Driver licence checks: ten-year renewal
	In 1998 photocard driver licences were introduced in the UK. These licences incorporated a series of security features, one of which was the inclusion of a photograph of the holder on the plastic card itself which must be updated every 10 years. From the end of July onwards, photographs on photocard driving licenses will begin to expire. It is important to note that a licence holders driving entitlement is unaffected by these requirements, however the driver could encounter problems at the road side should they be stopped with a photograph that is out of date. From July onwards employers should be checking the expiry date of the photograph as part of their normal licence checking procedures. It would also be wise for members to speak to their insurance company to obtain a position statement from them on whether drivers on the road with an expired photograph would be covered by the policy. The Driver Vehicle and Licensing Agency (DVLA) has assured FTA that it will issue a reminder to prompt drivers approximately 56 days before their photograph is due to expire. The licence holder must then return their application (DI) with a new photograph and the relevant fee of £17.50 to DVLA and request that their licence is updated. The expiry date of the photograph is printed on the front of the photocard driving licence at item 4b. However, there can be exceptions where the duration of a licence is less than ten years, for example, in the case of a medical driving licence or where the last photocard driving licence was issued to a driver when they had passed 60 years of age. In such cases DVLA will contact the licence holder when the photograph needs to be renewed as appropriate to the specific expiry date. Vocational drivers may choose to coincide the renewal of their photograph together with the first five yearly renewal of their vocational entitlement. This would benefit the holder as they would engage in fewer transactions with the agency. Future renewals of the photograph would then only be required at every second entitlement change (i.e. every 10 years).
	14/07/2008 09:42:59