From 8 June 2015, the paper counterpart to the photocard driving licence 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 photocard. These details include some vehicle categories you are entitled to drive and any endorsement/penalty points.
Please note, this does not affect photocard licences issued by DVA in Northern Ireland.
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 photocard driving licence.
Paper driving licences issued before the photocard was introduced in 1998 will remain valid and should not be destroyed.
From 8 June 2015 new penalty points (endorsements) will only be recorded electronically, and will not be printed or written on either photocard licences or paper driving licences. From this date, if you commit an offence you will still have to pay any applicable fine and submit your licence to the court but the way the court deals with the paperwork will change.
For photocard licences, the court will retain the paper counterpart and only return the photocard to you.
For paper licences, the court will return it to you but they won’t have written or printed the offence details on it.
This means that from 8 June 2015 neither the photocard driving licence nor the paper licence will provide an accurate account of any driving endorsements you may have. Instead, this information will be held onDVLA’s driver record, and can be viewed online, by phone or post.
Hiring a vehicle: how to prove your driving record after 8 June 2015
From 8 June 2015, you may wish to check with the hire company what they need to see when you hire a vehicle. If you’re asked for evidence of what vehicles you can drive or confirmation of any penalty points, you can request a unique code from GOV.UK which allows you to share your driving licence details or you can download a summary of your driving licence record. The code is valid for 21 days which can then be redeemed just once by the third party to make the relevant checks.
If you cannot generate a code online then you can call 0300 083 0013 and DVLA will provide you with a code.
Alternatively, you can call DVLA on 0300 790 6801 and leave permission for your driving record to be checked verbally by a nominated hire company. This also applies if you have a paper licence that was issued before 1998.
Please Follow the Link Below View/Share your Driving Licence Details:
www.viewdrivingrecord.service.gov.uk/driving-record/licence-number