It’s pretty common to put your driving licence in your wallet and leave it undisturbed for sometimes years at a time.  However, your driving licence doesn’t last forever – a standard licence expires after 10 years. Even though you should receive a reminder letter when yours is close to expiring, this is pretty easy to miss and so if it’s a while since you looked at yours, then it might be time to give it a check.  Especially as the penalty for driving with an expired licence is a fine of up to £1000.

In some cases, licenses have shorter expiry dates. For example, if you are over 70, then your licence must be renewed every three years and if you’re driving a lorry or a bus the expiry period is five years.

So, if you check and discover that your licence is due for renewal, there are some things you will require

The simplest way to renew your licence is to visit the DVLA’s page on the UK Government website and click on the application form for licence renewals.

Just be warned, if you search for this on Google, you will find a few companies that offer this service and will charge you extra for the privilege.  They are not DVLA affiliated or endorsed, and you can do it directly on the UK government website with no additional charges (other than the renewal fee) being incurred.

You can also renew using a paper form at your local Post Office which will cost a little bit more but can suit people better if they’re not confident in using online forms.

Your Driving Licence Photo

Your driving licence photo needs to meet the UK Passport photo specifications.  This means that it must be printed to a high quality (a home printer is unlikely to make the grade) and the photo must have been taken in the last month.  In addition to this…

• It must be a true likeness of you and of your full head
• In colour
• Against a light grey or cream backdrop
• Clear, in sharp focus and with no red eye. There can also be no shadowing on your face or backdrop.
• Free of any reflection or glare from glasses (it’s best to take them off even if you usually wear them)
• Of you on your own
• In good condition with no damage, creases or tears.
• In terms of size and proportions, then diagram below shows the criteria it needs to meet

You can take your own digital photo and send it to us to create an official complaint driving license photo

Getting the photo wrong is the most common reason for a licence renewal application getting rejected which can cost you both time and money.  Visiting VisualChaos Studios means that you are guaranteed that your photo will be taken correctly (along with having a more flattering outcome than your average booth although we’re not allowed to use any creative lighting or airbrushing).

We use a state-of-the-art biometric driven software to ensure that all of the photos that we take meet the exact requirements before we print them out for you so you know that they will be accepted.  That can save you the time and money associated with multiple booth visits and trips to the post office.