DVLA WAITING TIMES

Emmit

Emmit

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Post from the Liverpool Echo today.

These are the dates that DVLA are working on.
Don't shoot the messenger!!!

Updated processing dates for paper applications​

The following dates apply to what the DVLA claims it is currently working on for different types of paper applications:

  • Renew a driving licence with a new photo - 21 September
  • Apply for a first provisional driving licence with UK identity - 12 October
  • Renew a driving licence if you’re 70 or over or after disqualification or revocation - 27 September
  • Apply for a first vocational driving licence - 29 November
  • Renew a vocational driving licence - 26 November
  • Apply for a driving licence with non-UK identity - 4 October
  • Apply for or renew a tachograph card - 2 December
  • Apply to change your name or address on your driving licence - 22 September
  • Tell DVLA about the sale of a vehicle -30 November
  • Vehicle registration certificate (V5C) changes - 26 November
  • Apply for a replacement V5C log book - 24 November
  • Register a vehicle for the first time (including previously used and imports) - 23 November
  • Retain or assign a vehicle registration number - 23 November
It's important to note that if you don't receive your vehicle documents within six weeks of an application you will have to contact the DVLA.
 
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Renewing vocational 29 November ? Try telling that to my friend who is waiting since June …….
 
Dutch 68 said:
Renewing vocational 29 November ? Try telling that to my friend who is waiting since June …….
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yes the dates are for when applications arrived that they are opening. For the over 70 with medical your friends would now be in the "medical" committee waiting queue ,which was usally 6 months before all this nonsense.

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As said, Don't shoot me!

It does give each and every one on here that sent their respective applications before the dates shown to complain, kick off, otherwise raise merry hell to the appropriate ombudsman.
Don't come back and say, "That's a waste of time."
It's only by complaining that matters will be resolved.
 
Odd - someone on Motorhome Matters has just reported today, a 14 day turnaround on a C1 renewal - over 70. With the medical done by D4D
 
MitchandJenny said:
Not fit for purpose !!!
Mitch
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I don’t know. One can only go by ones own experience, my licence, from dropping the form in the post box to the new one arriving in my post box took 9 days. Of which at least 2 were the weekend. So for me they were fast and efficient. Unfortunately we tend to only hear about the ones that have a problem as opposed to the thousands that don’t.
People are quick to condemn but not so quick with praise.

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Also for what its worth earlier this year (Feb) prior to my 70th in May I renewed my licence and C1 entitlement via a paper mechanism (over 3.5 tons) and needed the medical which I got from D4D.

At the time I noted on another forum :

"I had the C1 Medical on Saturday the 20th February at D4Drivers, sent off the paperwork on Monday the 22nd Royal Mail Special Delivery (next day/signed for, £7.50) and got the licence back today Friday 5th March.
So DVLA did their bit in 7 working days, (assuming they are not working weekends, but maybe they are).
Better than expected."
 
Littlewheels said:
This only happens when you have no medical issues add 4/5/6 month if you have.
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Quite possibly, but the Liverpool Echo article cited by the OP said
"Renew a driving licence if you’re 70 or over or after disqualification or revocation - 27 September"

No mention of medical conditions - just being over 70.
The poster I referred to, on the forum, was over 70 and on his second C1 renewal and got it done in 14 days.

So somewhere along the line I can only assume the message from the DVLA to the Liverpool Echo got mangled, unless this experience is quite exceptional.
 
slowdriver said:
Odd - someone on Motorhome Matters has just reported today, a 14 day turnaround on a C1 renewal - over 70. With the medical done by D4D
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Yes but there was probably no medical issues,once you reach 70 you have to have a D2 and D4 medical whether there are issues or not
If no issues the the CI is issued reasonably quickly. If medical issues it has to go before a DVLA medical board to decide the next requirement. As some folks have advised,heart conditions usually have treadmill tests,eye issues need further eye tests and so on. It all takes a few extra months to sort . DVLA are a law unto themselves Covid has exaccerbated the situation,some are working from home those in the office are spread out more, some must be declaring positive tests ( another couple of weeks off sick ,paid for).Then there was the strike action.
It's a general slow down ,they are after a pay rise after all
 
glenn2926 said:
I don’t know. One can only go by ones own experience, my licence, from dropping the form in the post box to the new one arriving in my post box took 9 days. Of which at least 2 were the weekend. So for me they were fast and efficient. Unfortunately we tend to only hear about the ones that have a problem as opposed to the thousands that don’t.
People are quick to condemn but not so quick with praise.
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Pray tell. Was this a sub 3500kgs licence, ie a non C1 or was it a Ci plus 3500kgs application.

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Emmit said:
Pray tell. Was this a sub 3500kgs licence, ie a non C1 or was it a Ci plus 3500kgs application.
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It was dropping C+E but keeping C1+E and D1+E and updating picture. Some will tell you this costs money. It didn’t cost me anything and still only took 7 working days.
Like I said, people love to complain about bad service but rarely praise good service. I’m just try to redress the balance.
 
glenn2926 said:
It was dropping C+E but keeping C1+E and D1+E and updating picture. Some will tell you this costs money. It didn’t cost me anything and still only took 7 working days.
Like I said, people love to complain about bad service but rarely praise good service. I’m just try to redress the balance.
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But I don't think you are 70 yet, unless you advise otherwise. So you were not requesting a renewal ,just dropping categories.
 
Jimbohorlicks said:
But I don't think you are 70 yet, unless you advise otherwise. So you were not requesting a renewal ,just dropping categories.
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No, I’m not it had run out due to age. It ran out the year before due to me reaching 60 and needing a medical to keep C+E. We received an extension due to the pandemic but it finally came time to renew. I decided I won’t be driving trucks again so decided to drop C+E but keep C1+E & D1+E. The picture was also due for renewal so had this done as well.
This made it slightly more complicated than most but DVLA rose to the task and I had the new licence exactly as I asked for it back to me inside 7 working days. The cost of all this doing? Nothing, so as you can see, I think they are pretty good at what they do.
 
It doesn't cost anything to the DVLA when you reach 70 either ,just Gps fees..I hope when you reach 70 you don't have any prior medical issues when you apply to keep your CI ,otherwise you will be in the same sort of queue as most of those of 70 and 73 on here. You have 10 years for the DVLA to sort themselves out ,good luck with that
 
It would appear from your posts that the only ones having problems are the ones with health problems. In the wider population this is probably a very small percentage of the over all driving populace.
It’s just on sites like this where the members are mostly elderly and it would seem have more than the average amount of health problems that DVLA are not as efficient as they would like.
Also perhaps due to the backlog they are focusing on the easiest applications first as they can process a far greater number in a working day.
That scenario does sound like best use of resources to me.

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glenn2926 said:
Like I said, people love to complain about bad service but rarely praise good service. I’m just try to redress the balance.
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But you are not as the main complaints come from the processing speed on medical issues of which you had none.
The system is such that if you have medical issues you not processed efficiently,those that have medical issues should enjoy the efficiency that you have enjoyed.
 
Littlewheels said:
But you are not as the main complaints come from the processing speed on medical issues of which you had none.
The system is such that if you have medical issues you not processed efficiently,those that have medical issues should enjoy the efficiency that you have enjoyed.
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A lot of the renewals will be vocational licences. Truck drivers, bus drivers, and other professional drivers. Over 70s with health problems are very unlikely to be in these categories.
The country is just starting to get over a massive driver shortage. The processing of these vocational licences taking precedent over elderly with health problems is still to me at least the correct thing to do.
 
Also when you dig into the actual numbers published daily on the DVLA site (and resorted by length of delay) then as of today, seven of the twelve activities listed are delayed by 15 days or less. The remaining five activities are:

Apply for a first provisional driving licence with UK identity - delayed 57 days from todays date (A problem but not for most on this forum )
Apply for a driving licence with non-UK identity - delayed 65 days from todays date (A problem but not for most on this forum)
Renew a driving licence if you’re 70 or over or after disqualification or revocation - delayed 72 days from todays date (A problem for many on this forum but real life experience seems variable)
Apply to change your name or address on your driving licence - - delayed 77 days from todays date (A problem for relatively few on this forum )
Renew a driving licence with a new photo - delayed 78 days from todays date (A problem for all on this forum)



1639001057759.png
 
glenn2926 said:
A lot of the renewals will be vocational licences. Truck drivers, bus drivers, and other professional drivers. Over 70s with health problems are very unlikely to be in these categories.
The country is just starting to get over a massive driver shortage. The processing of these vocational licences taking precedent over elderly with health problems is still to me at least the correct thing to do.
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I am on my third over seventy renewal and each time it has taken a minimum four months at the moment l am on my fifth month, though l am on medication it is managed and has not been changed in that time,therefore,you might expect it to be a box ticking exercise,none the less the reasons you have highlighted have no bearing on continued delay and inefficiency as it was the same a decade ago before any of this came to the fore.

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My wife sent her licence renewal online, took 7 days start to finish, result :xThumb:
 
Jesus H!!!

I have just put s88 RTA into Goggle (sic)

The information contained in the GOV. site which is first or second in the list puts a whole new meaning on that throwaway line, " Oh! That's OK. I'm covered by section 88"

The first condition in relying on s88 is that, YOUR Doctor must have told you that you are fit to drive.

What! Eh!

Not, " I'm OK. There's nothing wrong with me."

None of that. It is crystal clear that YOUR Doctor has to agree that you are fit.

Form an orderly queue at our overworked Health Centre now.
Question. Who, amongst us has obeyed this demand and, if not, how many have driven, sans licence without the necessary permission from the Dr.
 
My D4 drivers doc said I was fit to drive.but my licence has expired so on section 88 and awaiting my third treadmill appointment after 2 were cancelled at different hospitals due to DVLA not paying invoices . :(
 
My Category C licence was issued on 22 January 2021 after I passed my test on 25 August 2020 and a medical with a DVLA-selected diabetic specialist - requested early November - in late December. It's on annual renewal as I'm a (healthy) T1 diabetic.

To avoid six months without a licence I checked the forms I needed with the Medical Section in September. They asked for the D2 and VDIAB1 medical renewal forms, which they sent. When the forms didn't arrive I found they're now available online and sent them to the Medical Section requesting renewal on 19 October.

On 17 November the Vocational Section them back with a covering letter - as I had applied for a licence to drive a lorry or bus I either needed to return a D4 form (due only every 5 years according to the Medical Section) or if I 'didn't want this type of licence' (!) to return my D2 and VDIAB1 'with a covering letter'.

That doesn't conform to their published guidance - guess what I couldn't get through to them - but two days later I had my medical, and my eye test, and sent them the completed D4, D2 and VDIAB1.

I'm waiting to hear what they will come up with next. Usually takes at least a month to get any response and I expect an appointment with their specialist Doctor, but hopefully it's my licence before it expires.

So far it's been around 100 days since first contact and my experience has been that the combination of a Category C or C1 licence with my medical condition requires 6 months for the DVLA to issue a new licence.

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