Changing your Driving Licence

You need to get a form from your post office to apply for a driving licence.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) now issues only photocard-style driving licenses, so you will now be asked for a photograph which will be included on your new licence. Try to get a photo which you will be happy with for some time in your new role, and make sure that it complies with the DVLA's criteria.

Send the form, along with a covering letter, to the DVLA in Swansea together with a copy of your Doctor's or Psychiatrist's letter and a copy of your Statutory Declaration and your old driving licence. (The DVLA's website includes a useful page on How to Apply for your Driving Licence & How much it will cost.)

If you change your name and hold a current driving licence you must inform the DVLA without delay. Failure to do so is an offence under section 99 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.

The covering letter should state that:

* you wish your legal name on the licence amended to the of your new legal name, and
* that the gender code be altered to that of your new role.

You must ensure that the gender code is changed and not just your name as explained below.

The Gender Code In Your Driving Licence

Your driving licence will include a "driver number": it's item No. 5 on the front of the photocard. This number includes a gender code.

Your driver number will look something like this: ROBIN512185CJ9ME

The full code is explained in the DVLA's guidance on paper driving licenses (the same coding system is used on photocards), but what matters here are middle six digits in bold: in the example above 512185.

On your driving licence, your date of birth and sex is shown in the number. On a man's driving license, the second digit must be '0' or '1'.

For example:

• a man born on the seventh of June 1943 would have a DVLA number 406073;
• a man born on the twenty-ninth of December 1967 would have a DVLA number 612297

The gender code is in the second digit of the DVLA number: '0' or '1' for a male, or '5' or a '6' for a female. So a female born on the seventh of June 1943 would be shown as 456073.

This can be stated as follows:

The DVLA code for a man born on 7 June 1943 is: 406073:

• The two outside digits ('4' and '3') are the year.
• The second and third digits ('0' and '6') are the month
• The fourth and fifth digits ('0' and '7') are the day of the month.

Conversely, the DVLA code for a woman born on 7 June 1943 is: 456073:

• The two outside digits ('4' and '3') are the year.
• The second and third digits ('5' and '6') are the month
• The fourth and fifth digits ('0' and '7') are the day of the month.

You can see clearly that the gender code is 5 or 6 is added for female. It is of course a complete give away to the police if they should ever inspect your licence. To avoid embarrassment, you should ensure that the female gender code is deleted.