DVLA driving licence paperless change could mean car chaos this summer

IF you are planning to hire a car in France and have a UK licence and paper counterpart, be aware that from 8 June the paper part is no longer set to be a legally valid document.

Many car hire companies ask for this paper counterpart, instead the DVLA say that people will have to apply for a code online that is valid for 72 hours.

The DVLA say the online code service will be ready by 8 June, I logged in to the service this morning (25 April) and it was not possible to generate a code just yet.

More from the Guardian: Holidaymakers are being warned to expect a summer of car hire disruption after it emerged that the DVLA is to scrap the paper counterpart of driving licences from 8 June, with drivers told to obtain a special online code before heading abroad – or possibly be refused a rental car.

In what it says is a purge on red tape, the DVLA is abolishing the paper counterpart that currently accompanies all UK photocard licences. It is advising drivers to destroy the document (not their paper licence if they still have one) because it will no longer be legally valid. Instead, all endorsements will be held electronically on a web-based service called “Share Driving Licence”.

But fears are growing that the “very muddled” introduction of the new rules will almost certainly lead to some hirers being turned away by car firms this summer. This is because many car hire companies insist on examining the paper document to check on any endorsements or bans.

And the DVLA website has further details about the changes:

As part of the government’s Red Tape Challenge initiative to remove unnecessary burden, it’s now been confirmed by Ministers that from 8 June 2015, DVLA will no longer issue the paper counterpart to the photocard driving licence. This means from that date, existing paper counterparts will no longer be valid. We’re advising drivers to destroy their counterpart after this date.

Drivers who hold a paper only driving licence (issued before the photocard was introduced in 1998) remain valid and should not be destroyed.

Update: Driving licence check code extended from 72 hours to 21 days

Related: Look out for 'full-to-empty' car hire policy