Always needed
An old paper licence
A change of name swaps it for a photocard, so GOV.UK says to send a recent printed passport-type photo with the form. The swap itself is free. Paper licences and a new name.
Your licence photo
Do you need a new photo to change the name on your licence?
Usually not. A photocard keeps the photo DVLA already holds, and changing only the name costs nothing. You need a photo for an old paper licence’s first photocard, or when you choose a new one, perhaps because the card’s 10 years are nearly up: a new photo with a new name costs £17, and nothing if you are over 70.
- No photo for a name alone
- £17 only if you want one
- Checked with GOV.UK, October 2026
The law keeps your photo’s clock running
Section 99 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 covers a licence replaced because the name or address on it is no longer right. The new card keeps whatever is left of the old one’s 10 years, unless you choose a fresh period and pay the fee for it. GOV.UK’s fees follow the same line: a new name alone is free, and a new name with a new photo is £17.
Keep it or change it
Keep your photo, or change it?
Find the licence you hold now. Each one leads to what happens to the photo, and what it costs.
When a photo is needed
When DVLA asks for a new photo
GOV.UK’s name change page asks for a photo in two cases only: an old paper licence, and a photo you have chosen to change. The 10-year renewal is the usual reason for choosing.
Worth doing now
A card near its 10 years
Photocards have to be renewed every 10 years, and DVLA sends a reminder before the date. If yours is close, a new photo on the same D1 saves sending the card off twice, for £17.
Your choice
A new look
New hair, a beard, a photo you never liked, or a change of gender at the same time: ask for a new photo with your new name, for £17. Anyone over 70, or holding a medical short period licence, pays nothing for it.
Cost
What a new photo costs with a new name
A new name is free by post, and GOV.UK’s fee table puts a new name with a new photo at £17, also by post. Pay by cheque or postal order made out to DVLA; damaged or altered cheques are refused.
The cheaper online photo change, which can even reuse your passport photo, is closed to anyone whose name or title has changed since their current licence. With a new name, the photo goes in the post, printed.
Lost the licence as well? The replacement adds £20. A lost licence and a new name.
Photocard fees, from GOV.UK
| Changing | Online | By post |
|---|---|---|
| Your name | Not offered | Free |
| Your name and photo | Not offered | £17 |
| Only your photo | £14 | £17 |
No photo fee if you are over 70 or have a medical short period licence.
The photo itself
The photo rules for your licence
DVLA asks for a recent printed passport-type photo, and GOV.UK links its passport photo rules for it. The size is the one UK photo booths print. These are the rules that count.
The print
- 45mm high by 35mm wide, never cut down from a larger picture
- In colour on plain white photographic paper, with no border
- Clear, in focus, unedited, with no creases or tears
- Nothing written on the back: DVLA asks you not to sign it
You, in it
- Your full head and upper shoulders, crown to chin 29mm to 34mm
- A plain cream or light grey background, with no one else in shot
- Facing forwards, mouth closed, eyes open, no hair across them
- Glasses only if you must wear them, never tinted, with no glare
- No head covering unless for religious or medical reasons
From GOV.UK’s printed photo rules and its photo change page, checked October 2026. The passport rules ask for two identical photos; for your licence, GOV.UK asks for one.
Your signature
Your signature on the new card
A photocard shows your signature beside your photo. nidirect, describing Northern Ireland’s card, explains that it is reproduced digitally from the one on the application form, and GOV.UK’s renewal guide sends anyone with a changed signature to the post or a Post Office, never the online service.
A new name goes by post in any case, so the D1 is your chance: sign it the way you mean to sign from now on. Deed Polls Online, our sister site, covers whether you need a new signature at all, for the passport and the bank too.
Where you sign, and how
- Your Deed PollIn both names. Ours has a box for your new name and one for your former name, signed in front of your witnesses.
- Form D1The signature you intend to keep using.
- The back of your photoNothing from you. Only a countersignatory signs a photo, and only when GOV.UK needs one.
Questions & answers
More about your licence photo
Do I need a new photo to change my name on my driving licence?
Not with a photocard. GOV.UK asks for a photo only when an old paper licence is being swapped, or when you choose a new one, so a change of name on its own keeps the photo DVLA holds and costs nothing. Keep it or change it.
Will my new licence have the same photo?
Yes, unless you send a new one. DVLA reissues the card with your new name and the photo it already has, and under section 99 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 the new card keeps what was left of the old one’s 10 years.
How much is a new photo on my licence with a change of name?
£17 by post, sent as a cheque or postal order made out to DVLA. Drivers over 70, and holders of a medical short period licence, pay nothing for it. The £14 online photo change is not available once your name has changed.
Can I use my passport photo for my driving licence?
Only online, and the online photo change is closed to anyone whose name or title has changed. With a new name, send one recent printed passport-type photo with form D1 instead.
Does my licence expiry date change when I change my name?
Not if you keep your photo: the new card runs to the old card’s end date. GOV.UK treats a new photo as a renewal, so adding one for £17 gives you a fresh 10 years.
Does someone need to sign my licence photo?
Not usually. GOV.UK says no one needs to sign your photo when you renew with a new photo, or when your identity is checked through a UK passport number or a share code. A paper licence holder without either may need a countersignature on the form and photo.
Something else? Ask a paralegal and we will answer, usually the same working day.
Keep reading
Related answers
Form D1 for a change of nameWhere to get the pack, how to fill it in for a new name, and where it goes.Read this Paper licence and a new nameA change of name moves you onto a photocard: what it needs and costs.Read this Changing your driving licenceForm D1 by post, free and never online, plus Northern Ireland.Read this
A new name for your licence, by Deed Poll
Apply online in about five minutes. Your Deed Poll is hand-drafted by a paralegal, checked and posted the same working day, with a signature box for your new name and one for your old.
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