Drivers license change of address ?

[Mandrake]

Forgive me all if this is blindingly obvious, I've never had to deal with this before as New Zealand drivers licenses do NOT include a street address on the photo license as UK ones do...and thus don't need to be replaced when changing address.

To change the address I'm supposed to fill in the section on the counterpart sheet and send both that AND the photo license away to Swansea for who knows how long ?

Great, but how exactly am I supposed to drive while I no longer possess my photo license ? Do they really expect people that rely on their car to go without a drivers license and thus go without their car or break the law while they update their address ?

Any advice appreciated as I need to get both my drivers license and my registered keeper address for the Xantia updated ASAP, the latter of which I need to renew my tax disc by the end of the month...

The annoying thing is our address will be changing again in a few months so I'll have go through the same hassle again...

[Xaccers]

You can drive while your licence is being updated.

[Mandrake]

How does that work though if I get pulled over, they just take my word for it that I've sent it away to be updated and haven't just forgotten to carry it, which is an instant fine ?

Luckily it looks like I've managed to update it online. I thought I wasn't going to be able to as it asked for UK passport details in the "you will need" bit at the beginning, I don't have a UK passport or identification, and can't currently locate my NZ passport either due to moving house...

However I went through the process anyway and found the passport was optional, so fingers crossed they will be happy. I like the way there is a disclaimer that says I confirm I've already cut my old license in two and will post it to Swansea, yeah right, as if I'm going to cut it in two before the new one arrives!!! (I assume they will send the new one before receiving the old one when using the online application...?)

[Ben82]

Simon, in the UK you can produce your licence at your local cop shop within 7 days.

I hate having to carry my licence about with me in Sweden, I'd prefer it to be safe at home, and only in the case of needing to present it would I take it to do so. But alas if I recall it's about a £400 fine here for not having it, though I have had a British friend over here say that he has been escorted home by the police to present it (not that I would risk it!).

If I recall when updating my GB license for the 10 year photo renewal, I just sent the form off with my existing one and a new photo, and they sent the new one back to me pretty promptly.

[Mandrake]

Thanks Ben, I was not aware that it wasn't a legal requirement to carry the license at all times while driving, I'm sure I read otherwise on directgov or somewhere similar, but perhaps I'm just thinking of NZ where it is definitely a requirement to carry it and is within their powers to give an instant fine for not having it with you, although you will sometimes get let off at the discretion of the officer...

Many times now while working on the V6 and then going for a test drive I've remembered half way through the drive that I'm wearing my overalls and my drivers license is still back at the house in my jeans pocket. If what you say is true I needn't have worried. Of course I would still carry it as much as possible when driving even if I don't technically need to.

[dnsey]

It is, however, a good idea to photocopy your license before sending it off. There have been many cases of DVLA losing not only the document, but all records of the driver!

[daviemck2006]

mine came back really quickly when I moved recently, and I too will have to do it again moving again at end of month.

[wheeler]

It is, however, a good idea to photocopy your license before sending it off. There have been many cases of DVLA losing not only the document, but all records of the driver!

Definitely make a copy of your licence, there was an article in the MCN a while back about loads of people sending there licence away & it coming back with their motorcycle or other entitlements missing, The DVLA would not listen & it meant loads of people had to resit their bike test. Think it was on watchdog as well, the DVLA even accused one guy of fraud when he sent them the photocopies.

[Mandrake]

Thanks for the advice guys, I'm naturally paranoid about government departments losing or screwing up paperwork, especially living here as a "guest" on a Visa, so I would definitely take a high resolution colour photograph of my old license before handing it over or destroying it!

I did the same thing when I exchanged my NZ license for a UK one. I was rather miffed to find that I had to give up my NZ drivers license before being given a UK one - why it's not possible to keep both I don't understand. Whether its just the photo license card that I no longer have or whether my NZ license has actually been cancelled and will have to be re-exchanged from a UK one should I go back I don't know!

If they had lost my NZ license during the exchange or mucked up the entitlements I would have most likely been in a real predicament, as there was no other proof that I'm allowed to drive in the UK (no UK drivers test on record etc) and its unlikely that I could obtain a new copy of an NZ drivers license from the UK...

Does anyone know whether they're waiting on me to send back the old one before sending the new one when I've used the online change of address form ? The wording of it suggests that they will send the new one out as soon as the details of the change have been confirmed and processed, and that they want me to send the old one back, however it doesn't explicitly say whether they will dispatch the new one before receiving the old one...

I also have an NZ passport to renew before August (which will require me to send away by mail my only proof of being able to live and work in the UK!) and then have to renew my Visa next year which means sending my passport away again! Lots of opportunities for government department screw ups to happen or documents to be lost in the post...

[Xaccers]

the DVLA even accused one guy of fraud when he sent them the photocopies.

Yes they did!
He'd sensibly taken a photocopy, got his licence back sans entitlement and so complained and sent them the photocopy.
The DVLA then had him up in court on charges of fraud saying the photocopy was of a counterfeit licence!
Thankfully the judge had more brains than the DVLA and threw it out straight away.

Mandrake, the reason for only allowing one driving licence is so that should you be banned from driving you can't then drive on your NZ one.
The longer you live here, the more chance your licence will need to be seen and so it's easier if it is a UK licence.

[Hell Razor5543]

Simon, you might want to check out the Post Office passport service to see if it could help you. When I have had to deal with government paperwork I always get them to check it before signing it off, and I always get a receipt for it (signed by the official who checked it), so that if anything goes wrong I am covered. Once there was a problem, and when I went into the office I encountered a right jobsworth, who insisted I completed a replacement form (and was not interested in listening to me until I did). I managed to see a supervisor, explained the situation, and showed her the receipt. She checked with the person who had originally checked my paperwork, they then checked the computer files (and found the data had been entered incorrectly), and finally the supervisor had a public discussion with the jobsworth. I received an apology for having had my time wasted.

I had to send off my driving licence for the 10 year renewal, and I got it back within a fortnight. Just make sure to send it to the correct address, as the DVLA has several different departments.

[Mandrake]

Mandrake, the reason for only allowing one driving licence is so that should you be banned from driving you can't then drive on your NZ one.

I suppose that makes sense, although you can only drive on an NZ drivers license in the UK for one year from the date of entry in the country anyway, and you require an additional "international drivers certificate" document (or something similar, I forget its exact name) which has an expiry date, which I also had.

After one year its no longer valid to use, but you are then allowed to exchange your NZ license for a UK one without any driving test.

The longer you live here, the more chance your licence will need to be seen and so it's easier if it is a UK licence.

Yep, done long ago, I exchanged my NZ license for a UK one in 2010 even though I didn't get a car here until 2012!

[Ben82]

Mandrake, the reason for only allowing one driving licence is so that should you be banned from driving you can't then drive on your NZ one.

I suppose that makes sense, although you can only drive on an NZ drivers license in the UK for one year from the date of entry in the country anyway, and you require an additional "international drivers certificate" document (or something similar, I forget its exact name) which has an expiry date, which I also had.

After one year its no longer valid to use, but you are then allowed to exchange your NZ license for a UK one without any driving test.

The longer you live here, the more chance your licence will need to be seen and so it's easier if it is a UK licence.

Yep, done long ago, I exchanged my NZ license for a UK one in 2010 even though I didn't get a car here until 2012!

The year limit really has no bearing on validity as the police officer will have no idea that you have been in the uk for a year at the time of the check. I would imagine it would only be checked under a serious offence.

[RichardW]

Don't worry Simon - when was the last time you actually saw a traffic car? And chances are they'll only stop you if you're driving like a mug, or it pings the ANPR for no Tax/MOT/Insurance. And even if they do stop you and you haven't got your licence they just look it up on the DVLA computer these days You can tax it online with the ref number off the reminder, but then if you haven't updated the reg keeper address, the disc will go to the old address

[citronut]

they know before they pull you who the registered keeper of the vehicle is, your shoe size, willy whoooops i mean inside leg measurement, were you live whether you have a current license, insurance and MOT,

that is if the person driving is the registered keeper