Many Britons planning to go on a holiday in Europe this summer are worried about hiring a car because of the upcoming driving licence changes. According to the Mail Online, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is removing the paper counterpart of UK plastic photocard licences. Thus, all information about traffic violations and penalty points can only be checked online, by post, or by phone. This may make it difficult for car rental companies to check the record of the motorist who wants to hire a car.
The DVLA will implement the paperless driving licenses on June 8, so here are some of the things that you need to know for a hassle-free holiday:
If you’re planning to go abroad, make sure to log on to the DVLA website a day before your trip and put in your driving licence number to get a special code which you will give to the car rental company when you arrive at their counter.- The one-time licence code is valid for only 72 hours. You must share that information together with the last 8 digits of your driving licence number to the car hire company, before the code expires.
- You also have an option to download your record and send it to the hire car company.
- You can also request a code by calling 0300 083 0013. This applies to those who have a paper driving licence that was issued before 1998.
- To avoid paying roaming charges and going to the internet café, it is advisable to present all the information to the car rental company right away.
- Since not all car hire companies are aware of the paperless driving licenses, it is important to get in touch with the agency before booking a car hire so you won’t have any problems when you arrive.
To help you understand better on how you can prove your driving record when hiring a car, check out this video from GOV.UK below:
Mic Florendo is a Content Writer and Car Hire Expert at VroomVroomVroom. She also recently wrote about the cool cars in “Spectre”, the upcoming James Bond movie.
