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Spurred on by your comment about DVLA's rules in yesterday's Sunday Telegraph I wonder if you can suggest how I could resolve my problem with them? Long ago I passed my driving test in Guildford on 19th November 1959. I married and moved in 1961, advising DVLA or whoever it was at the time, renewed my licence once, then went to live in Canada in 1966 and missed being advised about the subsequent change of driving data records to electronic, some time in the 1970s as I understand it. My old driving licence was disposed of as I now had (and still hold) a Canadian licence and was not likely to need the British one again. Things didn't pan out, we were divorced and I came back to live in England in 1996 BUT at the time Canadian licences were not reciprocal so I couldn't get a transfer. I don't have the old licence number but wrote to DVLA and gave them my name and address at the time of passing the test plus my married name and 1961 address. There is apparently no record of my DVLA history anywhere in the archives. Consequently I am obliged to take another driving test before I can drive over here even though I plan to stay here indefinitely and should still hold a licence legitimately like millions of others. Is this too far out of your field of expertise or can you open a window I can squeeze through to renew the licence I earned so long ago without my having to go through the ordeal of L plates and tests?

Asked on 14 November 2009 by

Answered by Honest John
Sorry, no. This is not uncommon. The same happened to a friend of mine whose motorcycle entitlement somehow dropped off in the transfer to computerised records and he did not notice. He had to re-take his motorcycle test. The only way forward is to re-take your car test. In any case, if you have not been driving since 1996, you need training anyway. First stage, the theory test, so get hold of a Highway Code and find out what you are in for. Second stage, the driving test itself.
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