Renewing photo ID

JustAnotherSaver

So i'm due to renew my photo on my driving licence (yay!) and can't remember the last time I did it. Well I can, but i can't remember the goings on, so the question is -

do they send you out some paperwork beforehand like they do with tax & you use that to renew

Or is it on you to just get a form, send off & renew before your time is up?

I can't remember what I did last time.

Mine is due in June or July this year. I got my photo done in a booth in December for my passport. I'm assuming this will be fine to use (though I may have to use the actual photo & not the photo code on it as I don't know how 'old' the photo is ok to be - not that i'm going to have aged much in 6 months).

Car_54

They'll write to you, assuming your address is up to date. If your passport is a current UK one they'll use that photo.

Ebe_Scrooge

As above - you'll get a letter, and if you've got a current passport they'll use the photo from that.  Easy-peasy.

One tip - don't renew it as soon as you get the letter, wait until the day before your current licence actually expires.  Your new licence runs from the date of application, not from the expiry of your current one, so you lose about a month or so of validity.  Yeah, I know we're talking pennies in the grand scheme of things, but it's the principle of the thing, grrrr....

(Hey, I chose my username for a good reason, what can I say!)

400ixl

The renewal process is taking longer for many people, even into months, but seems to typically be a few weeks. You are covered for the period after your existing license has expired as long as you have submitted the renewal, so no issue there.

However it can be a pain to be without it as a valid photo ID for other things. So weigh up the saving of a small amount in leaving it to the last minute vs doing it in good time depending on which is more important to you.

You don't have to wait for notification, you can go online and start it whenever you want to.

Ebe_Scrooge

400ixl said:

The renewal process is taking longer for many people, even into months, but seems to typically be a few weeks

I'm surprised to hear that.  My wife had to renew hers by March 1st, I did the online application for her, new licence arrived 4 days later.  Maybe it's the luck of the draw?  I don't know.  But yep, you're right, the loss of a few weeks of entitlement is peanuts in monetary terms really.

Mind you, can't remember the last time I needed to provide a photo ID for anything.  Certainly when one is as advanced in years as me, there's no problems getting into pubs or buying a bottle of wine in the supermarket

JustAnotherSaver

Thanks for the info.

And beggar that. I'll be leaving it as long as possible. I'm not a fan of having to pay every 10 years just to get a new photo. I don't like my photo being taken at the best of times, never mind having to pay for the flipping process.

Mother still holding on to her paper licence for this one and only reason. Don't blame her.

Car_54

400ixl said:

The renewal process is taking longer for many people, even into months, but seems to typically be a few weeks. You are covered for the period after your existing license has expired as long as you have submitted the renewal, so no issue there.

So long as you're under 70, you are covered whether or not you've submitted the renewal. Your entitlement to drive does not depend on having a current photo, and continues until your 70th birthday.

Sea_Shell

We've recently had our reminder letters, and as our passports have expired, we're going to renew them at the post office in town, hopefully next week.

Hopefully a quick job?!

Archie_Duke

My photocard Driving Licence has expired. Frustratingly I can’t renew it online as the old address it was issued to, that they sent the reminder to, is not recognised in their awful system. Go to a Post Office, they cry. Hard when all the ones within miles of me have either been shut or don’t have the driving licence service.

Car_54

Archie_Duke said:

My photocard Driving Licence has expired. Frustratingly I can’t renew it online as the old address it was issued to, that they sent the reminder to, is not recognised in their awful system. Go to a Post Office, they cry. Hard when all the ones within miles of me have either been shut or don’t have the driving licence service.

So you hadn't notified them of your change of address? Hardly their fault.

Bigwheels1111

It costs a bit more but the best way is the post office.
Done mine there twice.
last Year during lockdown in July, did it on Thursday arrived next Wednesday, 4 working days.
According to the lady on the counter as soon as she hits the send button it’s in the queue waiting to be printed, no person involved and that’s why it’s quicker.