You are probably aware that provisional licence photocards need to be renewed every 10 years, so if you have had your photo provisional licence for that length of time, you need to know the various ways to get it renewed.
1. Online: This is the easiest option, but is only available to those who have one of the digital passports that were issued in the last 5 years or so (you can check and see if it has a chip in the back page).
If you have one of these, then you can go online to DVLA and renew your provisional photocard with a fee of £20 (March 2011), you don't need to submit a photo!
2. At a Post Office: To do this you will either need a D798 DVLA reminder or a D1 driving licence application form. There is an additional fee of £4.50 for processing your licence application, but this saves you having to send your documents in the post, and everything is done electronically and securely transfered to the DVLA, so you should get your provisional license back within a max of 3 weeks. It also means that any mistakes on your part can be rectified immediately without having to have the form sent back to you. You will need to provide a photo unless you have a digital passport.
3. By Post: This is the slowest option, and requires you to send the D798 licence reminder or D1 application form and your accompanying documents to the DVLA in Swansea via the postal system. The fee is £20 and it can take 3 weeks excluding any mistakes that need to be corrected. The address to send provisional licence photocard renewals to is:
DVLA, Swansea SA99 1DH
Remember it is your responsibility to renew your photo, otherwise your provisional licence is invalid, and you could be breaking the law if taking driving lessons when your photocard has expired!
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