Morris Minor Owners Club

Are old paper licences valid forever? or at least until the age related expirary date?
I've heard a rumor that they are making them invalid ?

Paper licences are still valid however a new EU wide driving licence has just been introduced to prevent fraud and improve road safety. Existing licences will be changed to the new format at the time of renewal, or by 2033 at the latest:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 58029.html

If you are planning on driving abroad then you need a new style photocard licence as many foreign authorities won't trust your paper licence.

Paper licence is good till 70. If you change to the new licence then you need to keep forking out to renew it regularly!!

bmcecosse wrote:Paper licence is good till 70.

Unless you change address before then, or have any points added, in which case it will be replaced with the new style licence.

Well ok - yes - points?? For good behaviour - like me ????

or you could have a plastic one and a paper one still........

I have just renewed my plastic one, I had to send the remains of the paper one too! The new ones arrived a few weeks later, the paper one is a bit smaller now and doesn't come with the plastic wallet!

The government are intending to phase out paper licences - and paper insurance certificates - by 2015

From the Daily Telegraph.....

Paper driving licence to be phased out

The paper driving licence is to be phased out as part of the Government’s drive to cut red tape. It will disappear in 2015, after which only a photocard will be issued. Details of driving convictions will be held on computer and made available to car hire companies and foreign authorities.

Until the paper licence disappears, drivers will be legally obliged to retain the document and present to police officers if stopped. The other major change announced by the Government will see drivers spared the obligation to have an insurance certificate. This is because insurance details are now held on computer and checked by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. This means drivers will no longer have to present the certificate when buying a tax disc at the Post Office.
However no date has been fixed for the change, which is still being discussed with the insurance industry.

“Motorists shouldn’t have to keep numerous bits of paper just to prove they can drive and have bought insurance – we live in digital age and we need to embrace that.,” said Justine Greening, the Transport Secretary. “Reducing the number of rules and regulations in our life is absolutely vital to removing barriers to economic growth and increasing individual freedoms. This whole process just proves that there’s so much sitting on our statute books that at the very least needs a good spring clean or can be scrapped entirely.”

What I found quintissentially Hilariously British is, having changed my licence to the new format, i.e. paper certificate and plastic card,when renewing my passport, I had to produce the paper element as the plastic card on its own was insufficient i.d.
only in Britain

Someone showed me their Sri Lankan licence yesterday, not only did it have his picture also it was a smart card with contacts like a credit card has.

JOWETTJAVELIN wrote:If you are planning on driving abroad then you need a new style photocard licence as many foreign authorities won't trust your paper licence.

Are you sure about this?
I have checked DVLA, RAC and AA sites and there is no mention of this.
You have me worried because I frequently drive in Europe with my old style licence.

It's worth checking - the old UK paper license does not meet the current requirements for an EU license... however that does't mean it isn't allowed.
Various country-centric regulations are 'allowed by default' in other EU countries despite proper compatibility.

e.g. in UK a trailer needs to have the tow vehicle registration plate displayed on the rear*
In Germany, this IS allowed for UK registered vehicles, only because it is allowed in UK.
For German registered vehicles in Germany, the German rules apply - i.e. a separate plate for the trailer.
But what if a German visitor (with their own car) wants to hire a UK trailer whilst visiting UK? It's chaos.

* although not necessarily on the rear of the trailer, for the pedantic amongst us the rule is that it is 'clearly visible from the rear of the vehicle'.

beero wrote:

JOWETTJAVELIN wrote:If you are planning on driving abroad then you need a new style photocard licence as many foreign authorities won't trust your paper licence.

Are you sure about this?
I have checked DVLA, RAC and AA sites and there is no mention of this.
You have me worried because I frequently drive in Europe with my old style licence.

It would be a good investment to have a photocard EU-friendly licence because, although the old paper one is technically allowed a lot of the authorities are very sceptical of them and if you need to hire a car abroad on one of these licences I'm pretty sure there's more chance of seeing a snowflake in Hell.

The reason is probably fraud and to bring the UK in line with the rest of Europe.

I drove in Italy last year and had no problem with the old paper type licence being accepted, though Europe wide it is probablly doubt different in each country

Heres a link to a news story about old licences being phased out and how we will all be fined for not updating the new ones......

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20968886

I hired a car in Greece in May 2012 - they accepted my paper license without question. Was stopped in Greece in 2011 in our camper and again, no problems with the paper license. As mentioned earlier re number plates in Germany, it appears that if something is valid in your home state, then it is valid throughout the EU.