DVLA issues major new driving licence targets with new changes to impact Britons

Driving licence: DVLA instructs motorists on how to apply online

DVLA chiefs have issued a set of new targets which could have a major impact on UK motorists within months. 

The agency has issued a series of waiting time targets for driving licence applications and renewals in a dramatic bid to boost the customer experience for road users. 

As part of their new 2023/24 targets, the DVLA will aim to dispatch licence applications made online in just three working days at least 95 percent of the time. 

A vehicle registration certificate and a tachograph will also be sent to online applicants within 72 hours. 

The body has also set itself an ambitious 90 percent target to dispatch postal driving licences in 10 working days. 

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As things stand, officials tell drivers to allow up to three weeks to receive a licence if they apply by post meaning the new target would be a small step further. 

The DVLA is also planning to dispatch vocational driving licence applications made by post in five working days at least 90 percent of the time.

Chiefs also feel that at least nine in 10 licensing decisions on motorists with medical cases can also be decided within 90 days. 

Julie Lennard, DVLA Chief Executive and Accounting Officer hinted that a range of new tools would also soon be available.

She explained: “One of our priorities is the continued development of the Driver and Vehicles account, which is a customer-facing service hosted on GOV.UK. 

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“It has been developed and tested in private beta and during the year the service will be available to the public. Over time, the service will become a single portal for our customers to access their driver and vehicle services in one place, allowing them to increasingly self-serve, offering quick, easy, and convenient ways to interact with us, and ultimately enabling a more personalised experience. 

“The Driver and Vehicles account is being developed iteratively and in an agile way, so we will be adding services and functionality throughout its private and public beta stages. 

“In the coming year both the 10-year driving licence renewal and application for a first provisional licence services will be developed through the account.”

The DVLA has promised to “develop and improve” its services starting with a new 10-year driving licence renewal service. 

Experts have already announced that a reformed HGV levy will also be introduced from August 1,2023. 

Change is also needed in existing digital vehicle licensing systems to help cater for the new Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) fees set to be slapped on electric car owners from 2025. 

Motorists will also have the option to “go paperless” which means they will get a digital tax reminder rather than a traditional letter. 

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