Address on licence

henry24

I have a friend who has moved 4 times in the last 12 years without changing his address on his licence. This morning he's been stopped by the police in a routine stop. Will be get done for this or won't they check?

Car_54

Did they ask him whether the adddress was current? What did he say?

Anyway, how would they check?

henry24

I don't know if they asked and like you say how would they check, so is there any point changing your address 

poppy12345

henry24 said:

so is there any point changing your address 

Yes of course there is. Failure to notify DVLA of any changes (including address) if they found out then there's a fine of anything up to £1,000. https://www.gov.uk/change-address-driving-licence

It's free to change your address so there's no reason to delay.

user1977

If nothing else, not keeping your address up to date means you won't get the reminder to renew your photocard. So presumably his is out of date as well as showing the wrong address? 

AdrianC

user1977 said:

If nothing else, not keeping your address up to date means you won't get the reminder to renew your photocard. So presumably his is out of date as well as showing the wrong address? 

He may still be on a pre-photocard licence, of course.

TooManyPoints

The main reason why it's a good idea to do so is that if you are captured (say) speeding and were not stopped at the time, the paperwork will reach you. If it doesn't you are likely to be convicted in your absence of "Failing to Provide Driver's Details". This is a nasty conviction which carries six points and a hefty fine and the first you will know of it is either when bailiffs trace you to recover the fine or when you go to hire a car and the hire company finds six points on your licence. There are ways to reverse this but it involves engaging with the court, is aggravation you could do without and it is avoidable.

user1977

TooManyPoints said:

The main reason why it's a good idea to do so is that if you are captured (say) speeding and were not stopped at the time, the paperwork will reach you.

That goes to the vehicle's registered keeper rather than your licence address - though obviously you want to keep the former up to date as well.

Car_54

TooManyPoints said:

The main reason why it's a good idea to do so is that if you are captured (say) speeding and were not stopped at the time, the paperwork will reach you.

If you are not stopped at the time, how do they know who was driving?

sevenhills

henry24 said:

I have a friend who has moved 4 times in the last 12 years without changing his address on his licence. This morning he's been stopped by the police in a routine stop. Will be get done for this or won't they check?

Did they find anything wrong? Where are they sending the fixed penalty?

henry24

sevenhills said:

henry24 said:

I have a friend who has moved 4 times in the last 12 years without changing his address on his licence. This morning he's been stopped by the police in a routine stop. Will be get done for this or won't they check?

Did they find anything wrong? Where are they sending the fixed penalty?

It turns out he pinged there thing in the police car for not having insurance