No passport, no driving licence - anyone know what I can do?

travelodger

I'm a disabled old age pensioner. Never had a driving licence and not renewed my passport since 2020 because due to disability, I cannot travel abroad.

I am a sole trader with a hobby business. Had a business a/c with Santander for abt 20 years. Suddenly they have started charging for my "free for life" account and they've just helped themselves to £9.99 of my measly £40 balance.So I need to switch to a bank who won't charge me.

There are a few choices, but they are all asking me for a driving licence or a valid passport.

Is there any way around this? I have loads of other ID, such as my expired passport, Council Tax and utility bills, house deeds, credit and debit cards etc. I also have a trading licence issued by the police, which is in date and has my photo on it.

If there is no way out, what would be the cheapest option? A passport renewal would be £94. Would they accept a provisional driving licence? That would cost me only £34. 

Thanks for any help/advice from someone who solved this themselves!

Ms_Chocaholic

I've opened several personal bank accounts over the years with different banks and they've never asked for physical ID.  It may be different if it's a business account tho.  Have you tried opening it?

Kim_13

The majority of, if not all free business accounts are going to be app based ones, so they'll either ID based on the electoral roll or require photo ID (no branches to present alternatives.)

You could download an app and go far enough to see if provisional is accepted, it usually is (the old style paper one generally wasn't, as that made it too easy for one person to have obtained a licence belonging to someone else - whereas people would be more careful with the full one as even if they weren't driving at that time, they had spent time and money passing and might need to do so in future.) As you are disabled, do you meet the medical standards for a licence? It won't be quick if the medical group need to consider your application.

MyRealNameToo

Starling rejects an out of date passport automatically but after talking to them on chat they manually approved it. Dont know if there is a time limit on how expired they will accept it. 

friolento

Even if you can manage to open an account without having to provide photo ID, you should be prepared for having to provide it at a later stage. 

I have no experience with business accounts but have plenty of personal accounts, all opened online, and the vast majority without having to provide photo ID at the time of application. Although all the more recent ones have been asking for photo ID. I have now been asked 3 times to provide photo ID at a later stage: first time was a couple of years ago by First Direct, an account I opened over 20 years ago and which I have used regularly for savings. Then Santander, my main current account provider for nearly 15 years, asked for photo ID last week when I wanted to look at debit card details in the app. This week, Revolut emailed me with a request for ID verification for my account which has bern dormant for 2 years. I uploaded my DL but they are now also asking for a passport, for proof of citizenship they say. I have no issues providing these photo ID documents as I have both of them. It’s just necessary these days to have photo ID - not just for banks, but for all sorts of other reasons, too. For instance, I need photo ID to pick up parcels at various parcel drop-off places.

The only legal photo ID documents accepted everywhere are currently DL or passport. Some places, but not banks usually, will also accept Voter ID, bus passes or EU ID cards. Things like council tax bills aren’t ID documents though you can use them for proof of address.

If you want to be prepared, you should get yourself a passport, which will sort you out for the next 10 years.

Peter999_2

It's these situations where the digital ID will be useful.      I look after my elderly parents with all their finances, health issus etc.    It is incredibly difficult now to provide ID for them as it is expected they have a driving licence or passport of which they have neither.   Everyone I speak to who is against digital ID has either a driving licence or passport and have no thought whatsoever for people who don't.

It makes my life a lot harder to look after them and I'm all for the digital ID which would resolve so many problems.  If the digital ID does come out, I'll be the first in line for my parents.
 

GlitterMedusa

friolento said:

Some places, but not banks usually, will also accept Voter ID, bus passes or EU ID cards. 

Banks very much accept EU ID cards - I've used mine plenty of times for that purpose, it's always in my handbag so saves having to take my passport. Though I've finally got round to swapping my good old paper driving licence to a photocard one so I use that now mostly.

OP: I think provisional driving licences are usually accepted, so that would be your cheapest option, but do check first with the specific bank(s) you are considering 

travelodger

Ms_Chocaholic said:

I've opened several personal bank accounts over the years with different banks and they've never asked for physical ID.  It may be different if it's a business account tho.  Have you tried opening it?

Yes, great until I get to the "upload your passport or driving licence" bit.

Emmia

Peter999_2 said:

It's these situations where the digital ID will be useful.      I look after my elderly parents with all their finances, health issus etc.    It is incredibly difficult now to provide ID for them as it is expected they have a driving licence or passport of which they have neither.   Everyone I speak to who is against digital ID has either a driving licence or passport and have no thought whatsoever for people who don't.

It makes my life a lot harder to look after them and I'm all for the digital ID which would resolve so many problems.  If the digital ID does come out, I'll be the first in line for my parents.
 

I have both a passport and a driving licence, and I think an ID card is a good idea. I think a fully digital ID might also be exclusionary.

I think the people who object do so for reasons of "civil liberties" or not wanting to go back "to the war".

OP - do you have a blue badge? Sometimes those are acceptable as ID.

travelodger

Thanks for replies.

The Co-Op small print says prov. DLs are accepted. That seems to be the cheapest option. Still feels stupid to apply for a driving licence when I have no intention ever to drive.

It seems incredible to me that someone like me who has 50 other ways to prove my ID, from an English-born birth certificate, to numerous bank accounts, credit cards, house deeds, insurances, a will, utility bills, council tax bills, an expired passport -  which, although expired for travel purposes, still proves my ID and bears a photo - and who also has recent (2025) photo-ID issued by Sussex Police, who saw me in person to issue it, is still required to provide even more as all these things are not good enough! 

travelodger

I just tried applying for a provisional driving licence online and I got so far along, had to create a UK GOV account, had to give it the numbers of my current personal bank account, all was going well, then suddenl it said I had "failed verification" and could go no further.

So unless I pay £94 for a new passport that I don't need, it seems I am snookered. 

I'm rather peeved at Santander because when I opened the account it was advertised as "FREE business banking - forever".