Abolition of Paper Counterpart Driving Licence Delayed

Published: 05 January 2015
By Chris Haycock

Trade associations, including the FTA (Fleet Transport Association), and BVRLA (British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association) opposed the move to put an end to the paper licence, which is used to record driver entitlements and penalty points. As a result, the DVLA has said that the counterpart licence has been delayed by six months, and it will now be abolished on the 8th June 2015. After this date, all existing counterpart licences will be invalid, and will have no legal status. However, there will be no change to the existing photocard part of the driving licence. Trade associations have expressed relief, saying that it allows them more time to prepare for the change, train staff and inform customers. BVRLA Chief Executive Gerry Keaney said on their website, "We welcome this delay and are happy that the DVLA and the Department for Transport have listened to the needs of some of their biggest customers. The DVLA finally has a clear plan of action for developing its online alternative to the paper counterpart, and we look forward to working with them in delivering a robust, cost-effective solution for the vehicle rental sector." After 8th June, all paper driving licences issued after 1998 should be destroyed, and the photocard driving licence retained. All paper driving licences issued before 1998 will still be valid, and should not be destroyed. A new digital enquiry service is set to replace the paper counterpart, allowing businesses (such as car hire companies) to make enquiries about entitlements/penalty points. However, here at 'Traffic Update' we have not yet seen the new digital service yet, so we don't know how it will operate. However, the DVLA have stated that any enquiries about the licence holder will only be made available to those who 'have a right to see it, and with the knowledge of the driving licence holder'. The counterpart driving licence was first introduced in 1998 in order to show information that could not be shown on the newer photocard. The abolition of the paper counterpart was decided following a 'Red Tape Challenge' consultation on road transport that aims to simplify DVLA's services. For more information about the abolition of the counterpart driving licence, see the Gov.uk website.