Driving licence counterpart abolished

The counterpart has now been abolished

As of this morning (8th June 2015), the driving licence paper counterpart has been abolished and is no longer valid.

The government is advising drivers to destroy their counterpart document; however, we think you should hold off from doing that for a little while.  As from today if you plan to hire a vehicle, at home or abroad, you'll have to visit a government website first and obtain a code that you provide to the hirer so they can check your driving record.

New drivers will only receive a
photo-card licence

At the moment, there are reports of some hirers not being ready to handle the new system and it will no doubt take some time for overseas hirers to catch up with the new system in the UK.  Because of this, you may find it helpful to keep the paper part of your driving licence until the new system is bedded in properly.

In future, new drivers and people renewing their licences will be issued with only a photo-card licence.

The changes also apply to those drivers from European countries who have been issued Community counterparts by the British authorities.

From today, new endorsements and penalty points will not be entered on to your physical driving licence and will exist only on your electronic driving record.  This means that when people appear in court, the court will need to obtain the electronic drivers record for every single defendant.  Currently, courts normally only do this where the counterpart is not available.  There are frequently problems obtaining a DVLA printout at court so this change may create me delays for the court service.

If you have received penalty points before the new system began they will be transferred to your new driving record and continue to operate exactly as before.

Should you require legal advice on any driving matter please call the London Drink Driving Solicitor on 020 8242 4440 and ask for Nick.