What does this mean?

From 8 June 2015, the driving licence paper counterpart will not be valid and will no longer be issued by DVLA. The counterpart was introduced to display driving licence details that could not be included on the photo-card. These details include some vehicle categories you are entitled to drive and any endorsement/penalty points.

s300_Photocard_and_Counterpart

Instead all details will now be held online, similar to the way you renew your vehicle tax online.

Please note; this does not affect photo-card licences issued by DVA in Northern Ireland.

This service replaces the paper counterpart of your licence from 8 June 2015. You should use your paper counterpart until then.

You can use this service to:

  • View your driving record, e.g. vehicles you can drive, penalty points and disqualifications.
  • Create a licence check code to share your driving record with someone else, e.g. your employer or a car hire company

The check code will allow someone to see what vehicles you can drive, any penalty points or disqualifications, your name and the last 8 characters of your driving licence number.

Customers with existing paper counterparts

If you already hold a paper counterpart, after 8 June 2015 it will no longer have any legal status. You should destroy your paper counterpart after this date but you still need to keep your current photo-card driving licence.

Customers with paper driving licences

Paper driving licences issued before the photo-card was introduced in 1998 will remain valid and should not be destroyed.

If you need to update your name , address or renew your licence, you will be issued with a photo-card only.

You can find more information on GOV.UK about driving licence changes.

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