GovWire

Go online

Our online services are the quickest, easiest, and often cheapest way to deal with us. We recommend that you use our online services where possible. If you apply online, you should receive your driving licence or vehicle registration certificate (V5C) within 5 days.

Here are some of our most popular online services:

• Apply for a driving licence
• Renew a driving licence
• Replace a driving licence
• Tell us youve sold a vehicle
• Change your address
• Tax a vehicle
• Keep or assign a private (personalised) registration online
• Apply for a duplicate V5C log book
• Apply for a driver digital tachograph card

Remember, if you are renewing your photocard driving licence, and you are unable to use our online services, you can do this quickly and easily at participating Post Office branches. It is quicker than posting your application to us so check if you are eligible to use this service. By using this service, you can expect your driving licence to be issued within 5 days.

Planned maintenance

The following services will be unavailable on Sunday 5 March 2023 between 7am and 1.20pm:

• Tell DVLA youve sold, transferred or bought a vehicle
• Private (personalised) number plates: Assign a private number to a vehicle
• Private (personalised) number plates: Take a private number off a vehicle
• Get a vehicle log book (V5C)
• Change your address on your vehicle log book (V5C)

These services will be unavailable from the times shown below:

• Pay a DVLA fine 5.45am to 12.45pm
• Tax your vehicle (our online service and automated tax payment phone line 0300 123 4321) 5.30am to 7.15am
• Register your vehicle as off the road (SORN) (our online service and automated phone line 0300 123 4321) 5.30am to 7.15am

Paper applications

All our services are operating within normal turnaround times.

Please allow 4 weeks for your new documents to be sent to you if applying by post. Please do not call us within those 4 weeks as your application will be processing and we will not be able to provide further information.

Medical driving licence applications (paper applications)

If you have applied for your first driving licence, or to renew or replace your current driving licence and you have declared a medical condition, this will take longer. Please do not contact DVLA for an update as we will be in touch as soon as a licensing decision has been made or if we need more information from you or your medical professional.

When considering an application to issue a driving licence, we aim to make a decision as quickly as possible but where we require additional information from a drivers doctor or the driver themselves, we are wholly reliant on receiving this information before a decision can be made.

Driving while an application is with DVLA

Please remember that by law, you must make sure that you always meet the medical standards for fitness to drive when driving. Find more information about driving with a medical condition.

If your application (including if you have declared a medical condition) has been sent to DVLA you may be able to continue to drive while we are processing your application, subject to meeting certain criteria. This applies to most types of applications so check the criteria to see if you may be able to continue driving by reading the guidance leaflet Can I drive while my application is with DVLA?.

Identity documents

If you need to include proof of identity with your application, make sure you only send in what is required and that you check requirements on GOV.UK before you post your application.

There is no need to send us a UK passport if youve provided us with a passport number on your application form.

If you need to post original ID documents such as passports or Biometric Residency Permits to us, we recommend that you consider using registered post.