Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Postal Services

(asked on 6th December 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the oral contribution of the Leader of the House of Commons of 2 December 2021, Official Report, column 1064, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of arrangements in place at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency for handling postal items received during the covid-19 outbreak.


Answered by
Trudy Harrison Portrait
Trudy Harrison
This question was answered on 9th December 2021

The quickest and easiest way to make an application to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is to use its extensive suite of online services. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their documents within a few days.

However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application and the DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day. The DVLA usually aims to process paper applications within three weeks but they are currently taking between six and ten weeks to process. There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example, if medical investigations are needed. The latest information on turnaround times for paper applications can be found here.

To help reduce waiting times for paper applications, the DVLA has introduced additional online services, recruited more staff, increased overtime working and has secured extra office space in Swansea and Birmingham. The DVLA has reconfigured its accommodation to safely maximise the number of staff on site and is working hard to process paper applications as quickly as possible.

Together with the ending of industrial action at the DVLA, these measures are having a positive impact. In particular, the focus on vocational driving licence applications to support the HGV driver shortage has been successful with routine vocational applications now being processed within normal turnaround times of five working days. The remaining queues are reducing, and customers will continue to see an improving picture in terms of turnaround times.

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