Reform of the Drivers and Vehicles Licensing Agency

The Drivers and Vehicles Licensing Agency (DVLA) is responsible for maintaining accurate and secure records for 53 million drivers and 47 million vehicles. In 2024-25 it collected £8.4 billion in . The DVLA employs over 6000 people, the majority of whom are based in Swansea.

The DVLA’s main functions and powers are set by Parliament and include:

• Issuing photocard driving licences
• Issuing vehicle registration certificates to vehicle keepers
• Recording driver endorsements, disqualifications and medical conditions
• Taking enforcement action against vehicle tax evaders.

In November 2024, Lilian Greenwood, then Future for Roads Minister, published . The review assessed the effectiveness of the DVLA’s functions, governance and accountability.

The review reached the conclusion that being an executive agency of the Department for Transport (DfT) remained the right structural model to deliver the DVLA’s functions, including it having an advisory board and the DVLA chief executive officer also being the Accounting Officer.

The review also concluded that when time allowed the DfT should take the opportunity to prioritise updating legislation, for example registration marks legislation (last updated in the 1990s), and the Road Traffic Act 1988 to allow the DVLA greater use of automated decision making where appropriate, such as in Drivers’ Medical licensing.

The review set out eight recommendations for the DVLA and DfT, focusing on areas such as ‘Strategy and performance’, ‘Digital and data transformation’, ‘Customer experience’, ‘Income streams’ and ‘Governance’.

The DVLA business plan 2025 to 2026 (published 9 March 2026) states that its strategic aims for the year are to:

• deliver great customer service
• drive up digital
• be resilient
• develop a skilled, motivated and flexible workforce

Alongside the 2024 Review and 2025-26 Business Plan, in recent years campaign groups have worked with the DVLA to reform certain policy areas, such as how glucose levels are checked for drivers with diabetes or providing guidance for those with Obstructive Sleep Apnoea.

In January 2026, the DfT published its Road safety strategy. Alongside this, it also published five consultations on specific proposals in the strategy, all of which could have some implications for the DVLA’s work:

• motoring offences
• introducing a minimum learning period for learner drivers (category B driving licence)
• introducing mandatory eyesight testing for older drivers
• improving moped and motorcycle training, testing and licensing (categories AM, A1, A2 and A driving licence)
• mandating vehicle safety technologies in GB type approval

These consultations close on 11 May 2026.

In answer to a written question on vehicle number plates (PQ HL15545, 25 March 2026) the Rail Minister, Lord Hendy, said that following the consultations, consideration would be given to whether legislative changes were required.

Almost all DVLA services can be accessed online and eighty-three percent of customer transactions currently take place digitally. However, some of the DVLA’s services remain paper dependent, driven in part by customer choice to transact via post. The DVLA also provides the largest printing service in government (charged at cost).

In February 2023, the Public Accounts Committee report on Driving licence backlogs at the DVLA recommended that the DfT and DVLA “should consider what more they can do to increase take-up of the DVLA’s online services.”

In August 2023, the DVLA introduced a new ‘customer account’ which modernised the way that drivers interacted with the agency.

The 2024 review of the DVLA considered the agencies future success to be “firmly dependent on its ability to accelerate digital modernisation to enhance the experience of customers across all its services.”

In January 2025 the government announced the GOV.UK Wallet, allowing government-issued documents to be available on phones. An option will be provided to use a digital version of a driver’s licence. A Government Digital Service blog (21 January 2026) confirmed that private testing for the digital driving licence had begun.

The DVLA business plan 2025 to 2026 states that the second of four strategic aims is to “drive up digital”, to do this, the DVLA have committed to digital specific targets, such as eighty-four percent of all DVLA transactions being digital.

The GOV.UK page ‘DVLA service updates’ commits to customers receiving their driving licences within five days of an application. The DVLA also provide general guidance on driving while waiting for a licence application to be reviewed [PDF].

The COVID-19 restrictions introduced in March 2020 meant that most of the DVLA’s staff could not work at its site in Swansea, affecting the DVLA’s ability to process licence applications.

The DVLA took steps to address the licence applications backlog. This included automatically extending all driving licences for 11 months and a temporary scheme allowing lorry and bus drivers to renew their licence at 45 or over without submitting a D4 medical report. The DVLA also increased spending on renting two new offices, recruiting 362 additional full-time equivalent staff, and making overtime payments to staff.

In 2022 a National Audit Office investigation into the backlog found that the DVLA returned to processing standard driving licence applications within usual time limits by May 2022.

In February 2023 the Public Accounts Committee published a report on Driving licence backlogs at the DVLA which noted that since April 2020 around three million customers had experienced delays with licence applications. It also stated that in the same period, “almost all of the 17 million customers without notifiable medical conditions who applied online for a new or renewed licence had their applications processed within three working days.”

In response to a parliamentary question about the DVLA (PQ 42713, 8 April 2025) the government stated that were no delays or backlogs for driving licence applications.

The rules on driver licensing are set out in Part III of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/2864), both as amended. GOV.UK allows holders of car and motorcycle licences to check whether they have a health condition which needs disclosing to the DVLA. A separate check list is available for those with bus, lorry or coach licences.

If someone reports a medical condition that affects their vision, the DVLA may refer them for a free eyesight test with their contracted optician. Presently that sole contractor is Specsavers. The DVLA then considers all medical evidence provided as part of a driving licence application, including the result of the eyesight test.

In response to a parliamentary question (PQ 88522, 5 November 2024) about delays in processing re-applications to the DVLA following the voluntarily surrender of driving licences on medical grounds, Minister for Local Transport, Simon Lightwood MP, said:

“The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) aims to process all applications as quickly as possible. Driving licence applications where a medical condition(s) must be investigated before a licence can be issued can take longer. This is because the DVLA is often reliant on receiving information from third parties, including medical professionals, before a licence can be issued.

The DVLA continues to make improvements to the services provided to drivers with medical conditions and is currently rolling out a new casework system.”

In response to a parliamentary question about driving licences (PQ 117124, 2 March 2026) the government confirmed that the new casework system was still not live:

“The DVLA’s new casework system for driving licence applications where a medical condition must be investigated will deliver significant improvements and the DVLA is also launching a new digital medical services portal in April.”