DVLA and paper licences

Mildly_Miffed

Spivved1987 said:

For the avoidance of doubt (as some posters seem to be slightly misinterpreting my details), the difference is between 

(1) Paper licence address: 

123 Anytown Road

Any County

UK

X55 4AG

and 

(2) Current postal address:

123 Anytown Road

Any County

UK

Y55 4AG

I'm actually quite intrigued as to which part of the country has been changed from one top-level postcode area to a different one.

Changes within a postcode area, sure - the postcode for where I grew up changed from xx4 to xx45 a bit over 30 years ago - but I've never heard of anywhere changing from X1 to Y1.

Mildly_Miffed

Spivved1987 said:

I suppose the question turns on whether the postcode legally forms part of an address. One for m'learned friends.

It most certainly does, and has done since the 1970s.

Okell

Spivved1987 said:

chrisw said:

Technically, your friend may be correct as the Road Traffic Act requires the 'correct' name and address. However, if any correspondence sent to that address will reach you then it's unlikely to ever be an issue.

Any correspondence I have received from DVLA in the last 25 years has quoted the new postcode, including when they wrote here with the previous occupant's name saying now that she had turned 80 she needed to renew her licence!...

I suspect that when the Post Office changed the post code a cunning piece of software updated the old codes on government databases.

When the PO told you that they were changing your post code, did they advise you to notify DVLA or to renew your licence with the new code? 

No?  I thought not.

(Obviously the cunning software was not provided by Fujitsu...)

Car_54

Mildly_Miffed said:

Car_54 said:

chrisw said:

Technically, your friend may be correct as the Road Traffic Act requires the 'correct' name and address. 

Does it? Section number, please.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/part/III/crossheading/granting-of-licences-their-form-and-duration

s99
(4)Where the name or address of the licence holder as specified in a licence ceases to be correct, its holder must forthwith surrender the licence to the Secretary of State
(5)A person who without reasonable cause fails to comply with the duty under subsection ... (4) above is guilty of an offence.

Thanks very much.

SiliconChip

Mildly_Miffed said:

Spivved1987 said:

For the avoidance of doubt (as some posters seem to be slightly misinterpreting my details), the difference is between 

(1) Paper licence address: 

123 Anytown Road

Any County

UK

X55 4AG

and 

(2) Current postal address:

123 Anytown Road

Any County

UK

Y55 4AG

I'm actually quite intrigued as to which part of the country has been changed from one top-level postcode area to a different one.

Changes within a postcode area, sure - the postcode for where I grew up changed from xx4 to xx45 a bit over 30 years ago - but I've never heard of anywhere changing from X1 to Y1.

Me too, the only reason I can think of why the first (and perhaps only) letter would be change is if a London address was somehow redistricted (if such a word exists) and this resulted in a postcode change from say N1 to E1, although I'd be surprised if the remainder of the postcode then stayed the same. 

Car_54

Spivved1987 said:

chrisw said:

Technically, your friend may be correct as the Road Traffic Act requires the 'correct' name and address. However, if any correspondence sent to that address will reach you then it's unlikely to ever be an issue.

Any correspondence I have received from DVLA in the last 25 years has quoted the new postcode, including when they wrote here with the previous occupant's name saying now that she had turned 80 she needed to renew her licence!

For the avoidance of doubt (as some posters seem to be slightly misinterpreting my details), the difference is between 

(1) Paper licence address: 

123 Anytown Road

Any County

UK

X55 4AG

and 

(2) Current postal address:

123 Anytown Road

Any County

UK

Y55 4AG

Both seem wrong. A correct postal address requires a post town, and neither a county nor "UK".

Mildly_Miffed

Car_54 said:

Spivved1987 said:

For the avoidance of doubt (as some posters seem to be slightly misinterpreting my details), the difference is between 

(1) Paper licence address: 

123 Anytown Road

Any County

UK

X55 4AG

and 

(2) Current postal address:

123 Anytown Road

Any County

UK

Y55 4AG

Both seem wrong. A correct postal address requires a post town, and neither a county nor "UK".

Indeed.

But even so, there's a bit of inconsistency going on.

My full official address, going by Royal Mail's postcode finder, is...
House name
Village
Bigger village next door
City 20 miles away
Postcode

My photocard address is almost consistent with that, but lacks the actual village name - just house, next-door-village, city, postcode - which is the address that many postcode-lookups go with.

When I changed address on moving here, I would have given THIS village, not next door.

If I go to the current website as if I wanted to change the address, you give the new address by specifying postcode, then get a lookup - which gives the same form of address as is on my photocard now, omitting the actual village name. There are ways to change it other than postcode-search, but they all come back to the same end address.
It is possible to specify the address manually, but only by saying "No, none of those is the right property", which is clearly inaccurate.

https://www.gov.uk/change-address-driving-licence

I would be interested if the OP would be kind enough to tell us which top-level postcode area the change applied to, and what form of address the site gives for his property.

onomatopoeia99

Car_54 said:

Spivved1987 said:

chrisw said:

Technically, your friend may be correct as the Road Traffic Act requires the 'correct' name and address. However, if any correspondence sent to that address will reach you then it's unlikely to ever be an issue.

Any correspondence I have received from DVLA in the last 25 years has quoted the new postcode, including when they wrote here with the previous occupant's name saying now that she had turned 80 she needed to renew her licence!

For the avoidance of doubt (as some posters seem to be slightly misinterpreting my details), the difference is between 

(1) Paper licence address: 

123 Anytown Road

Any County

UK

X55 4AG

and 

(2) Current postal address:

123 Anytown Road

Any County

UK

Y55 4AG

Both seem wrong. A correct postal address requires a post town, and neither a county nor "UK".

Yep, very, very long time since the royal mail did sorting by county (which was always fun for those of us that lived in what used to be "Middlesex", which showed up on postcoding software for decades.  See also "Avon" which I still occasionally see today around 30 years after it was abolished).

Okell

Car_54 said:

Spivved1987 said:

chrisw said:

Technically, your friend may be correct as the Road Traffic Act requires the 'correct' name and address. However, if any correspondence sent to that address will reach you then it's unlikely to ever be an issue.

Any correspondence I have received from DVLA in the last 25 years has quoted the new postcode, including when they wrote here with the previous occupant's name saying now that she had turned 80 she needed to renew her licence!

For the avoidance of doubt (as some posters seem to be slightly misinterpreting my details), the difference is between 

(1) Paper licence address: 

123 Anytown Road

Any County

UK

X55 4AG

and 

(2) Current postal address:

123 Anytown Road

Any County

UK

Y55 4AG

Both seem wrong. A correct postal address requires a post town, and neither a county nor "UK".

I think the OP is simply giving an illustrative example to demonstrate that nothing has changed but the post code.

Okell

Spivved1987 said:

We have lived in the same house for many years so have not changed our paper licences. My friend says it is illegal to keep paper licences if your address has changed (which obviously I knew) even if the only change is the postcode. Many years ago the Post Office changed the first letters in the postcode for this address, although the digits remained the same. So I have been in breach of the law for about 25 years.

True or Tripe?

PS All V5s, VED reminders etc have been sent to this address using the updated postcode.

I wouldn't worry about it.

You haven't changed address.

(But I'd agree with others that there is no sensible reason for not getting a photo ID driving licence.)