New figures released by DVLA show that around 66% of all customers who change the address on their driving licence now do so online. With August traditionally being the peak house moving month in the UK, DVLA is today (27 August) reminding motorists how simple it is to keep their address up to date online, to avoid pitfalls including missed reminders.
As well as driving licences, around 1.5 million vehicle log books are also updated with a new address every year. Following the housing market opening up post-lockdown, DVLA launched the new online service for motorists to update the address on their vehicle log book (V5C) without needing to post documents to DVLA. Over 130,000 log books have so far been updated and sent to customers using this service, which speeds up the process to receive a new log book - reducing waiting times from 6 weeks to just 5 working days.
DVLA's online service to update the address on a driving licence has been available for several years but has never been more popular, with DVLA processing around 2.2 million changes of address from customers who used this service last year alone. Now, with the addition of the new online service, customers can update the address on both their driving licence and log book in less than 5 minutes on GOV.UK.
DVLA Service Manager Anthony Bamford said:
Our online services will always be the quickest way to keep your address up to date with us, which helps make sure you don't miss important correspondence once you've moved house.
Millions of drivers change the address on their driving licence this way, and you can now update your vehicle's log book online too. It's important to remember to update both when you move - and it's quick and easy on GOV.UK.
Adrian Camp, Managing Director of Home Move Box, who deliver welcome boxes to home movers across the UK, said:
August has always been one of the most popular months to move home, and with lockdown giving people the time to reassess their living arrangements, now could be the time when they're looking to make their next move.
This may seem daunting, with so much to organise, but updating the address on your log book and driving licence is quick and easy to do, and it could save you a lot of time and stress in the long run. It's free to do this online at GOV.UK and takes just a few minutes.
Notes:
1) Vital correspondence about a vehicle - such as reminders to tax it, as well as any vehicle tax refunds due - is sent to the address of the registered keeper, which is why it's so important for motorists inform DVLA if this changes. Keeping their driving licence up to date with their current address also means drivers can avoid correspondence that may contain their personal information falling into the wrong hands, which could leave them susceptible to identity theft and other fraud.
2) Motorists can be fined up to £1000 if they do not tell DVLA when their address changes.
3) In 2015, 1,411,524 transactions for 'change of address on driving licence' were processed using DVLA's online service. In 2019, 2,198,842 transactions were processed using this service. For 2020, 1,074,163 transactions have been processed to 20 July on this service.
4) For the financial year 2019 to 2020, DVLA issued 5,221,127 automatic refunds. Where a vehicle changes keeper, DVLA will automatically refund the previous keeper any full months of vehicle tax remaining and will issue the payment to the address held by DVLA on the vehicle record.
5) Analysis of house removals data CompareMyMove.com shows that UK residents prefer to move house in August and during summer months; August is the most popular month to move house.
