Keeping your driving licence up to date

Northern Ireland driving licences are made up of two parts, a plastic photocard and a paper part, known as the paper counterpart. You must tell the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA) immediately of any changes to your name, address or your health.

Keep your details correct

Informing the DVA of your changed details will make sure your records are up to date and all future driving licence renewal notices are sent to the right address.

Change of address

If you permanently move to another country, the DVA can’t register your new address on your Northern Ireland driving licence. You’ll need to contact the driving licence authority in your country of residence for information on exchanging.  

Apply online

Tell the DVA of a change of address and get your driving licence updated at the following link:

Change of name

You cannot tell the DVA about a change of name online.  You will have to complete a DL1 application form and post it, along with the required documentation, to the DVA.

Remember - you can only make the DVA aware of a Northern Ireland address change.  An address outside Northern Ireland cannot be applied to a Northern Ireland driving licence.

Updating your vehicle registration certificate (V5C)

Making a name or address change to your driving licence does not automatically make a change to your vehicle registration certificate or your vehicle record.

To find out how to change your name and address details on your vehicle registration certificate and record, use the link below:

Informing DVA of a medical condition

If you develop a medical condition or disability that may affect your driving, or you already suffer from one and your condition gets worse, you must tell the DVA.

Lost or stolen licence

If you’ve lost your driving licence, or you don’t have one or both parts of your photocard driving licence, you can apply for a replacement licence online at:

The cost of a driving licence

For information about the fees for different types of driving licences and details of how to pay, follow the link below:

When to expect your licence

The DVA aims to process your licence within 10 working days of receiving a completed application. This may take longer if your health or personal details have to be checked.  Allow at least four weeks for your driving licence to arrive before contacting DVA.

If your driving licence has not been delivered six weeks after you made your application you should contact DVA Driver Licensing.

If you don't tell the DVA within eight weeks that your licence has not arrived, you will have to apply for a duplicate licence and pay the relevant fee.

Driving before your licence is returned

You can drive before you receive your licence as long as you:

  • have held a Northern Ireland or Great Britain licence issued since 1 January 1976 or another exchangeable licence
  • aren't disqualified from driving
  • haven't been refused a licence for medical reasons or for failing to meet medical enquiries
  • wouldn't be refused a licence for medical reasons (if in doubt, check with your doctor)
  • keep to any special conditions which apply to the licence

You must tell the DVA if you’ve ever had, or presently suffer from, a medical condition that may affect your driving.

More useful links

More in this section

Share this page


What do you want to do?
What is your question about?
Do you want a reply?
Your email address
To reply to you, we need your email address
Your feedback

We will not reply to your feedback.  Don't include any personal or financial information, for example National Insurance, credit card numbers, or phone numbers.

This feedback form is for issues with the nidirect website only.

You can use it to report a problem or suggest an improvement to a webpage.

If you have a question about a government service or policy, you should contact the relevant government organisation directly as we don’t have access to information about you held by government departments.

You must be aged 13 years or older - if you’re younger, ask someone with parental responsibility to send the feedback for you.

The nidirect privacy notice applies to any information you send on this feedback form.

Don't include any personal or financial information, for example National Insurance, credit card numbers, or phone numbers.

Plain text only, 750 characters maximum.
Plain text only, 750 characters maximum.

What to do next

Comments or queries about angling can be emailed to anglingcorrespondence@daera-ni.gov.uk 

What to do next

If you have a comment or query about benefits, you will need to contact the government department or agency which handles that benefit.  Contacts for common benefits are listed below.

Carer's Allowance

Call 0800 587 0912
Email dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

Discretionary support / Short-term benefit advance

Call 0800 587 2750 
Email customerservice.unit@communities-ni.gov.uk

Disability Living Allowance

Call 0800 587 0912 
Email dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

Employment and Support Allowance

Call 0800 587 1377

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Contact your local Jobs & Benefits office

Personal Independence Payment

Call 0800 587 0932

If your query is about another benefit, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

What to do next

Comments or queries about the Blue Badge scheme can be emailed to bluebadges@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk or you can also call 0300 200 7818.

What to do next

For queries or advice about careers, contact the Careers Service.

What to do next

For queries or advice about Child Maintenance, contact the Child Maintenance Service.

What to do next

For queries or advice about claiming compensation due to a road problem, contact DFI Roads claim unit.

What to do next

For queries or advice about criminal record checks, email ani@accessni.gov.uk

What to do next

Application and payment queries can be emailed to ema_ni@slc.co.uk

What to do next

For queries or advice about employment rights, contact the Labour Relations Agency.

What to do next

For queries or advice about birth, death, marriage and civil partnership certificates and research, contact the General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI) by email gro_nisra@finance-ni.gov.uk

What to do next

For queries about:

If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

What to do next

For queries or advice about passports, contact HM Passport Office.

What to do next

For queries or advice about Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), including parking tickets and bus lane PCNs, email dcu@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk

What to do next

For queries or advice about pensions, contact the Northern Ireland Pension Centre.

What to do next

If you wish to report a problem with a road or street you can do so online in this section.

If you wish to check on a problem or fault you have already reported, contact DfI Roads.

What to do next

For queries or advice about historical, social or cultural records relating to Northern Ireland, use the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) enquiry service.

What to do next

For queries or advice about rates, email:
rating@lpsni.gov.uk

For queries or advice about property valuation, email:
valuation@lpsni.gov.uk

For queries or advice about land registry for land registry, email:
CustomerInformation.LandRegistration@finance-ni.gov.uk

For mapping queries, email:
Mapping.Helpdesk@finance-ni.gov.uk

What to do next

For queries or advice about  60+ and Senior Citizen SmartPasses (which can be used to get concessionary travel on public transport), contact Smartpass - Translink.