months is long enough to get your licence changed don't you?" and left it at that. Since then I have been a good boy, as its free apart from discussion above its not really a problem. I suspect its illegal not to get it changed, but maybe too much trouble to get a conviction just for that on its own.
Re others comments about sending off your passport, at least you don't have to get the photo signed by someone who wants to charge you for the privilege!
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Stuart
Luckily licence applications, like passports, don't have to be signed exclusively by the charging classes. One group who can sign are Chartered Engineers. I'm one and so are a number of friends, and we don't charge each other for signing such things. So check the list of approved signatories, and compare them to your long standing friends.
regards
john
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As an ADI I have endorsed both Driving Licence and Passport Applications, so far with no knock-backs. As John says, the list of people deemed suitable is surprisingly long.
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Almost anyoen who works for a local authority will do too. So long as they have the job title **** Officer they are considered to be an official (similar to a police OFFICER). You are bound to know someone.
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On the subject of licences, a couple of questions someone might know the answers too. A friend of mine was recently banned for a year (drink driving). Part of his job involves driving a fork lift truck on public roads. He claims that as no sort licence is required to drive a FLT he can still drive one on public roads whilst banned. I'm not so sure, anyone know ? In 1997 new drivers were limited to 3.5 tonne vehicles. (Amongst other things). Another friend tells me that his wife, who held a provisional licence in 1996 with all the old entitlements, ie. 7.5 tonne, minibus, etc. and passed her car test in 1998, retained the entitlements on her full licence. He says that as they were part of her provisional licence, they were carried over to her full licence even though she passed her test after 1997. I'm not so sure about this either. Anyone know ? As for the signing of licence applications by a local worthy, another friend of mine, a retired traffic cop, signs them regularly.
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Stuart
No story can be too bizarre for this site surely? Now we are all curious, please enlighten us.
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Darcy Kitchin wrote:
>
> Stuart
> No story can be too bizarre for this site surely? Now we are
> all curious, please enlighten us.
Sorry to disappoint Darcy but this might be read before the watershed.
Clean version
Basically it was a case of mistaken identity, and the plod was so disappointed that he had not got a good collar but merely some totally innocent joker coming home from the chippy that he took it out on me till he found something wrong. Worse still were the cold chips!
Thats my story and I am sticking to it, there is more but not for publication guys. I might tell after a few beers, not virtual ones though. ;-)
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I've used my UK photocard licence to hire jeeps in Bali. Of course it's acceptable. An 'international driving licence' looks like something someone cobbled together in their back shed. I t was me who persuaded the DVLA to allow passport post offices to check the photos for photocards. Far more esnsible than sending your passport (and marriage certificate for married women) to the DVLA.
HJ
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Usually accepted, not neccessarily correct though.
I live in South America and in all the countries ,without exception, Police and Car Rental accept the UK Photo Licence without the additional piece of paper.
The interesting point is that they shouldn´t. In some of the countries it is unacceptable and an International Driving Permit is required.
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A fork lift truck that is not registered for road use can be driven on the public highway by a person who is disqualified from driving a motor vehicle.
Under the terms of the road traffic act it would not be classed as a Mechanically propelled vehicle.
Daft huh.
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I have heard of someone took a motorcycle test in the January (of 1998?) after the classes were changed at the beginning of that month, using an automatic scooter which came into the lower power bracket (not designed to do 60mph, power output < 15 kw? etc.. Don't ask me to quote the full description, motorcycle licences are now so complicated that I can't remember all the classifications and have to look them up every time, right now I can't be bothered. Thankfully I took my test before all that nonsense came in so mine is unrestricted.)
Swansea apparently issued this person with a licence which covers manual and higher capacities, as if the test had been taken the month before.
Question is, what exactly, given the circumstances, does the licence cover, what it is issued for or what it should have been issued for, and would the discrepancy ever come to light. I doubt if Swansea file the test pass slips forever, but probably ditch them once the full licence has been issued and the details keyed into the computer.
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