Paperless Driving Licence For Motorists By 2015

The government has unveiled plans to phase out paper driving licences by the middle of the decade in a bid to save money.

As part of a drive to cut bureaucracy, from 2015 onwards only a photo-card will be handed out to motorists, with any bans listed online for car leasing firms and foreign countries' authorities to check against.

Currently the licence comes in two parts, the card and a paper licence and the paper licence must be kept by law and handed over to authorities if requested until the new changes occur in the next four years.

Besides only requiring one part of the driving licence, the government has also confirmed that insurance certificates need not be carried by drivers.

Instead, the DVLA will hold all details of every registered driver on their database in Swansea which can be cross-referenced on computer.

The move means that motorists will not need to hand over their insurance documents each time they need to renew their tax disc at the post office.

Unlike the announcement about the paperless licences, the government has so far been unwilling to give an exact date regarding the insurance certificates as they are still in talks with insurance firms about the project.

Transport minister Justine Greening said: “Motorists shouldn’t have to keep numerous bits of paper just to prove they can drive and have bought insurance – we live in a digital age and we need to embrace that.

“Reducing the number of rules and regulations in our life is absolutely vital to removing barriers to economic growth and increasing individual freedoms,” she added.