View source for Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

{{Short description|UK government department}}
{{Redirect|DVLA|the Ghanaian equivalent|Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority}}
{{Distinguish|text= the [[Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency]] or the [[Driver and Vehicle Agency]] in Northern Ireland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2018}}
{{Infobox government agency
| agency_name = Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
| nativename = 
| type = 
| seal = 
| logo = DVLA.svg
| logo_width = 180px
| image = DVLA Swansea.jpg
| image_caption = The DVLA in Swansea
| formed = {{start date and age|1965|df=yes}}
| dissolved = 
| superseding = 
| jurisdiction = United Kingdom
| headquarters = [[Swansea]], Wales
| coordinates = 
| employees = 5,715<ref>{{cite web |title=DVLA Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24 |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/675ad406fd753588dc3a5a18/DVLA_annual_report_and_accounts_2023_to_2024.pdf |website=UK Government |access-date=27 December 2024}}</ref>
| budget = 
| chief1_name = Tim Moss<ref>https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dvla-announces-tim-moss-cbe-as-new-chief-executive</ref>
| chief1_position = Chief Executive Officer
| chief2_name = 
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| agency_type = [[Executive agency]]
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| parent_department = 
| parent_agency = [[Department for Transport]]
| website = {{Official URL}}
| footnotes = 
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}}

The '''Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency''' ('''DVLA'''; {{langx|cy|Asiantaeth Trwyddedu Gyrwyr a Cherbydau}}) is the organisation of the [[Government of the United Kingdom|British government]] responsible for maintaining a database of drivers in [[Great Britain]] and a [[Vehicle register|database of vehicles]] for the entire [[United Kingdom]]. Its counterpart for drivers in [[Northern Ireland]] is the [[Driver and Vehicle Agency]]. The agency issues [[driving licence in the United Kingdom|driving licences]], organises collection of [[vehicle excise duty]] (also known as ''[[road tax]]''<ref>{{Cite web |last=baua |title=DVLA Free Car Check – Tax, MOT, Vehicle info |url=https://bauaelectric.com/dvla-free-car-check-tax-mot-vehicle-info/ |access-date=2022-07-04 |website=Bauaelectric Auto News |archive-date=5 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705190723/https://bauaelectric.com/dvla-free-car-check-tax-mot-vehicle-info/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> and ''road fund licence'') and sells [[vanity plate|personalised registrations]].

The DVLA is an [[executive agency]] of the [[Department for Transport]]. The current Chief Executive of the agency is Tim Moss.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/people/tim-moss|title=Chief Executive: Tim Moss|date=1 April 2025|publisher=DVLA|access-date=10 August 2025}}</ref>

The DVLA is based in [[Swansea]], [[Wales]], with a prominent 16-storey building in [[Clase]] and offices in [[Swansea Vale]]. It was previously known as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre. The agency previously had a network of 39 offices around Great Britain, known as the Local Office Network, where users could attend to apply for licences and transact other business, but throughout the course of 2013, the local offices were gradually closed down, and all had been closed by December 2013. The agency's work is consequently fully centralised in Swansea, with the majority of users having to transact remotely – by post or (for some transactions) by phone.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dvla-local-office-closure-plan-announced|title = DVLA local office closure plan announced|access-date = 2 September 2013|publisher = DVLA|date = 21 June 2013}}</ref>

DVLA introduced Electronic Vehicle Licensing in 2004, allowing customers to pay vehicle excise duty online and by telephone.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.dft.gov.uk/dvla/foi/Disclosure/~/media/pdf/foi/FOI201006.ashx| title=Freedom of Information Request relating to EVL| publisher=Department for Transport| work=dft.gov.uk| access-date=10 January 2011| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101218114759/http://www.dft.gov.uk/dvla/foi/Disclosure/~/media/pdf/foi/FOI201006.ashx| archive-date=18 December 2010}}</ref> However, customers still have the option to tax their vehicles via the [[Post Office Ltd|Post Office]]. A seven-year contract enabling the Post Office to continue to process car tax applications was agreed in November 2012, with the option of a three-year extension.<ref>{{cite news |title=Post Office wins DVLA contract for car tax supply |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20309430 |publisher=BBC News |date=13 November 2012 |access-date=8 February 2013}}</ref>

==History==
Originally, vehicle registration was the responsibility of County Borough and County councils throughout Great Britain, a system created by the [[Motor Car Act 1903]]. In 1968 a centralised licensing system was set up at a new Swansea Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre, taking over licences issued from County/Borough councils.<ref>{{Cite web|title=History of road safety, The Highway Code and the driving test.|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/history-of-road-safety-and-the-driving-test/history-of-road-safety-the-highway-code-and-the-driving-test|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222041928/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/history-of-road-safety-and-the-driving-test/history-of-road-safety-the-highway-code-and-the-driving-test |archive-date=22 February 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title= Bill to strike at car licence dodgers |newspaper=The Times |publisher=Times Digital Archive |date= 15 November 1968 |page=2 |issue=57409|url=http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/552/371/35114420w16/purl=rc1_TTDA_0_CS35090287&dyn=3!xrn_2_0_CS35090287&hst_1?sw_aep=linshlib |access-date=20 April 2024 |url-access=subscription |mode=cs2}}</ref> A new purpose built centre was then built on the site of the old Clase Farm on Longview Road, Swansea in 1969.<ref>{{Cite web|title=20 pictures that tell the story of the DVLA in Swansea|date=9 March 2015|url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/gallery/20-pictures-tell-story-dvla-8804551|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823004001/http://www.walesonline.co.uk:80/business/business-news/gallery/20-pictures-tell-story-dvla-8804551 |archive-date=23 August 2017 }}</ref>

===Construction===
In November 1967 it was expected to have 4,000 staff. It was previously estimated to have 2,000 staff.<ref>''Times'' Thursday November 23 1967, page 4</ref>
* Stage 1, 2 were built by FG Minter, £2.75m. Stage 2, was a 4 storey block, £1.3m, to be built by April 1971.<ref>''Times'' Friday September 26 1969, page 23</ref>
* Stage 3, built by FG Minter, £4m<ref>''Times'' Monday June 29 1970, page 22</ref>

It was 25 acres. FG Minter also built the [[Sport Wales National Centre]] at the same time.

===Computers===
In April 1969 a contract of around £10m was given to ICL. No American companies could apply for the contract.<ref>''Times'' Monday April 14 1969, page 17</ref> It started operations on March 1 1973. 98% of licence requests were completed within 10 days.<ref>''Times'' Thursday August 30 1973, page 3</ref> On March 1 1973 the new licences were first issued, with a green sheet. Previously it was a red book.

It started from day one with driver licences, but vehicle registrations took two years to appear. Vehicles registered from October 1 1974 first appeared on the Swansea computer. From April 1 1975, L, M and N registrations were added.<ref>''Times'' Monday March 17 1975, page 5</ref> From November 1 1975, K registrations were added.<ref>''Times'' Monday October 20 1975, page 3</ref> From July 1976, H and J registrations were added.<ref>''Times'' Wednesday June 23 1976, page 3</ref> By July 1977, D registrations were added.<ref>''Times'' Thursday July 21 1977, page 8</ref>

By August 1977, there were 5,300 staff. Each month around 900,000 new or amended licences were issued.<ref>''Times'' Tuesday August 9 1977, page 3</ref> There was 5,500 staff by 1978.

===Renaming===
In April 1990, the Licensing Centre was renamed the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, becoming an executive agency of the Department for Transport.<ref name="dvsa">{{cite web|website=Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency|title=History of road safety, The Highway Code and the driving test|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/history-of-road-safety-and-the-driving-test/history-of-road-safety-the-highway-code-and-the-driving-test|publisher=Crown|access-date=13 July 2015}}</ref>

===British Forces Germany civilian vehicles===
Civilian vehicles used in [[Germany]] by members of [[British Forces Germany]] or their families are registered with the DVLA on behalf of the [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]].

===Diplomatic and consular vehicles===
Official diplomatic and consular vehicles are registered with the DVLA on behalf of the [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office]].

==DVLA database==
[[File:DVLA old.svg|thumb|180px|right|Pre-2012 logo of DVLA]]
The [[vehicle register]] held by DVLA is used in many ways. For example, by the DVLA itself to identify untaxed vehicles, and by outside agencies to identify keepers of cars entering central [[London]] who have not paid the [[London congestion charge|congestion charge]], or who exceed speed limits on a road that has [[speed camera]]s by matching the cars to their keepers utilising the DVLA database. The current DVLA vehicle register was built by [[Electronic Data Systems|EDS]] under a £5 million contract signed in 1996, with a planned implementation date in October 1998, though actual implementation was delayed by a year. It uses a [[client–server]] architecture and uses the [[vehicle identification number]], rather than the [[registration plate]], as the primary key to track vehicles, eliminating the possibility of having multiple registrations for a single vehicle.

The [[Vehicle Identity Check]] (VIC) was introduced to help reduce vehicle crime. It was intended to deter criminals from disguising stolen cars with the identity of written off or scrapped vehicles, however this scheme was abandoned in October 2015.  Under the scheme, when an insurance company wrote off a car it would notify the DVLA.  This notification would set a "VIC marker" on the vehicle record on the DVLA database.  An identity check might then be required before the vehicle tax could be renewed or before any amendments could be made to the logbook.

DVLA database records are used by commercial vehicle check companies to offer a comprehensive individual car check to prospective purchasers.

However, the accuracy of the data held remains a continuing problem.{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}} Anyone can request information from the database if they purport to have just cause to need it, for a fee of £2.50.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/01/20/dvla_data_flog/|title=DVLA makes £44m flogging drivers' details|last=Oates|first=John|date=20 January 2010|publisher=The Register|access-date=4 February 2010}}</ref>

The database of drivers, developed in the late 1980s, holds details of some 42 million driving licence holders in the UK. It is used to produce driving licences and to assist bodies such as the [[Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency]], police and courts in the enforcement of legislation concerning driving entitlements and road safety.

The DVLA revealed in December 2012 that it had temporarily banned 294 public bodies, including local councils and police forces, for not using their access to the database correctly between 2006 and 2012. A further 38 bodies were banned permanently during the period.<ref>{{cite news |title=DVLA bans councils from database over abuses |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20642429 |publisher=BBC News |date=8 December 2012 |access-date=9 February 2013}}</ref>

Between 2002 and 2015 it is estimated the DVLA spent £500 million on information technology from [[IBM]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kable.co.uk/dvla-ibm-renegotiation-23nov09|title=DVLA doubles annual contract spending|date=23 November 2009|publisher=Kable|access-date=4 February 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720015257/http://www.kable.co.uk/dvla-ibm-renegotiation-23nov09|archive-date=20 July 2011}}</ref>

==Employment==
Staff of the DVLA are predominantly female whereas other parts of the Department for Transport are predominantly male. Starting salaries as of 2008 were just over £12,500.<ref name=PCSU>{{cite web |url=http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/news_and_events/news_centre/index.cfm/id/E872683F-9762-4173-8184F42012CBE14A |title=DVLA strike causes widespread disruption |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090604004037/http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/news_and_events/news_centre/index.cfm/id/E872683F-9762-4173-8184F42012CBE14A |website=pcs.org.uk |archive-date=4 June 2009 |access-date=29 September 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In November 2007, a [[Public Accounts Committee (United Kingdom)|Public Accounts Committee]] report criticised the "amazingly high" levels of [[sick leave]] among staff at the DVLA, where employees took an average of three weeks per year of sick leave. The report said overall sickness leave at the Department for Transport and its seven agencies averaged 10.4 working days per full-time employee in 2005, which they calculated as costing taxpayers £24 million. While sick leave rates at the department itself and four of its agencies were below average, at the DVLA and DSA – which together employ more than 50% of all department staff – they were "significantly higher". Committee chairman [[Edward Leigh]] said it was surprising the agencies could "function adequately".<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7102782.stm DVLA sick leave 'amazingly high'] BBC News – 20 November 2007</ref> In 2008 DVLA staff went on a one-day strike over pay inequality arguing they should receive similar salaries to other employees of the Department for Transport.<ref name="PCSU" /> The most recent level of sickness absence for 2012/13 was 6.7 days.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dvlas-annual-report-and-accounts-2012-to-2013/dvlas-annual-report-and-accounts-2012-to-2013|title=DVLA's annual report 2012 to 2013|website=GOV.UK}}</ref>

==Controversies==

===Missing documents===
In 2006, 120,000 to 130,000 [[vehicle registration certificate]]s went missing. A BBC investigation in 2010 found that vehicles worth £13 million had been stolen using the documents in the 18 months preceding the investigation. Around ten cars are found each week to have forged log books and police said it would be decades before they were all recovered.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8487381.stm|title=Theft of DVLA log books fuels cars scam|last=Kemp|first=Phil|date=31 January 2010|publisher=BBC Radio 5 live |access-date=4 February 2010}}</ref>

===DVLA letter bombs===
{{Main|2007 United Kingdom letter bombs}}
On 7 February 2007, a [[letter bomb]] was sent to the DVLA in Swansea and injured four people. It is suspected that this is part of a group of letter bombs sent to other organisations that deal with the administration of motoring charges and offences, such as [[Capita]] in central London, which was targeted a few days earlier. Miles Cooper, aged 27, a school caretaker, was arrested on 19 February 2007, and charged on 22 February. The DVLA have since installed X-ray machines in all post opening areas to reduce the effectiveness of any further attacks.

===Wrong confidential records on surveys===
In December 2007, it was revealed that while sending out surveys to 1,215 drivers, the DVLA sent out confidential details, but to the wrong owners. The error occurred during the sending out of routine surveys, and was not discovered until members of the public contacted the DVLA to notify them of the error.<ref name="bbc-confrec">{{ cite web | url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/7131506.stm | title=Drivers sent wrong DVLA details | date=6 December 2007 | access-date=7 November 2007 | publisher=BBC News}}</ref>

===Lost entitlements===
In 2009 BBC's ''[[Watchdog (TV series)|Watchdog]]'' reported that entitlements, specifically the entitlement to drive a motorcycle, were being lost from reissued driving licences.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2009/04/dvla_removing_license_entitlem.html|title=DVLA Removing Licence Entitlements|publisher=BBC Watchdog|access-date=4 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090803053910/http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2009/04/dvla_removing_license_entitlem.html|archive-date=3 August 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2005 the same programme highlighted drivers who had lost entitlements to drive [[heavy goods vehicle]]s in a similar way.

===Sale of details===
In 2010 it was revealed the DVLA had sold drivers' details from the database to certain private parking enforcement companies run by individuals with criminal records. The DVLA sells details to companies for £2.50 per record, but it was found the agency had sold some of these to a business which had been previously fined for unfair business practices.<ref>{{cite news |title=DVLA sells details to convicted criminal |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9179438/DVLA-sells-details-to-convicted-criminal.html |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=1 April 2012 |access-date=9 February 2013}}</ref>

===Complaints resolution===
The DVLA handled 12,775 complaints in the year 2015/16, of which it failed to resolve 14.9% at first contact. Overall complaints for that year were down by 6.5%. The DVLA customer service excellence standard was retained. No details were provided on how this was measured. Customer satisfaction levels varied between 76% and 97% in the four categories surveyed; vehicle registration, driver licence renewal, vehicle taxation, driver medical transactions. No data was provided in respect of complaints about the SORN scheme or other fines levied.<ref>DVLA annual report and accounts 2015-2016</ref>

=== Data Processing ===
On 13 June 2022, the Information Commissioner published an [https://ico.org.uk/media/about-the-ico/documents/4020676/dvla-opinion-20220613.pdf Opinion] in which he stated the DVLA had been releasing the details of vehicle keepers to parking companies under the wrong ground. The DVLA had been releasing these under Article 6(1)(c) UK GDPR (legal duty) but the ICO advised the DVLA should have relied on Article 6(1)(e) (public task). The significance of this is that, unlike Article 6(1)(c), Article 6(1)(e) includes a right to object to this processing, as set out in Article 21. However, the Information Commissioner also stated the DVLA can refuse objections under Article 21 because they are processing the information "for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jones |first=Rupert |date=2022-06-25 |title=Parking fines: DVLA breached law over sharing drivers' details|work=The Guardian|location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/jun/25/parking-fines-dvla-law-drivers-details-claims |access-date=2023-03-19 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

The Information Commissioner's Office's [https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/lawful-basis-for-processing website] states: "retrospectively switching lawful basis is likely to be inherently unfair to the individual and lead to breaches of accountability and transparency requirements".

=== Unacceptable Levels of Service ===
On 17 March 2023, a report<ref>{{cite web |url=https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/127/public-accounts-committee/news/194224/lost-jobs-and-income-among-serious-repercussions-after-major-dvla-delays/ |title=Lost jobs and income among serious repercussions after major DVLA delays |date=2023-03-17 |access-date=2024-06-10 |work=[[Public Accounts Committee (United Kingdom)|Public Accounts Committee]] |publisher=[[UK Parliament]]}}</ref> by the [[Public Accounts Committee (United Kingdom)|Public Accounts Committee]] was published which was critical of the DVLA. Three million paper applications for driving licences involving fitness to drive resulted in long delays. This resulted in some people losing their jobs; others lost income and became isolated and depressed. This was made worse by difficulties making contact with the DVLA. The committee found that between April 2020 and March 2022 around 60 million calls about driving licences went unanswered, 94% of the total the DVLA receive.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Dempsey |first1=Jemma |last2=Hooker |first2=Lucy |title=Driving licence delays caused 'lost jobs and money' |date=2023-03-17 |work=[[BBC News]] |publisher=[[BBC]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64977864 |access-date=2023-03-19}}</ref>

==In popular culture==

The DVLC in Swansea is regularly referred to in the [[BBC]] political [[sitcom]] ''[[Yes Minister]]'', usually as a remote and unfavourable location. [[Bernard Woolley]] is regularly threatened with reassignment there. In the episode [[Big Brother (Yes Minister)|"Big Brother"]], [[Jim Hacker]] is scheduled to give an address there.

==See also==
*[[Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency]]
*[[Driver and Vehicle Agency]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Official website}}

{{Department for Transport (United Kingdom)}}
{{Automotive industry in the United Kingdom}}
{{Driving in the United Kingdom}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1965 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Databases in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Department for Transport]]
[[Category:Driving in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Executive agencies of the United Kingdom government]]
[[Category:Government agencies established in 1965]]
[[Category:Motor vehicle registration agencies]]
[[Category:Organisations based in Swansea]]
[[Category:Road transport in the United Kingdom]]