Digital driving licence app to launch this year

Richard Aucock, Contributor
Fri, 24 Jan 2025

Motorists will soon be able to use a digital version of their driving licence from their smartphone with the launch of a new GOV.UK Wallet app.

The mobile driver’s licence will be one of the first digital documents to launch in the new smartphone app, which is scheduled to launch this summer.

As well as making driving more convenient, drivers will also be able to use it to more easily prove their age from their phone in shops and online.

The digital driving licence won’t be integrated into smartphone apps such as the Apple Wallet. Rather, the standalone GOV.UK Wallet will be the platform to store a range of government-issued digital documents such as a digital driving licence.

It will use many of the security features already built into modern smartphones, such as facial recognition. This will keep them secure if a phone is lost.

Further functionality will gradually go live once the digital driving licence is launched.

"This is a game changer for the millions of people who use their driving licence as ID," says transport secretary Heidi Alexander.

"This innovation puts power back in the hands of the people, making everyday interactions faster, easier and more secure," adds Alexander.

The Times adds that Australia, Denmark, Iceland and Norway already have digital driving licences.

However, motorists are being warned that the app will not substitute a physical driving licence in all places yet. Those driving aboard will still need to take their driving licence card, for example, while drivers renting cars will also be required to carry the physical version.

The digital driving licence will be complemented by an all-new GOV.UK APP, allowing people to manage all their government activity in one place.

Available on both desktop and mobile, the new app will enable people to build a personalised home page of the services most useful to them.

For motorists, this means they will be able to more easily see information about MOTs or road tax. They will also be able to set notifications, rather than relying on text messages from the government or other third-party apps.

Ask HJ

Will sleep apnea affect my husband's driving licence renewal?

As my husband is nearing 70, he has sent off his licence to the DVLA for renewal. He has sleep apnea, which he has declared. However, this does not affect his driving and has improved since he has used a C-PAP machine. I am worried that the declaration of sleep apnea will effect his chances of driving again. He sent off all the details around 5 weeks ago, he has several more weeks before his birthday, and has still not heard anything back from the DVLA. I would be grateful of any information you can give me in this situation.

You can read the DVLA's guidance on medical conditions here - https://www.gov.uk/health-conditions-and-driving/find-condition-a-to-z Sleep apnea is grouped into the condition 'excessive sleepiness and driving' by the DVLA, so it will depend how the condition affects your husband's driving and what steps he is taking to manage the condition in respect of whether his licence will be reissued.

Answered by David Ross

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