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Paper driving licences

Change the name on a paper driving licence

A new name moves you onto a photocard, and the swap is free. Post form D1 to DVLA with your paper licence, a recent printed passport-type photo, and original proof of who you are and of your new name. Paper licences issued before 31 March 2000 are still valid, but GOV.UK says that once you update your name or address, DVLA issues a photocard only.

What to send Apply online – £18.50
  • Free with a new name
  • A photo and proof of identity
  • Checked with GOV.UK, October 2026
A smiling older woman with a white bun and round glasses in a teal cardigan, holding a folded pale green paper licence in one hand and a new pink photocard in the other

Why the paper cannot simply be updated

GOV.UK lists a change of name among the reasons you must get a new licence, and a new licence is always a photocard now. If nothing about you has changed and your paper licence is still valid, you can keep it: GOV.UK says there is no need to exchange it.

Paper to photocard

From paper licence to photocard, in one envelope

Everything goes to DVLA together. What comes back is a photocard in your new name, with your Deed Poll and identity documents following separately.

Your paper licence Issued before 31 March 2000 Form D1, filled in and signed A printed passport-type photo Proof of who you are Original proof of the new name Back to you A photocard in your new name Free with a change of name What you can drive: check it on GOV.UK before you post the paper licence, and again when the photocard arrives Your paper licence Issued before 31 March 2000 Form D1, filled in and signed A printed passport-type photo Proof of who you are Original proof of the new name Back to you A photocard in your new name Free with a change of name Check what you can drive on GOV.UK before you post the paper licence, and again after
From GOV.UK’s name change and paper licence exchange pages and its 2015 guidance on paper licences, checked October 2026.
Your envelope

What to send DVLA with a paper licence

Collect the D1 pack from a Post Office that offers DVLA services: it cannot be downloaded, and a change of name cannot go through GOV.UK’s online exchange. Filling in form D1.

  • Originals only. GOV.UK rules out photocopies, laminated certificates and certified copies, so your Deed Poll itself goes in. Documents come back separately, by second class post.
  • About 3 weeks. GOV.UK’s usual time by post, and DVLA asks you to allow 4 before chasing. You can keep driving meanwhile.
  • Check the pack’s address too. GOV.UK’s name change page gives SA99 1BN for every car or motorbike licence, paper included, while its exchange page lists SA99 1BU for paper licences. GOV.UK’s replacement guide adds that the form itself shows where to send it, so follow the pack if it differs.
Paper licence, new name: form D1
DVLA
Swansea
SA99 1BN

Freewith a new name

  • Form D1, filled in and signedOr form D2 for a lorry or bus licence.
  • Your paper licenceThe licence itself. The photocard takes its place.
  • A recent printed passport-type photoFor your first photocard. The photo rules.
  • Proof of who you areA valid UK passport number or a share code on the form, or an original identity document. Your options.
  • Original proof of the new nameYour Deed Poll with one document in your new name, or a marriage or civil partnership certificate, for example.
  • Sent a document rather than a passport number?Someone who knows you countersigns the form and photo.
  • Paper licence lost or destroyed?Say so on the form and include £20, by cheque or postal order payable to DVLA.

From GOV.UK’s name change, postal change of address and identity documents pages, checked October 2026.

Proving who you are

Proof of identity for your first photocard

GOV.UK’s guidance on swapping a paper licence asks for original identity documents, and its identity rules give three ways to show who you are. The first two keep everything at home.

  1. A UK passport number

    Write the 9-digit number of a valid UK passport on the form, and keep the passport. GOV.UK says an expired one’s number cannot be used.

    No countersignature

  2. A share code

    If you have a UK Visas and Immigration account, get a code from GOV.UK’s view and prove your immigration status service, choosing “something else” as the reason, and write it on the form.

    No countersignature

  3. A document by post

    An Irish passport, a passport from outside the EU and EEA with a visa sticker or stamp, a travel document, evidence that you receive a State Pension, or a UK birth, adoption or naturalisation certificate sent with a second document, such as a P60 or your marriage certificate.

    Needs a countersignature

Who can countersign

When you send a document instead of a number or code, someone else signs your form and photo to confirm who you are, and DVLA will contact them. If they have retired, write their former job on the form.

  • Knows you personally
  • Has a GB photocard licence that is still valid
  • Is a UK resident
  • Is not related to you
  • Lives somewhere other than your address

GOV.UK’s examples include a shopkeeper or local business person, a librarian, a teacher, lawyer or engineer, a police officer, bank staff, a civil servant, a minister of religion and a councillor.

What you can drive

Your entitlements, before and after

The categories you may drive are held on DVLA’s record of your licence, and GOV.UK’s view driving licence service shows them, with any penalty points and the date the licence runs to. Look before the paper goes in the envelope, and make a note.

The service asks for your driving licence number, your National Insurance number and the postcode on your licence: if you have moved since, use the one printed on the paper.

Passed your car test before 1 January 1997? GOV.UK says you are usually allowed to drive a vehicle and trailer up to 8,250kg maximum authorised mass, and points to the same service to check it.

Three looks at your licence

  1. Before you postOpen view your driving licence on GOV.UK and note every category it lists.
  2. In the envelopeThe paper licence goes to DVLA with your form, photo and proof.
  3. When the photocard comesCompare it with your note. If a category has gone, contact DVLA before you drive anything it covered.
Your old licence

What happens to your paper licence

It goes to DVLA

GOV.UK asks for your photocard or paper licence with the form, and a new licence comes back. From then on, the photocard is your licence.

You keep driving

GOV.UK’s name change page says you can still drive while you wait, even with the paper licence in Swansea.

Do not destroy it first

GOV.UK tells holders of paper licences issued before 31 March 2000 that theirs are still valid and not to destroy them.

A counterpart is different

The paper counterpart that once came with a photocard has had no legal status since 8 June 2015. It is not a paper licence.

Once it is a photocard, it needs renewing every 10 years, and DVLA sends a reminder before the date.

Worth knowing

A new address, a lost licence and other cases

Name and address together

Still free: GOV.UK’s fee table lists a paper licence swapped for a photocard with a change of address, or of name, at no cost. One D1 does both. Name and address together.

A lost paper licence

Say what happened on the form and include £20, the fee for a licence that is lost, stolen, defaced or destroyed. A lost licence and a new name.

Aged 70 or over

From 70 a licence is renewed every 3 years, free, on the form D46P that DVLA sends you. A change of name still goes on form D1, and a photo you choose carries no fee.

Northern Ireland

nidirect says old-format licences there stay valid and are updated as they are renewed or replaced. A new name goes to the DVA on form DL1. Form DL1.

Questions & answers

More about paper licences

Can I change the name on my paper driving licence?

Not on the paper itself. A change of name swaps it for a photocard: post form D1 to DVLA with the paper licence, a recent printed passport-type photo, proof of your identity and original proof of the new name. What to send.

Is it free to change the name on a paper licence?

Yes. GOV.UK’s fee table lists a paper licence exchanged for a photocard with a change of name as free by post. The only charge is £20 if the paper licence has been lost, stolen, defaced or destroyed.

Do I need a photo to change the name on a paper licence?

Yes, one recent printed passport-type photo, because the new licence is a photocard. GOV.UK points to its passport photo rules: 45mm by 35mm, in colour, against a plain cream or light grey background. The photo rules.

Can I change the name and address on a paper licence at the same time?

Yes, on one form D1, and it is still free. DVLA wants original proof of the new name but nothing to prove the address. Name and address together.

Will I keep the vehicles I can drive?

GOV.UK’s pages on the swap say nothing about losing a category, and your entitlements are held on your DVLA record. Check them with GOV.UK’s view driving licence service before you post the paper licence, and again when the photocard arrives.

Is my paper driving licence still valid?

Yes, if it was issued before 31 March 2000: GOV.UK says such licences are still valid and should not be destroyed. Once your name or address changes, though, you must get a new licence, and it will be a photocard.

Something else? Ask a paralegal and we will answer, usually the same working day.

Keep reading

Related answers

Your name and address togetherOne form D1 changes both; the online service can only change the address.Read this A new photo with your new name?Usually not needed: when DVLA keeps your photo, and when it asks for one.Read this Changing your driving licenceForm D1 by post, free and never online, plus Northern Ireland.Read this

An older licence, and a new name?

Apply online in about five minutes. A paralegal drafts your Deed Poll, quality control checks it, and it is posted the same working day, guaranteed to be accepted by DVLA.

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