What Happens if My Driving Licence Has Expired?
Q.
Could you please tell me what to do if my driving licence has expired and what happens if it has been expired for more than a year?
(Mrs Sharon Pitts, 8 September 2008)
A.
It is important to know when your driving licence expiry date is (or was), as it is illegal to drive without a valid licence. Although the DVLA may send renewal reminders prior to the expiry date, it is your responsibility to make sure that your licence is up-to-date, including getting renewal forms if necessary. Driving without a valid driving licence can result in a fine of up to £1,000, and between three and six penalty points on your licence. Your car can also be seized and crushed.
Renewing a Driving Licence
Renewing A Driving Licence is free, unless you have been disqualified (in which case a new licence costs £65), disqualified for drink driving offences (a new licence will cost £90) or you revoked your licence (a new licence will cost £50). You can renew your driving licence at 70 plus online at the DVLA website, or using the D46P application form. For medical renewals, you need to get the D42 or D48 application forms.Renewing a Photo Driving Licence
If your Photo Driving Licence has expired, you can be fined up to £1,000. It should be renewed every 10 years, but if you fail to do so, it can result in your driving licence becoming invalid. You can choose to update your photo sooner than this if your appearance changes significantly. This can be done online via direct.gov.uk or by filling in the DVLA's D1 application form, which you can get online, from the DVLA form ordering service or from certain Post Office branches.To check the status of your photo driving licence, the front of the card should show the expiry date of the photo. The DVLA will usually send a renewal application pack before the photo needs to be renewed. Renewing the photo licence is usually £20. Your new licence should be sent back to you within three weeks, although it may take longer than this if medical and personal details need to be verified. As long as you have previously held a UK driving licence and are not likely to have your renewal rejected for medical reasons, it should be fine for you to drive while you await your new licence.
It may seem confusing to people looking to renew their photo licence, as on the DVLA's D1 form it does not mention renewing the licence. What you are really doing is renewing the photo on the licence as this is what expires.
Renewing a Driving Licence that has been Expired for Some Time
If more than two years has passed since your driving licence expired, you may be made to retake your driving test in order to get a new licence. This is especially the case if your licence has expired due to age (driving licences need to be renewed when you reach seventy) or medical reasons. For these, you may also have to pass a medical. In other cases, you can simply apply for a new licence without problem, although the DVLA will often want to know why your licence has been expired for so long.Renewing Your Licence
It's compulsory to renew your licence every 10 years, and if you don't you could face prosecution. Read our article Renewing Your Photo Driving Licence Every 10 Years on this site.
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Comments...
I am trying to give details on renewing my photo card driving licence and I am having problems re a code they keep asking for. It is an over 70 licence. also a password. Not sure what they mean. Normally I can place orders for many things but I am finding this difficult
JayI - 19 January 2012 @ 5:11 PM
i have just found out my lgv expired Dec 2010 due to age i have not had medical, can i just have medical and send forms of to dvla to get lgv licence back or as its been 13 mnths will i need to retake test ? please help worring loke mad here
stupid - 15 January 2012 @ 5:01 PM
My mother in law is 76 and has not renewed her licence since she turned 70. She had it replace last year as her handbag was stolen . The licence was repleaced no questions , so does she sstill need to renew it . She never received a letter 90 days before her 70th birthday
Suzanne Hunt - 14 January 2012 @ 5:52 PM
my hgv runs out march 2012 i do not wish to renew this what do i need to do
havent got one - 6 January 2012 @ 9:48 AM
if a photocard license expires and it isnt law to have one how come you can be nicked for it being out of date, when you have a paper one. If i had been told that it wasnt compulsery to have the photo i.d i wouldnt have bothered. I think it was ascam to get our money. Now im facing 12 points even though i have an up to date paper licence.
marzipan - 19 December 2011 @ 7:27 PM
I have had a UK driving license since 1962.I have now moved to Spain.My license expired on my birthday this year. 16. march.and I went to the correct office, took all the tests and was given a piece of paper with my photograph on it.I assumed it was my temporary license because I knew that the final would be sent by post.However it did not arrive and I have now discovered that all I have been given is a medical certificate saying I am fit to drive.Since then I have not seen my license and I am sure that it was not returned to me.Trafico deny having my license.What can I do??
erfa - 9 December 2011 @ 12:14 PM
hi i have held a class one licence for 25 yrs but i let it lapse 2yrs ago if i went for a medical would i get it back thankyou
butty - 24 November 2011 @ 11:55 AM
Hi I have had my hgv licence for many years now but was due for renewal in 2005 but I did not bother with getting renewed can iask if they will still renew it now if I went for my medical it is now 2011 or would I have to take my full test again.
phiips - 17 November 2011 @ 11:34 AM
Does any one knowthat after not renewing a motor bike licence after 33 years . Is is still valid if one was to reapply .
splinter - 12 November 2011 @ 8:38 AM
i have had 3 medicals over the past 15 years i now have to renew my hgv 1 and have had another medical will i have to go on a tread mill to show i am fit to drive as iv had a problem with my heart (angina) which is stable for the past 3 years with medication and iv been active although i am over weight,will i still need another medical in 2 years that's when i`m 60.
penfold - 8 November 2011 @ 10:30 AM
I need to renew my HGV licence, I'm 50 years old and my renewal date was the 5th of september 2011, can I still renew or is there a time lapse? If so have I left it too late?
SB - 3 October 2011 @ 5:18 PM
Hi, I hold a current class 1 hgv licence. But have not used it for over two years. Is it still legal for me to use it or do i have to pass some test. Thanks
john - 20 September 2011 @ 6:59 PM
I have moved to New Zealand a year ago and have now had to get a driving licence over here to be able to drive in New Zealand.However my driving licence in the UK runs out at the end of this year (end of 10 year period).I will be back in the UK only for holidays.Can I drive on my New Zealand licence in the UK then or will i still need to renew it?
Lizzie1 - 5 September 2011 @ 4:44 AM
My hgv2 license has run out due to me having to have medical at the age of 50,can I carry on driving a hgv while I,m waiting for it,s return. Thank you
risole - 2 September 2011 @ 11:48 PM
I am awaiitng a court summons for driving without the correct insurance and without a supervising driver.I hold a current uopto date provisional licence.I am currently trying to pass my practical test.What happens to any endorsement given on my licence if I pass before the court date and then apply for a full driving licence?
Season - 31 August 2011 @ 12:07 AM
I am 45 and have had my medical, i have sent my licence off at the beginning of the week, it expires today, can i still drive hgv's or do i have to wait while my new licence has come.
thanks
Lee - 26 August 2011 @ 11:38 PM
my current short period (medical - no change to condition) licence and photo expire tomorrow.I had no reminders so have applied on a D1 but have not yet recd. back new licences can I still drive?SAT
bandit - 4 August 2011 @ 9:35 PM
Hi, i stupidly forgot to renew my licence, 2 years ago!! (gulp) i have now done it online but am wondering will i get some kind of fine or points? i filled in the renewal form and paid online roughly 20mins ago so am waiting a response from DVLA.
padster67 - 2 August 2011 @ 8:35 PM
my husband has just turned 50. we forgot toget medical check, his licence also ran out the day of his birthday. w ecan not get a medical with gp untill 15th august. what will happen when he tries to renew licence. will he have to take test again.
holidays - 30 July 2011 @ 10:36 AM
I have phoned you and been cut off, I am now trying this way, I am over 70 and would like a D2 and a D4 as I have been unable to get them from any post office, thank you
james - 12 July 2011 @ 12:44 PM
i needed to get a medical for my class 2 license but didnt at 45 iam 48 now is it to late
davet - 2 July 2011 @ 12:14 PM
Hi you can renew by post (directgov) you'll need a photo (as per their specification) and your existing driving licence number etc - plus the fee.
YourDrivingLicence - 24 June 2011 @ 2:09 PM
I took my driving licence in the UK and have a photocard licence. After talking to a British citizen leaving in France, he informed me that my driving card licence had expired a year ago and that i should have renewed the photo. I am a French citizen who spent twenty nine years in the uk. What steps should i take to have my photcard renewed as it is the only driving licence i have. Many thanks
zazie - 24 June 2011 @ 2:02 PM
My husband needs a medical to keep his class one licence.,he will be 45 this year.He is currently in Canada for 2 year he would like to keep his class one as he also a DSA instructor..Can he have a medical over there and send all the information to the UK. Thanks.
dotty - 24 June 2011 @ 4:23 AM
Hi could you please send me another form for a medical for my HGV class 2. The last one has gone missing and I was supposed to have had it completed and sent back a couple of months ago with a medical check up. Many thanks .
harley - 21 June 2011 @ 3:21 PM
my son is curretly working in america, he has an american driving license,he has just had a reminder to say his UK license needs renewing , does he need to do this imediatly and will he be able to drive in the UK when he comes on holiday with an american license and an out of date UK license.H e has no imediatre plans to return to the UKto stay but he may want to at some stage ....how does he stand ,is there any need for him to renew his license now?
shelley - 16 June 2011 @ 9:23 AM
i left my job to become my partners carer so forgot to re new my licence this will be 6or7 years ago have i lost my class 2 entitelment for good or can i claim it back
roy jones - 13 June 2011 @ 10:12 AM
I needed to have a medical at 45 for my class 2 licence I am now just over 46, is it to late to do medical
Basher - 9 June 2011 @ 5:35 PM
I needed to have a medical at 45 for my class 2 licence I am now just over 46 is it to late to do medical
Basher - 9 June 2011 @ 5:31 PM
my currant hgv licence has expired....can i still be a passenger and use my digital card
mims - 2 June 2011 @ 5:39 PM
I need to have a medical in august for my hgv as I am 50 in august but we are moving house in august as well. Can I put everything in the same envelope and do at the same time?
steph - 31 May 2011 @ 6:32 AM
my class 1 licence expired 20 years ago
what do i need to do to reapply
geoff - 25 May 2011 @ 3:55 PM
Hello,I know someone who is 59 and has not had a medical since he was 50. He has moved since and thinks the reminder has got lost in the post, but he has forgot to do anything about it until he went for a class 2 job and the company said he did not have the entitlement on his license. Would having a medical be enough to get the entitlement back or has he left it to long. Please could you let me know.
canary44 - 21 May 2011 @ 10:47 PM
I needed to have a medical at 45 for my class 2 licence I am now 47 is it to late to do medical
rm - 21 May 2011 @ 6:25 PM
My hgv & psv licence are due to expire on 21 08 2011 how much will it cost to renew then my dob is 01 03 1960 my age is 51many thanks
Steve - 10 May 2011 @ 9:52 AM
My Driving licence picture is due to run out on the second week in May (2011), I have a provisional car licence but with full (Direct Access obtained in January 2009) motorcycle entitlement on it. I work away and won't be home until the end of June (2011) can you tell me what I will have to pay to renew my licence please, also I moved house just before I came away so I will have to change my address too.
mark1981hud - 27 April 2011 @ 6:28 AM
Hello, I'm french and I have lived in Jersey (Channel Islands) for a year in 1998 and passed my driving licence there. I left Jersey and went back to France thinking that my licence was acquiered for "life"(that's the case in France). This licence has expired in 2003 and I never renewed it. I didn't know that my licence would be "cancelled" definitely 5 years after the expiration after calling the parish hall. Because of a lack of information, I cannot drive anymore and I even can exchange my licence for a french one. Today, I'm in disarray! Is there any chance to get back my licence ?Thank you very much for your answers
anto - 15 April 2011 @ 6:37 PM
I am abroad soon to come home to the UK my HGV C+E expired a few months ago. I come back to the UK in 6 weeks time. Can I still get a medical and renew my C+E I am 55 years old, or is there a time limit.
Dave - 22 March 2011 @ 2:45 AM
If your licence has expired, you cannot drive until a new one has been issued.
YourDrivingLicence - 15 March 2011 @ 10:19 AM
My licence expires on saturday but I have just sent away the forms to renew it as I forgot. Is it legal for me to still drive or do I need to wait till my new one comes through?
pammy - 14 March 2011 @ 7:21 PM
Hi I want to renew my Provisional driver photo ID and my address at the same time will this cost me any money and what do I need to do?
donski - 13 March 2011 @ 1:29 PM
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