Losing your motorcycle rights after new licence

Take a copy of your existing licence first just in case any entitlement is missed. I have heard of entitlements being missed, but very rarely, and these have been restored after discussion with DVLA. No one has, as far as I know, had to re-take a test.

P.S. You must be approaching your 70th birthday then?

This is not a new thing, it's been happening since photo licence's have been arround. First I saw of it was an MOT tester, who had previuosly been a police motorcyclist. When on a MOT refresher course, you have to present your licence & it was noticed that he didn't have motorcycle entitlement anymore. despite knowing his history, the VOSA man was not able to let him finish the day & he had to stop testing untill things were sorted. After several months of fruitless discussion with DVLA, as he could provide no documents proving he had held a full licence, they wouldn't reinstate his entitlement. This was despite a statement from his old police unit. He eventually elected to re-take his motorcycle test as he decided it would be quicker & easier.

The moral here is always photocopy anything you send to DVLA

Renew your licence online -they send you the new one first and then on receipt you return the old one to DVLA. If anything has been changed you still have your old licence to prove otherwise.

The DVLA will only accept certified copies.Best to renew online and not send the old one back. Or Anna, dig out that little red book they stuck a new page in every three years. Stiil got mine.

+1 for renewing on line.

I't's a must.That way you hold onto your licence and don't part with it until you can see the details are correct at the DVLA end.

As to photocopies, a warning: DVLA don't accept any photocopies or scans as genuine.

Lastly go and have a look at your licence and check it's expiry date, they don't last as long as you think and many drivers are on the roads with expired ones!

The date of expiry is stated at 4a next to your mugshot.

Rob.

Hello there,

Lots of sensible here about keeping a copy of your original licence and renewing on online.

I can vouch first hand that I had to retake my driving test in England for motorcycles when I traded in my EC licence for an English licence about 20 years ago. DVLA only issued a car entitlement leaving off both Motorcycle and HGV. Apparently it was my own fault as I had not specifically requsted (and paid for) any additional categories. So check your replacement licence immediately it is received from DVLA - I only discovered the missing categories when I went to hire a removal van which required the HGV. I didn't notice the motorcycle bit until years later.

Possible the same might happen in reverse if you retire and go to live in say Spain as presumably you need to trade in your English licence for a Spanish one.

A Northern Ireland (UK) licence is treated as an EC licence and has to be traded in for an English licence if you reside for more than 12 months in England. Or at least it was.

Patrick.

Previously patrick_mullen wrote:

Possible the same might happen in reverse if you retire and go to live in say Spain as presumably you need to trade in your English licence for a Spanish one.

Photocard licences are valid throughout the EC till their expiry date, at which point it needs to be exchanged for a "local" one. The Police (here in Germany) don't like it but that is their problem.

Some folks in the UK have to renew their photo licences ever three years. Before 10 years are up (ie 9years) you need an updated (aged) photo.

Usually at this point they want your old licence back.

Thanks to EU rules, there are more and more medical conditions that can take away your driving entitlement. I have seen the effects of this on a few people and all but one now gone. Must be a total bummer to be told you can't ride your Norton'son the road any more. But the advice is clear: Keep copies of all your old licences and check the new one as soon as it arrives. The closure of local DVLA offices does not help in any of this.

Previously Gordon Johnston wrote:

P.S. You must be approaching your 70th birthday then?

You're a brave man Gordon!

I'm quivering in an underground bunker at this very moment. One oddity I discovered is that at 70 your towing entitlement is reduced. Why I wonder?

I can only speak of other peoples experiences as I haven't had to renew my license yet. It is valid for 10 years and I'm not old enough to have had it that long . (My grandad was only 4 when my inter was built!)

I understand that photocopies and test certificates aren't accepted by the DVLA as proof. Best bet may be to phone them up and tell them you lost it, then when they send you a new one, if it's without all your entitlements, you can miraculously find the old one...I know several people that have done it like this and one who had to fall back on it. All seemed to work out ok.

Some folks in the UK have to renew their photo licences ever three years. Before 10 years are up (ie 9years) you need an updated (aged) photo.

And never send a photo in wearing glasses if you do not need to for driving, they add in a code identifing possible eyesight issues which means you have a lot of explaining to do if Plod stop you without glasses on. The DVLA code is advisory but Plod take it differently and you have to plead not guity and take it to court to get it reversed.

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=76585&st=0

Interesting, but these cops might not be in the UK after 18th September?

New rules are coming to drive us off the road in addition to Ethanol. People with heart conditions, high blood pressure and diabetes just for starters. And just wait until your medical records are sold to the insurance companies.

No doubt like Ethanol, we'll pretend there's no problem until we are allbanned or our our bikes won't run.

You heard it here first.........

Previously david_charlesworth wrote:

Renew your licence online -they send you the new one first and then on receipt you return the old one to DVLA. If anything has been changed you still have your old licence to prove otherwise.

Coming 70 this year I am also concered at losing my motorcycle rights.I have just renewed on line for a lost licence!! had to pay £20. I have now found my paper licence, what a surprise, I now have a paper and photo licence one of which I will send in when 70, the other i will hold onto incase of any mistakes. I must say the DVLA are very quick 3days including contacting the passport office for my photo. Commenting on this with a mate in the pup we compared licences, he can now at 70 ride a motorcycle, he has never riden a bike, their mistakes add on as well as taking away.