The rules around having a driving licence revoked have changed.

Since November last year the DVLA has had the power to revoke a licence after 28 days if a driver fails to respond to an update request. Previously, this process could have taken a year or even longer, yet 42,000 drivers were still affected. Many more will fall foul of the shorter period.

Here’s a hypothetical but plausible scenario. One of your drivers has recently moved house but forgotten to notify the DVLA of the new address. That driver is then caught by a speed camera while driving their own private vehicle; the case goes to court and the fine and points are issued. The DVLA will write to the last-known address and notify the driver that he or she now has just 28 days to surrender their licence for updating the points. But the driver is not going to know that, as he or she has moved, and in the absence of any response, the licence is revoked. Now you have a driver driving out on the road in one of your vehicles whose licence has been revoked by DVLA, with all the implications that carries for you.

So the physical driving licence that is handed to you or to one of your managers for checking might have been revoked and not represent the true picture, leaving you significantly exposed.

There is only one way to be sure that a driver is properly licensed to drive on behalf of your business: use a licence checking service that taps into the very latest DVLA data, such as the one offered by Cardinus. If you would like to know more on this important change in the law and how it might affect you, please contact Cardinus Fleet on 01733 426015 or email fleet@cardinus.com.