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Can I drive under Section 88 or not?

Some people have to apply for the over-70s licence by paper format but the DVLA makes no sense. It states in one paragraph, 'While the DVLA is completing medical investigations to decide whether a licence can be issued we cannot tell you if section 88 applies. You and your doctor are in the best position whether you should drive whilst you are waiting for for licence to be issued." Then on the other paragraph it says you have to meet all the following criteria, one of which says your last licence was not revoked or refused for medical reasons.
My position is, I voluntarily handed my licence back after 12 months. I have been told by my doctors I can drive and been told by the DVLA that it could take up to three months to reissue my licence. Can I drive? I am in the high risk sector, live on my own and have to use public transport to go shopping. Basically I am putting my life at risk due to the DVLA.

Asked on 16 July 2020 by conman

Answered by Georgia Petrie
This is the case many are finding themselves in. My understanding is that you can't take advantage of Section 88 if you have a paper application, but a few people have reported to us that they're confused by whether or not Section 88 applies to them. I think the issue lies with the fact that many older drivers still have paper licences because they've never had any reason to change them to photocard licences, but this is becoming a huge issue during lockdown because the DVLA handles paper licences differently to photocards and they're processed much slower than photocard licences (which can be renewed online easily). I would say if you have a paper licence, that S88 likely doesn't apply to you. But I would call the DVLA (I know they're very hard to reach lately) to ask them.
Tags: dvla
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