Alternative to paper licence goes beyond beta ahead of full transition in June
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's (DVLA) online service for drivers to view and share their licence online has gone live following eight months in the public beta phase.
Share Driving Licence makes it possible for licence holders to check their details online, and for third parties such as employers, rental companies and driving instructors to check a driver's record.
The move follows the abolition of paper driving licences last June.
The service involves a driver generating a code to share with a third part – by email, text or over the phone – which gives them access to the licence details.
Since the launch of the beta last May the service has been used for 7.9 million views and 1.2 million licence checks, with more than 3.3 million sharing codes created. It has now passed the 18 service standards for government digital services, gone through 29 rounds of usability testing and received 69,000 comments as user feedback.
A blogpost by Ryan Davies of DVLA Digital Services says more usability testing is planned and the DVLA will be asking for further feedback from the companies that took part in the private beta.
It adds that, in addition to providing up-to-date information on a licence, it will save nearly half a million drivers per year from paying £20 for a lost paper version.
Image from GOV.UK, Open Government Licence v3.0
This story was amended on 13 January, correcting a reference to abolish paper licences this year.
