Whilst getting an online car insurance quote the other day, I was a bit shocked when the process highlighted that my diving licence was out of date and due for renewal by some 10 months. I had not received any reminder, and the address on my licence is correct. Further investigation showed that due to covid, licences with expiry dates up to the end of 2020 have automatically been extended by 11 months, so as it turned out I had not been driving illegally. But it prompted me to renew my licence, and I think I should have had a reminder by now. So I'm just flagging up a warning for people to check their driving licence expiry dates, just in case. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/expired-driving-licences-automatically-extended-by-11-months Put into this subforum, because the financial implications could be significant, given the maximum fine of £1000.
Had a moment of panic as I struggled to make sense of my photo driving licence (as the codes are only explained in very small print on the reverse, that I did not locate until after looking them up on line and after starting this post). However before all that I realised as it had my current address it must have been renewed less than ten years ago. But for anyone else slow on the uptake like me 4a is date of issue of the current licence 4b is the date by which it needs renewal The photo card needs renewing every ten years, though my renewal date is a bit sooner as its renewal date is the day before my 70th birthday.
Just one more thought, if you need to renew and decide to do it online (only possible if you hold valid UK passport), be sure to do it at the official UK government website, https://www.gov.uk/renew-driving-licence, so you only pay he standard fee of £14. I noticed there are other "helpful" websites that seem to do nothing more for you, other than charge an admin fee of over £50.
And also, be aware that paper-based applications are taking weeks longer than normal at the moment. If you can renew it online using an existing passport photo or don’t need to update the photo on your existing licence then you should have it back fairly quickly, but if you need to update the photo itself it can take months. My son just had to renew his licence for the first time and needed to update his photo as he’s obviously changed quite a lot in the ten years from 18 to 28 so had to send off a paper application with a physical photo, and it took eleven weeks for it to come back. It’s supposed to take three at the most. Luckily, it’s still perfectly legal to drive in the interim even past the original licence expiry date as long as you’ve sent it off to the DVLA before that date (get proof of postage from the post office), it’s just taking much longer due to both a Covid backlog and industrial action because of a lack of Covid precautions for DVLA staff.
It's every five years here in British Columbia for everyone, however, once you turn 80 you have to have a medical checkup every two years to make sure you are physically and mentally fit to still be driving.
