Driving Licence renewal at 70 - preserving C1 & D1 entitlement

PatrickHoulihan

My 70th birthday is rapidly approaching. My current licence includes Classes C1 & D1. These would be lost if I renewed online. To keep them I need to apply using Forms D2 & D4, but all forms are unavailable during Covid emergency. Are there any solutions to this conundrum ?

DoaM

Why will you lose them? Is it because a medical is required in order for you to retain them?

lordmountararat

Why will you lose them? Is it because a medical is required in order for you to retain them?

This is what happens when you turn 70 if you're not very careful. All your grandfather rights disappear (such as towing, weight of vehicle, etc.) if you take no action, and you do need these forms to preserve these rights. OP, aren't they available on-line?

molerat

It looks like the forms are not available for download & print from .gov but are available from other unverified sources.  Post Office ?

AdrianC

C1 is 3.5 -> 7.5t
D1 is 10-16 seat minibus (<8m)

It's not just the forms. You will need a medical, too. And your GP can charge for that. And you'll need to jump through the hoops every few years.

Do you really want/need either of those? Big motorhome, perhaps, or volunteering with dial-a-ride or similar? If not, and it's just a point of "how very dare they?" principle, then it's probably easiest to just shrug and let them go. Remember, nobody under about 40 can do those without having passed extra tests...

PatrickHoulihan

Thank you to everybody for all your comments. I will respond in the order in which they were posted. 1. (DoaM) - the online application has a step where you have to confirm that you do not wish to retain C1 & D1 entitlement; you are advised to apply using Form D2 if you wish to retain C1 & D1; 2. (lordmountarat) - that seems to be correct, you have to take action to retain these rights; I couldn't find a way of downloading the forms online; 3. (molerat) apparently the forms are available from certain post offices, whose locations can be found online; unfortunately the nearest one to me is 25 miles away, and I suspect travelling that distance is probably contrary to the Covid Regs; 4. (Adrian C) Yes, I am aware that a medical is required and it will cost me £50+ ; unfortunately the online medics are unavailable during the Covid emergency, and my own GP might not welcome a visit from me at this time when I do not have a clinical need; even if my GP was amenable to testing me, the forms (D2 & D4) are unavailable.
The unavailability of forms suggests to me that DVLA does not want the medical tests to continue during the emergency, which would be understandable. But this would need to be coupled with the right to defer the renewal of the licence, or the right to reclaim these rights (C1 & D1) at a later date.
Has anyone heard of any such proposals ?

AdrianC

PatrickHoulihan said:

The unavailability of forms suggests to me that DVLA does not want the medical tests to continue during the emergency, which would be understandable. But this would need to be coupled with the right to defer the renewal of the licence, or the right to reclaim these rights (C1 & D1) at a later date.

You're overthinking it. It's actually far simpler than that...
The vast majority of renewals can be done online. You are an edge case.
DVLA are short-staffed currently, for obvious reasons, and are prioritising professional drivers and keyworkers. To enable them to do that, they've simply said "No non-online renewals at the mo".

Has anyone heard of any such proposals ?

No.

Ganga

Glad I read this thread as I am 70 in july and did not know that my licence would expire, as it happens I can drive a 7-5 t gross truck but as I have no intention to do it again ( always found the tacho a pain in the bum ,even have my CPC ) I will not miss this being off my licence

[Deleted User]

When you apply for a photocard renewal never ever send your old one in.

sheramber

Ganga said:

Glad I read this thread as I am 70 in july and did not know that my licence would expire, as it happens I can drive a 7-5 t gross truck but as I have no intention to do it again ( always found the tacho a pain in the bum ,even have my CPC ) I will not miss this being off my licence

You will be sent a notification about the renewal a month before the relevant date.

AdrianC

Deleted_User said:

When you apply for a photocard renewal never ever send your old one in.

Are you referring to the categories that went missing when some people moved from old paper licences to modern photocard ones? That was because of their record changing between systems. That is long-since completed, and everybody is on the same, new system now. If you want to know what categories DVLA think you have, look at https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence - that's what'll come back on your new photocard.