Confused about the new Driving Licence rules for hiring cars?

A further update re the DVLA process for hiring cars aboard has come through, I will just include it all or you so you have the information I have to help with any confusion. 

Further to the announcement that the DVLA is set to abolish the paper counterpart of the photocard driving licence from 8^th June 2015, the DVLA have prepared a briefing pack which can be accessed here: http://dvla.dft.gov.uk/160215/Briefing-Pack-Print-Only.pdf

In addition, pasted below is a statement from the BVRLA website.  BVRLA is the trade body for the vehicle rental and leasing sector. The statement can be accessed online here: http://www.bvrla.co.uk/counterpart

The statement references the toolkit that the DVLA have compiled which includes a range of publicity and communications materials such as web banners, videos, editorials and images that members may find useful.  The DVLA toolkit can be accessed here: http://dvla.dft.gov.uk/dvla-aoc-toolkit.html

BVRLA Statement

Abolition of the Paper Counterpart

From 8 June 2015, the paper counterpart of the driver licence will be abolished as part of the Government's Red Tape Challenge initiative to remove unnecessary administrative burdens on drivers.  The DVLA will no longer issue the paper counterpart and from 8 June, all existing paper counterparts will no longer have any legal status. There will be no change to the photocard part of the driving licence and vehicle rental companies will still need to check that document.

Alternatives to the paper counterpart

The DVLA has given BVRLA members a choice of strategies for dealing with the abolition of the paper counterpart next year. 

1. Rely on the new Share My Driving Licence service. Using this solution, which is still being developed, would require a hirer to log into their driver licence details (National Insurance Number, Driver Number and Post Code required, print off a copy of their record as a PDF and take it to the rental desk. The rental company can accept this copy at face-value, or ask for additional authentication by obtaining an online view of the driver record, which the hirer could provide via an access code. This is a free service and available 24/7.
2. Rely on the current DVLA premium line telephone service, 09061 393837 which is available Monday to Friday 0800 - 1900 Saturday 0800 - 1400 at 51p per minute.
3. DVLA is developing a new service, Access to Driver Data (ADD) for 'trusted partners'.  This will give real-time driver licence data through a business-to-business interface. Organisations wishing to access this service will need to agree contractual terms and conditions.  The (beta) version of this service will be available to a small group of EDECS (Electronic Driver Entitlement Checking Service) users in early 2015.  DVLA will have the service available in summer 2015. The charging model for this service is currently under consideration.

The BVRLA's view

There is now some lead-time to allow vehicle rental businesses to prepare properly for the change which will necessitate a huge communications exercise with clients, liaison with insurance companies, changes to terms and conditions of rental, staff training – in addition to software and communications systems development.  It allows sufficient breathing space for vehicle rental companies to work through their requirements and liaise with their customers on a solution (or range of solutions) that work best for them. 

For more information: 

The DVLA will not be practively communicating their campaign to GB licence holders during the period of purdah that occurs 6 weeks before a General Election. They have however provided targeted messages to specific customer segments, notably i) hiring a vehicle and ii) professional driving/driving for a living. The additional information contains advice for individuals and businesses who currently check the counterpart of their employees or customers. The materials also offer advice to people who may need to provide evidence of their driver record after 8 June 2015.

The link below will take you to a web page where you will find a comprehensive range of publicity and communications materials such as web banners, videos, editorials and images.

http://dvla.dft.gov.uk/dvla-aoc-toolkit.html

Public information is available on GOV.UK (www.gov.uk/dvla/nomorecounterpart). 

I am sure this will make it easier, once we all got used to it. Happy Driving!!!!!