photo driving licences started in uk on july 1998.
photo driving licences started in uk on july 1998.
when did photo driving licences start in uk?
july 1998
except for northern ireland, driving licences issued before july 1998 did not have photographs on them. anyone who holds a licence issued before this date may retain their photo-less licence until expiry (normally one's seventieth birthday) or until they change address, whichever comes sooner. the new plastic photocard driving licences have to be renewed every ten years, for a fee. until 2015, the licence consisted of both the photocard and a paper counterpart which detailed the individual's driving entitlements and convictions ("endorsements"). the counterpart was abolished on 8 june 2015 and the information formerly recorded on it is now available online via the view driving licence service, except in northern ireland where the counterpart must be kept with the photocard.
driving licence in the united kingdom
driving licences, particularly the photocard driving licence introduced in 1998, and passports are now the most widely used id documents in the united kingdom, but the former cannot be used as travel documents, except within the common travel area. however, driving licences from the uk and other eu countries are usually accepted within other eea countries for identity verification. given that passports do not fit in a typical wallet or purse, most people do not carry their passports in public without an advance that they are going to need them. for people from the uk and other countries where national id cards are not used or not common, this leaves driving licences as the only valid form of id to be presented, if requested by an authority for a legitimately-given reason, but unlike a travel document, they do not show the holder's nationality or immigration status. colloquially, in day-to-day life, most authorities do not ask for identification from individuals in a sudden, spot check type manner, such as by police or security guards, although this may become a concern in instances of stop and search.
identity document