British chauffeurs missed out on £2.3million savings between April 2020 and March 2021 by not renewing their driving licences online, new official figures reveal.
Of the two million photocard licence renewal applications made to the chauffeur and car Licensing agency (DVLA) in the 11-month period, around 23 per cent were sent from a post box or post office, rather than submitted online, which is the quicker and less expensive option.
How to get your driving licence
Using the Gov.uk site to renew your licence costs £14, with the new photocard arriving within five days. applying through post, meanwhile, costs £17 and the delivery of the new licence takes longer.
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The online service also brings the added benefit of being able to track your application’s progress on the website.
Drivers have to renew their photocard licence every 10 years. The DVLA offers a pointer when the renewal is due.
The DVLA also warns chauffeurs to only use the GOV.UK site to access its services. third party sites posing as official ones exist and will charge additional fees for services that are typically totally free or cost considerably less.
Julie Lennard, chief executive of the DVLA, said: “Our online services are the quickest and easiest way to deal with DVLA, and customers typically receive their driving and car files in just five days.
“Remember to always use Gov.uk when using DVLA’s online services. To renew online or find out much more about renewing a licence, check out Gov.uk.”
Click here for much more information on how to renew your driving licence….