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When you buy car insurance, the provider will ask for details about you, your address, your circumstances and your car.
Your insurer will base your annual car insurance premium on the information you provide, so it’s essential to keep your insurer updated if your details change (including your address, job or health history).
Failing to update your information could cause problems if you need to make a claim.
The address on your driving licence must match your car insurance, so it’s also vital to update your driving licence if you move. Failing to update the Driver and Licensing Agency (DVLA) could result in a fine and invalidate your car insurance.
Fortunately, updating your details with your insurer and the DVLA is simple, and this guide explains the process.
What to do when you move
When you change your address, you need to do several things to keep your car information current:
There are no deadlines for updating this information, but it’s important to do so as soon as possible.
You could run into the following problems if you fail to ensure everything is up to date:
To keep your car insurance policy current and valid, inform your insurer about changes to your personal information and vehicle. You can usually do this online or over the phone.
| About you | What you need to tell your insurer |
|---|---|
| Name change | Your new name if you change your name by deed poll or after marriage/divorce |
| Gender change | Your new gender if it has changed – ensure your gender on your insurance matches the entry on your driving licence |
| Moving house | Your new residential address |
| Accidents | The details of any accident you’re involved in, even if you don’t make a claim |
| Medical conditions | The details of any new “notifiable” medical condition or disability |
| Driving convictions | The details of any driving bans: this must be reported immediately, but any penalty points can be updated at the time of renewal |
| Your job | Your new occupation or role if you change jobs |
| About your car | What you need to tell your insurer |
|---|---|
| Registered keeper | The details of the registered keeper if you sell your car or change the registered keeper |
| Where the car is kept | The location of your car during the day/at night – eg garage, private car park or on the street – when this information changes |
| Change of use | The new intended use for your car – social, domestic and pleasure, or commuting and business |
| Annual mileage | Any significant increase or decrease in your annual mileage |
| Named drivers | Any updates to the details of the other people insured to drive your car |
| Modifications | The details of vehicle modifications that affect your car’s appearance or performance |
Follow the process set out by your insurer if you need to update your personal or car information. This process can vary, but it usually involves the following steps:
The following tables show how to update certain information with the DVLA.
Note that the paper counterpart to the UK photocard driving licence was abolished in 2015 – if you have a paper licence, it’ll still be valid, but new and replacement licences will be photocards.
| Information you need to give to the DVLA | Your driving licence number |
|---|---|
| Addresses for the past three years | |
| National Insurance number | |
| Passport number (if you have one) | |
| Cost of changing your address | Zero |
| Ways to change your address | Online |
| By post |
| Information you need to send to the DVLA | Completed DVLA form D1 “Application for a driving licence” |
|---|---|
| Original documents showing your new name/gender | |
| Your photocard or paper driving licence | |
| New passport-style photo if you have a paper licence or want to change the photo on your photocard | |
| Cost of changing your name or gender | Zero (in most cases), £17 if you want to change your photo or £20 if you don’t send your old licence |
| Ways to change your name or gender | By post |
You’ll need to check with the DVLA whether you need to report your health condition.
| Information you need to send to the DVLA | Details of your driving licence |
|---|---|
| Your general practitioner’s or consultant’s details | |
| Costs of telling the DVLA about health conditions | Zero |
| Ways to tell the DVLA about health conditions | Online |
| What to do if your licence has been stolen, lost or damaged | If it was stolen, tell the police |
|---|---|
| Provide the DVLA with your driving licence, National Insurance and passport numbers | |
| Get a new photo if your licence is due to expire within two years | |
| Cost | £20 |
| How to replace your licence | Online |
There are several ways to process changes on your licence.
If you permanently change your address, you will need to update your address on your driving licence. Temporary address changes, such as during university term times, won’t need to be acted upon if you’re still contactable at the original address.
Failing to tell the DVLA about your new address can result in a £1,000 fine.
You can continue to drive while you’re waiting for your new licence from the DVLA.
You can change the address on your driving licence in either of the following ways:
Visit DVLA “change your details”.
You’ll need the following information:
Changing the address on your licence by post depends on whether you have a photocard or paper driving licence.
Complete the “changes” section in letter D741 that came with your licence. If you don’t have this letter, pick up a licence application form D1 from a Post Office.
Send both your photocard driving licence and the letter to:
DVLA, Swansea SA99 1BN
If you want to change your photo at the same time, you’ll also need to send a recent passport-style photo and a cheque or postal order for £17, payable to the DVLA (there’s no fee if you’re over 70 or have a medical short period licence).
Fill out the D1 form and send it to the DVLA at DVLA, Swansea SA99 1BN.
You’ll need to send the following:
Up until 1998, drivers were only issued paper driving licences.
From 1998 onwards, a plastic photocard licence and an old-style paper counterpart were issued. Penalty points were recorded on the paper counterpart.
The paper counterpart was abolished in 2015, with penalty points recorded online instead.
You can destroy the paper version if you hold a plastic and a paper licence. However, if you only have a paper licence from before March 2000, you can keep using it as long as all the details are current. When you turn 70, you’ll need to renew your licence, and your new one will be a photocard.
If you hold a paper licence and need to change your name or address, you’ll be issued a plastic licence instead.
Your V5C is the log book that comes with your car. If you move, you must update your V5C to match your driving licence and car insurance address.
If you don’t change the address on your V5C, reminders about car tax and tax refunds will be sent to the wrong address.
You can change the address on your V5C online at GOV.UK, unless you also need to change your name or update your vehicle.
You’ll need the following information:
If your vehicle needs taxing in the next four weeks, you can tax your vehicle online using your current V5C before changing your address.
How you update your V5C by post depends on whether you have an older or new style log book.
If you have the older style log book, you need to:
If you have the new style log book (with multi-coloured numbered blocks on the front cover), you need to:
If your vehicle needs taxing in the next four weeks, you can take your log book to a Post Office that handles vehicle tax to change your details and tax your vehicle at the same time.
Your car insurance must include the address at which your car is kept most of the time because the accident and theft statistics of the area where the car is kept are used in calculating car insurance premiums.
Your insurer may charge you an administrative fee for changing the address or other details on your car insurance. These fees vary between insurers but are typically £20 to £30. However, some insurers don’t charge if you change your address online.
Changing your address on your driving licence with the DVLA or on your V5C log book is free.
No; changing the address on a provisional driving licence in the UK follows the same process as changing the address on a full licence.
No, you need a UK address for your UK driving licence. Other countries may have different rules.
You must renew a photocard licence every 10 years. You’ll receive a reminder before your current licence ends. If you have a valid paper licence, you can use it until you reach the age of 70.
