DVLA to phase out old PVC driver’s licences for smart cards

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has announced the commencement of an exercise to phase out all old driver’s licence cards issued before September 2017 from the system.

The DVLA says these old cards will be replaced with smart driver’s licence cards.

This was contained in a statement issued by the DVLA on September 6, 2023.

The exercise, according to the DVLA, takes effect from now till 31st March 2024, after which all old card driver’s licences shall be rendered invalid by the Authority.

The Authority is thus inviting all holders of the old card driver’s licences to submit them to the nearest DVLA office for verification and replacement.

“The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) wishes to inform the public that, it has commenced an exercise to phase out all Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) card driver’s licence (the old PVC card driver’s licences issued before September 2017) and replace them with the smart card driver’s licence.”

“The Authority is inviting all holders of the PVC card driver’s licences to submit them to the nearest DVLA office for verification and replacement for the smart card driver’s licence. This exercise takes effect from now till 31st March 2024 after which all PVC card driver’s licence shall be rendered invalid by the Authority. This exercise is at no additional cost to the holder.”

The Authority has cautioned that holders of the PVC card driver’s licences who fail to replace their licences within the specified period will have to reapply and undergo all required tests to obtain a new driver’s licence.

Read the full statement below: