DVLA backlog: more than 800,000 drivers still facing long wait times
Thu, 07 Apr 2022
- Number of paper driving licence applications awaiting processing stands at 857,816
- HonestJohn.co.uk steps in to help numerous drivers get their licences
- DVLA says it will clear backlog by the end of May for paper applications and end of September for medical applications
More than 800,000 drivers are still waiting for their paper driving licence applications to be processed, following long delays at the DVLA.
Around 200,000 of those are older than 10 weeks and many of those are drivers’ medical cases.
The DVLA has faced mounting criticism for the delays, which it blames on staff shortages caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and strike action by members of the Public and Commercial Services union last year.
However, media reports suggest hundreds of workers had done no work on full pay for significant periods of the pandemic.
Numerous readers have got in touch with us via Ask HJ after waiting months for their licence application and being frustrated at being unable to get hold of the DVLA.
Hylton Scorer, who applied for his licence at the beginning of January 2022, was so fed up of trying every telephone number for the DVLA but only getting a recorded message that he contacted both us and his local MP Mary Glindon in March.
The DVLA complaints team informed Mary Glindon that they had written to him on 25 March for him to arrange and attend a medical examination with his local doctor and that once they received a response his case would be “reviewed as a priority”.
However, he did not receive this letter until 1 April.
Richard Hudson contacted us in desperation in February 2022 after waiting four months for his son’s driving licence.
His son has a medical condition and has to get his licence authorised every year, which, he told us, is not normally a problem and is approved quickly.
However, this time, when his son applied in October 2021 (as soon as he received a reminder from the DVLA) he heard nothing until HonestJohn.co.uk contacted the DVLA on his behalf.
We then learnt that the renewal had progressed to being with his son’s doctor. However, a month after the doctor had given sign-off, Richard Hudson contacted us again to say he was still waiting on the DVLA.
"The situation was scandalous" HonestJohn.co.uk reader
After a further follow-up from us with the DVLA he finally received his licence - five months after applying.
Richard Hudson thanked us, saying “my son can get his life back now”.
“The situation was scandalous as it was an imposition on someone that was not really in a position to do anything about it,” he said.
“He has a history of mental health problems but the doctor is more than happy that he drives. In fact, it is an essential part of his well-being to have his own transport.”
The situation not only left his son having to walk to work for five months, it also cost him financially as he was still paying for tax and insurance on his car, and had booked refresher driving lessons last December in anticipation of having his licence back.
These are just a few of the many frustrated drivers who have contacted us in recent months. And it is not only drivers with medical conditions who are being hit by the delays.
In April 2021 we uncovered an issue that some over-70s licence renewals cannot be done online, dependent on whether they had a passport with a digital signature.
The DVLA told us that it was developing a new system which would allow customers to upload a signature online.
That system went live in June 2021 but only applies to people making their first application for a driving licence. The DVLA is still developing a system that will incorporate the same functionality for people renewing their licence online and could not tell us when this would be available.
When will the DVLA backlog be cleared?
Following questions from both the Prime Minister Boris Johnson and MP Huw Merriman, chair of the Transport Select Committee, on the delays the DVLA’s chief executive officer Julie Lennard has set out a timeframe for clearing the backlog.
In a letter to Merriman on 18 March she said that the DVLA was “on track to return to normal turnaround time on drivers’ paper applications by the end of May and drivers’ medical applications by the end of September”.
When we contacted the DVLA for clarification we were informed that ‘normal’ turnaround times for paper drivers applications would be up to three weeks (including some time for postage) while for medical applications the target would be 90 per cent of cases within 90 days.
The DVLA has also said that, subject to Parliamentary approval, there will be a change to the law later this year to widen the pool of medical professionals who can complete DVLA medical questionnaires for driving licence purposes.
How many staff are being appointed to clear the backlog?
The DVLA said that since 1 April 2020, its contact centre has recruited and trained 179 staff and a further 150 are being recruited who will start their training between May and July.
The DVLA’s new customer service centres in Swansea and Birmingham have recruited 225 of up to 300 staff who are being trained to process medical driving licence applications as well as supporting customers who have contacted the DVLA by phone.
It currently has 6,350 members of staff, which, it says, is the highest it’s been in seven years (since 2012/13).
Commenting on the backlog, a DVLA spokesperson said: “The backlog is reducing every day and has already halved since its peak during the pandemic, after we took action by recruiting more staff, increasing overtime and opening new office space. Our online services continue to work as normal and customers should use them if they can.
“Paper transactions are being processed in around eight weeks, but more complex transactions – for example where medical investigations are needed – take longer. Such checks were understandably deprioritised by the NHS during the pandemic, impacting processing times. The vast majority of people may be able to continue to drive whilst DVLA has their application provided they have not been told by their doctor they shouldn’t.”
How long is the DVLA backlog?
The number of paper applications awaiting processing as at 25 March 2022 was 857,816.
This is down from a peak of 1.6 million in September 2021.
The DVLA says it normally has around 400,000 paper applications being processed at any one time and it continues to receive around 60,000 news items of mail every day.
What are the current DVLA processing times?
The current processing dates for paper applications, as at 7 April 2022, are:
|
Type of application |
Date currently being processed
|
|---|---|
|
Renew a driving licence with a new photo
|
23 February 2022
|
|
Apply for a first provisional driving licence with UK identity
|
1 March 2022
|
|
Renew a driving licence if you’re 70 or over or after disqualification or revocation
|
28 March 2022
|
|
Apply for a first vocational driving licence
|
30 March 2022
|
|
Renew a vocational driving licence
|
30 March 2022
|
|
Apply for a driving licence with non-UK identity
|
23 February 2022
|
|
Apply for or renew a tachograph card
|
30 March 2022
|
|
Apply to change your name or address on your driving licence
|
28 February 2022
|
|
Tell DVLA about the sale of a vehicle
|
4 April 2022
|
|
Vehicle registration certificate (V5C) changes
|
29 March 2022*
|
|
Apply for a replacement V5C log book
|
16 March 2022*
|
|
Register a vehicle for the first time (including previously used and imports)
|
21 March 2022
|
|
Retain or assign a vehicle registration number
|
25 March 2022
|
When will the DVLA backlog be cleared?
The DVLA has said that it is “on track to return to normal turnaround time on drivers’ paper applications by the end of May and drivers’ medical applications by the end of September”.
‘Normal’ turnaround times for paper drivers applications are up to three weeks (including some time for postage) while for medical applications the target is 90 per cent of cases within 90 days.
When should I renew my over 70s licence given the DVLA backlog?
How do I renew an old style paper licence at 70?
