UK Driving Licences - What are the New Rules?

As you may already know, the UK driving licence is going to lose its paper part. This paper part was introduced in 1998 and ever since it has contained penalty points and endorsements. The system is now changing to the digital one.On the 8th of June 2015 the paper part will lose its legal status. All the information contained in it will be saved and recorded exclusively electronically.

In the past, the most common practice when picking up a car rental was presenting the car hire company with the paper part of your driving licence. However, it will not be possible anymore. With the driver record being available only online, you will need to log onto the DVLA website, acquire a special code, valid for 21 days, and submit it to the car hire company. Using the code, the company will be able to access your full driving licence details.

After the paper part is scrapped, different rules will apply not only for car hire but also for accidents and offences. Of course, in case of an offence, you will still need to pay the fine and also to submit your licence to the court. Paper licences will be returned to you without any written evidence or details about the offence. Owners of photocard licences will also get their photocards back, but the paper part will be kept by the court. Your details about any endorsements or penalty points will be kept in electronic form by DVLA in their driver records online. Motorists will have access to their information either online, by telephone or per post.

Read about this in more detail in our guide to DVLA changes.