DVLA issues warning to driving licence holders in the UK

The DVLA has issued an urgent warning to motorists in the UK.

Third-party websites have been asking motorists to pay for services that are available on the DVLA website.

The DVLA confirmed that some websites are offering to assist with V5C vehicle registration certificates or renewing a driving licence from the age of 70.

Please be aware that these services can be done for free on the DVLA website.

Although these third-party websites and the services they are offering a genuine, they charge for them.

If the DVLA does charge for a service, these copycat sites will ask for even more money.  For example, if you go to the DVLA website to renew your driving licence, you will currently pay £14, but you would have to pay up to £60 somewhere else.

According to the DVLA, they have been contacted by over 1,000 motorists about the issue since January 2020.

While these copycat websites are not illegal, they use clever methods to try to show at the top of search engines.  If you click into one of their sites, they get you to complete forms, which is no different to what you would have had to complete if you went direct to the www.gov.uk website.  However, the copycat sites then overcharge you, based on an ‘administrative’ or ‘service charge for doing the bare minimum, which is just handing the details over to the relevant organisation, without really doing any extra work.

If a website offering DVLA-related services doesn't have "gov.uk" in the URL address bar, it means it may charge these extra fees.

Another sign is that you are being asked to pay for something that was normally free for you - like updating your car's log book when you move house.

DVLA chief executive Julie Lennard said: "Gov.uk is the only site where customers will find our official services, many of which are free.

"You may be charged a premium when using other websites offering services that are not connected to DVLA."