How long is DVLA backlog at present?

[Carer100]

Does anyone know how long the backlog is at DVLA for processing license renewals for people with medical conditions? I've been waiting for 8 months for mine. Driving in Europe is not covered by the normal 11 month extension applicable in UK. There is no information about this on the GOV.UK website and DVLA are not taking phone calls. I feel incarcerated!

Postscript 1 June 2021

I sent my MP an email at the end of last week, and also sent a message to [e-mail]. My renewed license arrived today. Not sure which of the methods worked, but problem solved.

[Tillybo]

Hi Carer100

This a reply I gave to another member in March this year: -

I was in the same position as you but had only been waiting since November. I had the same lack of response to a phone call and an email from the DVLA. Licence expired January. Website not updated and saying that you should ‘Renew your licence as normal if it expires on or after 1 January 2021’.

I enlisted the help of my MP. It took a couple of weeks for him to reply (they are busy people, I cannot imagine why!) but once he was on the case I received the invitation to go for the visual field test at Specsavers by return of post. I have now had the test and am awaiting my new licence.

I have just contacted him to thank him for his help and said what should other people do who are worried and in the same position. His reply, ‘I would encourage others to get in touch with their own MPs if they are experiencing problems with Government agencies like the DVLA – after all, that is what MPs are there for!‘

N.B. My new licence came a week later.

Good luck.

[Carer100 in reply to Tillybo]

Thanks very much. It happens that my MP knows me, so I will ask her. Finger crossed!

[Trish_GlaucomaUK Partner]

Hello, I have just been advised that if you have any queries or concerns you can email the DVLA on [e-mail]

I hope this helps.

[Carer100 in reply to Trish_GlaucomaUK]

Thanks. I've tried that email address and am still awaiting a reply.Meanwhile, here is the email I've just sent our MP:

Letter to MP re DVLA delays

[Carer100 in reply to Trish_GlaucomaUK]

My license arrived today. I'm not sure whether it was the email to [e-mail] or my email to my MP which produced the result so quickly, or maybe it was about to reach the front of the queue today anyway. The outcome is good for me personally, but I am still hoping my MP will take up the issue of DVLA glaucoma delays as a national point.My license arrived exactly 8 months after the application was submitted.

Thanks for your help in this matter.

[Daveeeuk]

Hello. I had my field vision test in April and still waiting for a letter from the DVLA to say if I can continue driving or not. I contacted Specsavers where I had my test done via their head office and was told people who had the tests in January this year have not yet been told if they can still drive!!! Seems they have had several strikes and with Covid they have an enormous backlog!!

[Carer100 in reply to Daveeeuk]

My commiserations.In my case the field test was on 9 March 2021 and the license arrived on 1 June 2021. So provided the queue isn't getting longer, you should get yours soon. The good news is that the new licence lasts for 3 years from the date of issue, not from the date of the test. Presumably this is to help them clear the backlog.

Peter

[rhys1234]

Can you please advise exactly what steps you had to take to get your DL posted to you ?

Did you have to go through a vision test mandated by DVLA ?

Or did you just get it by requesting DVLA via their glaucoma email ?

I spent literally hours ( I know what literally means ) on the 'phone with DVLA a couple of weeks back and got nowhere trying to explain that the extension thing while waiting for a test obviously means nothing abroad if on its face your DL has expired.

In my case I even had all my field vision and all the rest tested by my Consultant in March - so I would think more thorough than local opticians - but none of it meant anything to DVLA.

[ The man I spoke to seemed to think I should realize what a privilege it was to be able to speak to him....]

[Carer100 in reply to rhys1234]

Here's what happened:

I applied for my licence renewal on 1 October 2020 using the form they sent me (D42P).

DVLA replied on 12 October 2020 saying that I needed a field test, but that they couldn’t offer one yet because of covid. However under s88 of the Road Traffic Act I could continue driving until 1 October 2021 (1 year from application date) provided my sight hadn’t got dangerously bad.

On 9 March 2021 I did a DVLA field test at Specsavers having been invited at fairly short notice.

On 19 April 2021 I phoned DVLA to check the progress of my driving licence. (0300 790 6806 - hours 0800-1900 Mon-Fri, 0800-1400 Sat). The helpful agent said that DVLA duly received my test results from Specsavers on 9 March. These were in the queue awaiting inspection before a licence could be issued. The previous day he had been phoned by someone who was tested in January so the wait was likely to be at least 2 months. I asked if this meant I could not leave the UK – did EU countries recognise the Section 88 extension? Answer no, but when did I plan to travel, and to where? I said that the deadline for cancellation was late July, and we had booked to go to Greece. The agent said that he would add this as a note on my records and hopefully this may marginally speed things up.

From 19 May 2021 onwards I made repeated attempts to reach DVLA by phone but was unable to get through.

On 28 May 2021 I emailed my MP asking for assistance. Two working days later my new licence arrived. The timing must have been coincidental because the new licence is dated 28 May 2021 and my MP did not see my email for several days. However my MP's assistant did say she would raise the DVLA backlog problem in parliament at the next suitable opportunity.

Total time from application to receipt of license: 8 months.

Hope this helps.

[rhys1234 in reply to Carer100]

It is helpful thanks .

But only in the sense that it clarifies that there is no way I am going to get a DL for this summer.

Frankly I would not be bothered if I just needed it for driving in UK, as I would rely on Section 88 ( if ever stopped which is unlikely ).

But for driving abroad of course it is essential.

One cannot hire a car without a current licence.

And if ever stopped I doubt Portuguese police would have ever heard of Section 88 extensions.

If they thought through the logic of Section 88 they ought to issue ( ok on payment of a fee covering the cost ) a short term licence - maybe six months - based on a Declaration that one's Consultant has advised one is safe to drive [ which is my case - I have the email from Sunderland Royal Eye Infirmary ].

But no such flexibility.

I suppose there are worse afflictions one could be facing but what annoys me about this is that it is wholly unnecessary. It's not a matter of lack of financial resources, it's a matter of not having the imagination to issue a short term DL without requiring the whole Specsavers testing business ( in circs where the Doc has said the driver is safe, of course.)

And I have seen absolutely nothing about this in the media. No forewarning that I would simply be unable to drive when abroad for the whole summer.

[Carer100 in reply to rhys1234]

I'm afraid this is a consequence of Brexit. There is an EU equivalent of section 88 (REGULATION (EU) 2020/698) which would have applied if we were still EU citizens. Initially this was for 6 months but presumably it has been extended. The British people chose to leave the club and this is one of the consequences.