25 December 2019 Concept Car
Do you need to contact the DVLA? Are you looking for the right contact number for your enquiry? In this article, we cover everything you need to know!
If you’re driving a car, you will at some point have to get in touch with the DVLA. For registering your car, for example. For updating your VC5. If you want to take your car off the road. Or, as you’re growing older, you may have to report that you need glasses to be able to drive safely.
Unfortunately, the DVLA is a huge organisation. And sometimes it’s simply easier to talk to someone on the phone instead of doing everything by email. Finding the contact number for the right department at the DVLA isn’t always easy. Below you will find the correct number for just about every possible scenario.
Before we get there, let’s make one important distinction between the DVLA and the DVSA. Many routinely confuse these two important organisations, which can make things a whole lot more difficult.
The DVLA is the Driver and Vehicle Leasing Agency. It is responsible for maintaining an up to date and correct database of all drivers registered in the UK. This may sound like a simple job. But many things depend on it: Taxation and road safety, among others. It also plays a vital role in making the buying process of used cars as transparent and orderly as possible.
If you need to contact the DVLA, this will usually revolve around issues concerning your license and registration. Maybe you’ve just bought a used car, for example, and need to adjust your VC5. Or perhaps you want to check if a car you’re about to buy has received its MOT check. The DVLA’s data base contains the answers to all of these issues.
The DVSA is the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. It is concerned mainly with road safety. To this end, it is in charge of driving tests and setting up the standards and materials for them. It also trains driving instructors. And those roadside checks which can sometimes seem like a nuisance? Yes, the DVSA is responsible for those, too.
You will probably not need to contact the DVSA all that often. Website contactdvla describes the difference between the two:
“While the DVLA are more concerned with the licensing side of UK driving, the DVSA handle the nitty gritty – in that they ensure that UK drivers are safe on the road and that they are legally entitled to get behind the wheel.”
Before we get to the actual DVLA contact numbers, though, we first need to cover an important question:
This may not sound like a big deal. But when thousands of UK drivers found a text message on their phone asking them to contact the DVLA, it suddenly was.
These messages said:
“FINAL REQUEST: DVLA Swansea have been trying to contact you, Click below for more information”
Other, similar messages promised drivers huge rebates of several thousands of Pounds.
Obviously, these messages were a scam.
After the upset they caused, the DVLA posted a reply on their website. In it, they clearly stated that they will never ever get in touch with you by sending you a text message.
This exception is the renewal of your driving license.
You need to renew your license every ten years. The point is mainly to make sure that the document always contains an up to date photograph of yourself.
Ten years is a very long timeframe even if you’re extremely well organised. We suppose you could theoretically make a note in your online calendar to remind you in a decade. Or you could make it a habit to check the status of your license on new year’s eve.
Be it as it may, the DVLA realises that most people just won’t do that. So, to this end, and an exception, it will contact you shortly before your license is about to expire.
It may seem like a waste of money to fork out £14 to renew the license. But, as Money Saving Expert rightly argue, it sure beats paying a £1000 fine if you’re caught driving with an out of date document.
Let’s now turn towards the main focus of this article: Finding the right DVLA contact number. Before wasting any valuable time, however, here are a few of the most common cases, for which the DVLA is not responsible:
There are also cases, where you may need information from the DVLA, but will not need to call them. These include the following:
Yes, you could theoretically do this by phone or even by post. But checking this data online is decidedly easier and faster.
For almost every other car related license question, meanwhile, you’ll need to get in touch with the DVLA. Here are all the relevant topics and direct contact numbers.
Every car registered for use on UK roads needs to be taxed. To this end, the DVLA compiles an archive of UK drivers. If you no longer intend to drive your car, you can ask for it to be exempt from VED. To do this, you need to change its status to SORN. We’ll prepare a blog post on this shortly. In the meantime, you can call the DVLA about all vehicle tax questions using the following contact number:
DVLA vehicle tax enquiries
Telephone: 0300 790 6802
Monday to Friday, 8am to 7pm
Saturday, 8am to 2pm
We already mentioned that you will need to renew your license every ten years. There is a department within the DVLA which deals with this specifically. So if you’ve been sent a letter reminding you to renew your license, call the contact number below:
DVLA driver licensing enquiries
Telephone: 0300 790 6801
Monday to Friday, 8am to 7pm
Saturday, 8am to 2pm
The V5C is the document containing all information about your current car. Using the V5C, the DVLA can assign one driver to each car. When you buy a new car, you need to register it to you. Most of these things can today be done online.
If you have any questions, meanwhile, it is always useful to have a DVLA contact number to ask them directly. Here it is:
DVLA vehicle registration enquiries
Telephone: 0300 790 6802
Monday to Friday, 8am to 7pm
Saturday, 8am to 2pm
None of us are getting younger. And since we’re all sitting behind our computer screens for most of the day, our eyes aren’t getting any better, either. Our guide for driving with glasses and contacts may be able to offer you useful hints.
If you need to wear glasses when driving, however, the DVLA needs to know about this. It also collects information on other serious illnesses which can affect your driving capacities. These issues can be uncomfortable. Which is why the DVLA set up a drivers’ medical inquiries departmentfor you. You can reach them here:
DVLA drivers’ medical enquiries
Telephone: 0300 790 6806
Monday to Friday, 8am to 5:30pm
Saturday, 8am to 1pm
Getting your legal documents in order is one of the most important obligations. But it can be difficult to do if you’re not 100% proficient with the English language. This is why the DVLA have set up a translation service to assist you with your issues. The contact number for this service is:
Vehicle registration and tax
Telephone: 0906 737 0013
Monday to Friday, 8am to 7pm
Saturday, 8am to 2pm
And there you have it: All of the DVLA contact numbers in one place. And remember, for most questions, you can find excellent answers directly on the DVLA website – which can save you a lot of time trying to reach someone on the phone.
25 December 2019 Concept Car
