As you probably know, DVLA is going to abolish the paper counterpart which was coming with your driving licence. This decision was taken by DVLA in order to simplify their services.
Starting from 8th of June, the paper counterpart will not be valid any more and DVLA advised all of you to destroy it.
The paper counterpart was an important part of the driving licence as it contained driving licence details that could not be included on the photo card. These details include some vehicle categories you are entitled to drive and any endorsement/penalty points.
What will happen now with your driving records?
From 8th of June your endorsements like the penalty points, driving convictions or fines will be recorded electronically in a national database ran by the DVLA.
Paper driving licences issued before 1998 will remain valid and should not be destroyed. Only the counterpart which comes with the photo card driving licence should be destroyed.
Can I view my driving records online?
Yes starting from June you will be able to see your driving records online using the service: “View Driving Licence”.
The service can be accessed at this link: https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence
All you need in order to access your info is your driving licence number, your National Insurance number (NINo) and the postcode where the driving licence id registered.
If you need to share your driving records with third party entities like your employer for example, DVLA prepared a special free service for that called: “Share Driving Licence”.
The Share Driving Licence Service can be accessed at the same link as View Driving Licence Service.
Hiring a vehicle with a debit card after 8th of June
In spite of what many newspapers published lately, the procedure of hiring a car remains very simple.
If you have a valid British driving licence and you want to hire a car in UK, you must have your National Insurance number(NINo), a proof of address and a form of identification (passport).
You will need to Share your driving records using the service specified above (“Share Driving Licence”) and generate a unique code which will help the rental companies to access it.
Please note that the code is valid only for 72 hours.
When you are travelling abroad and you want to hire a car, the counterpart is not required as this is specific only to UK.
For more information about the driving licence changes, please visit DVLA website at: https://goo.gl/8RnNvt
If you have any question about our debit card car hire services and for hiring a car after 8th of June, fell free to contact us at +44 0 113 88 00 408 or fill out the enquiry form at the left hand side and we will answer any questions you may have.