Eligibility Requirements for a Driving Licence Photo Card
If you need to renew or replace your Driving Licence photocard, you can do so by visiting the DVLA website. The cost of a replacement licence is £20, and you will need to provide a new passport-style photograph.
You may also need to provide additional documentation, such as your birth certificate or passport, if you have not previously provided these to the DVLA.
If your name has changed since your last driving licence was issued, you will also need to provide proof of this change.
Once you have submitted your application and payment, you should receive your new Driving Licence photocard within three weeks.
If you need to renew or replace your Driving Licence photocard, you can do so by visiting the DVLA website.
The cost of a replacement licence is £20, and you will need to provide a new passport-style photograph.
You may also need to provide additional documentation, such as your birth certificate or passport, if you have not previously provided these to the DVLA.
If your name has changed since your last licence was issued, you will also need to provide proof of this change.
Once you have submitted your application and payment, you should receive your new licence within three weeks.
History
Before Driving Licence photocard – Driving licences have been in use for well over a century, with the first being issued in the United Kingdom in 1903. They evolved from red booklets to green sheets of paper to the credit card-style shape we know today.
Surprisingly, the origins of this form of permission may be traced back to Brussels. The then-European Community determined in 1991 that, because citizens of each member state may freely migrate between them, driving rules should be as uniform as feasible across the bloc (prior to the Driving Licence photocard).
To that purpose, they adopted Directive 91/439/EEC, which required drivers in all member countries to pass both a theoretical and a practical exam in order to receive what is now a Driving Licence photocard.