I sent off my renewal of driving licence back in June. I have received an acknowledgement of receipt but thats all. I have tried to ring DVLA but my last call was cut off with a message saying DVLA are not answering calls re medical renewal!!! Anyone else in the same situation? The longer I am with no licence, the more anxious I am getting.
Because your Driving Licence is with DVLA it does not mean it has expired. It is under their consideration and that makes it still valid. It has not expired until they inform you that it is.
I waited nearly a year for them to make a decision on my situation. I believe that they are short staffed and that is why it is taking so long.
Good afternoon Breeze. When I was diagnosed with Atypical Parkinson’s about
4 months ago I told the DVLA & they sent me a form to fill out. They asked for all contact info for my Neurologist, my Parkinson’s nurse & GP. email & tel numbers. I filled that all out. Soon after this I missed a call from the DVLA & was asked to phone them back. The reply said that they were very busy & there was an option for those that don’t have access to a computer so I pressed that option & was told that they were very busy but if I pressed [option 1] I think, they would keep my place in the queue & they would phone me back which they did & I was again sent a medical driving license form which I had to agree to & sign, which I did & I got my new license very quickly. This was only a matter of weeks ago. I am 69 1/2 & my new license expires in 3 years time & can then be re-applied for.
The delay might be because you did not include all the info required on the forms you sent back or your medical team have not replied to their questions.
You also did not tell us whether your license had expired or whether you had reached 70 years of age.
My understanding is that if your driving license has not expired then it is still valid.
Steve2
Good afternoon breeze this driving licence takes time your consultant has to fill in the paperwork who then sends to dvla it all depends on your consultant also your GP can fill in the paperwork also my licence took 9months to do all because my consultant was lazy and i spoke to him
Thanks for response. My driving licence expired at the beginning of August - this is my 6th renewal of a 3 year medical licence so maybe they are having to consider their decision for longer? I am 58 years old.I am currently using the Road Traffic Act 1988 to allow me to drive. Im just annoyed - I dont like the waiting game.
Thanks for response. I dread to think whose pile of paperwork my application has landed on!
Thanks Geoffrey - that’s reassuring.
Just a cautionary tale regarding my last experience with the DVLA.
Based on this experience, I would caution anyone against applying too early for a Medical Driving Licence renewal- frankly it is much better to be patient and apply nearer the expiry date of your existing licence!
Should there be a delay in processing the licence application for any reason ( which happened to me , with delays and missing or incomplete forms to/from both my Consultant and GP, but to be fair, they probably had a bit more to attend to with Covid, than in a normal year ), resulting in your existing licence expiry date passing by, and with no valid licence yet issued, you can of course resort to driving under Section 88 of the RTA , as long as your Doctor agrees, but, and this is very very important -
“be aware, ‘the section 88 cover is valid from the date your application is received, not the date of your original licence renewal” hence me saying earlier, ‘ don’t apply early, & it is better to be patient!
In my case, having applied in January 2020 for an April 2020 licence expiry,-thinking that this would take a bit of pressure off’ the DVLA , , I wrongly thought that because my licence was still valid, until the April, that the section 88 1 year cover , would commence on the day my licence expired but no, this is why we all need to be aware - it commenced from the date that the application was received ie 28 January 2020, and it then duly expired on the 27th.January 2021.
So, because of Covid ( and it could be for any other reason in the future of course) , there was a shortage of staff and consequential delays, and I still did not have my licence, but neither did I have protection under section 88 RTA, as my application was about 13 months back!
The result was, that I could not drive - not until I was in receipt of my new Driving Licence, Not even in an emergency as I would be breaking the law, which would invalidate my Insurance cover !
Phew
Mike
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Seems Ive been fortunate - my new driving license turned up at the beginning of the week. Feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
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