Your Driving Licence Explained

All driving licences are now issued in an EU format, which is a plastic photocard and paper counterpart. Licences with the old format style are still valid and will be updated as they are renewed and replaced.

Front of the licence (full licence and provisional) has the following fields:

1. Your surname

2.Your title, first name and middle names

3. Your date and place of birth

4a. The date that the photocard was issued

4b. The date that the licence will expire

4c. The authority that issued the licence (for the UK, this will be the DVLA)

5. Your unique driver number, which is comprised of the first letters of your surname and a sequence of numbers and letters

6. Your photograph, which is black and white

7. Your signature, which is digitally reproduced and burned into the photocard from the signature you’ve given on the application form

8. Your permanent address. If you move, you must send your licence back to the DVLA to have it updated

9. Entitlement categories – the capital letters show the categories of entitlement covered by the European Community Directive, and national categories are in smaller letters

Back of the licence

9. Pictogram entitlement categories – these images represent the types of vehicles in those categories shown.

10. This shows the earliest date from which a category is valid. A provisional licence shows each licence category for vehicles you are permitted to drive, while a full UK licence displays the codes and dates for the vehicle types you are qualified to drive

11. This shows the date which a driving category is valid until

12. Information codes/ restrictions, such as medical restrictions, vehicle adaptations and general restrictions. For example, the code 01 means you must wear glasses or contact lenses as a corrective eyesight measure whilst driving

Insurance companies will often ask for copies of your licence and documentation when issuing a new policy. This can save you money in the event of an accident; anyone found to have withheld information from their insurer risks their claim being invalid. Under the Road Traffic Act, the insurer is liable to pay for third-party losses, and validating the accuracy of the information provided reduces the chances of this happening, with savings that can be passed on to you directly.

If you have a provisional licence, you don’t need insurance if you only plan to drive accompanied by a professional driving instructor. However, if you want to learn in your parents’, a friend’s, or even your own car, you either need to be a named driver on their policy or search for temporary car insurance for learner drivers. Provisional driver insurance providers are more likely to take on learner drivers, while standard insurance providers may be more reluctant to insure someone who has not qualified for their full licence.

Manual cars can be cheaper to insure than automatic ones, and you cannot drive a manual car if you have an automatic licence. Automatics can be more expensive to insure because of higher claim costs, and automatic gearboxes can cost more to replace than a manual, meaning that having a full licence can result in cheaper car insurance deals compared than having an automatic licence.

In terms of driving abroad, your insurer must cover you for at least the minimum level of legal insurance in EU countries. For countries outside the EU, check directly with your insurer whether your policy covers you.