DVLA has issued a reminder to all motorists about the importance of letting the company know if you move house.
Moving can be a stressful time, as there is so much to think about and you'll often need to register your new address with many different companies and institutions.
This often means that telling the DVLA can be overlooked, but it's actually a legal requirement to have your details updated.
It has reminded drivers that there are four key pieces of documentation that you must update if you've permanently moved house. You don't have to do this if you move temporarily, for example if you're studying at uni and you can still be contacted at your permanent home address.
These four things are:
- Driving licence (full or provisional)
- Vehicle log book (V5C)
- Direct debit for vehicle tax
- Private number plate documents
Updating your address is a legal requirement, and could see drivers fined up to £1,000 if they do not let the DVLA know their new address.
Changing address on driving licence
This is free to do, and drivers can still take to the roads while they're waiting for their new licence to arrive.
You can change your address online - but if you need to update your name as well, for example if you've recently got married and moved home, you'll need to do this by post.
When going through the online process, you'll be asked to provide your address history for the past three years, as well as confirm that you've not been banned from driving.
Changing address on V5
You'll need to do this if you're the registered keeper of the vehicle.
There is an online service available to change your address on your V5, which is available from 7am to 8pm all week. Before starting, you'll need to know the following:
- the registration number of your vehicle
- your log book reference number
- your UK address
- to check if your vehicle needs taxing in the next 4 weeks
Full details on this can be found on the DVLA website.
Changing direct debit for tax
To do this, you'll need to get in touch with the DVLA.
You can do this by phone, webchat, email or post - all these details are available on the site.
Changing address for private number plate documents
If you have a private number plate, and it's not on a vehicle, you must update your V750 or V778 documents.
Depending on which document type you have, you can either do this online or by post.
If you don't have these documents to hand, you can write to DVLA Personalised Registrations - just make sure to include proof of your identity, such as a utilities bill or your passport.
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