Driving Licence Counterpart – Update for holiday makers after June 8th axe date

If you are heading abroad for your holiday this year then this is a must that you need to do if you intend on hiring a car to drive abroad whilst you are on your holiday. As posted previously the DVLA are axing the Counterpart Driving Licence from June 8th 2015 and Britons heading to Europe on holiday are facing the nightmare of arriving at their destination and not being able to hire a car, thanks to this controversial driving licence shake-up.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is scrapping the paper counterpart that accompanies all UK plastic photocard licences.

Information about penalty points for traffic violations such as speeding will be held only on the DVLA’s database, and will have to be checked online, by phone or by post.From June 8, holidaymakers heading abroad will have to log on to the DVLA website the day before and put in their driving licence number to obtain a special code to give to their car hire company when they arrive at the desk.

This passcode however is only valid for 72 hours.

Concerns are growing that the introduction of these new rules could mean people being turned away because many car hire firms abroad will still insist on examining the paper document to check for endorsements or bans.

Motorists will also be able to download their driving history as a printable PDF file, although it is unclear whether all car hire firms will accept that, or how drivers without access to a computer will cope.

The DVLA insists the changes have been widely publicised. But consumers booking car hire for holidays after June have not been warned the new rules are being introduced. The terms and conditions of most car hire firms still explicitly state that paper counterparts must be produced.

The DVLA said the system, called Share Driving Licence, would be ready in time for June 8. A spokesman said: ‘There is up-to-date information on the website and we are working closely with the industry to ensure that their systems and processes are ready for the changes.’

https://insidedvla.blog.gov.uk/category/abolition-of-the-counterpart/

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/driving-licence-changes