How to Change Your Address with DVLA: Licence and V5C Log Book

A change of address with the DVLA is free, done online at GOV.UK, and involves two separate updates: one for your driving licence and one for your vehicle log book (V5C). Each record is held separately, so updating one does not update the other. Not telling the DVLA when you move can cost you up to £1,000.¹

Two Records, Updated Separately

Every driver with a full or provisional licence must tell the DVLA when they move home. If you’re the registered keeper of a vehicle, you also need to update the V5C.² Owning a car without holding a licence, or holding a licence without keeping a vehicle, still means updating whichever record applies.

Temporary moves are the exception. If you’re away from your permanent address for a limited period, such as at university, you don’t need to update as long as the DVLA can still reach you at that permanent address.¹ Once the move is permanent, the duty applies straight away.

These services cover Great Britain only. In Northern Ireland, driving licences are handled by the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA), and the process is different.³ Vehicle tax and V5C matters, though, still go through the DVLA in Northern Ireland.

Updating Your Driving Licence

Online

The online service is the fastest way. You’ll need your driving licence to hand and the addresses you’ve lived at for the past three years. Having your National Insurance number and passport number ready speeds up identity checks, though the service asks for them only “if you know them.”² You must not currently be banned from driving, and your new address must be a UK address (no PO Boxes). The service is free, and a new photocard usually arrives within a week.⁴

You can’t use the online service if you also need to change your name; that has to go by post.²

By Post

Look for the D741 letter that came with your most recent photocard. If you still have it, fill in the “changes” section and send it with your photocard licence to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BN.⁵

Without the D741, pick up a D1 form (cars and motorcycles) or D2 form (lorries and buses) from most Post Office branches. Send the completed form with your photocard licence, original identity documents, and a passport photograph to the same Swansea address. Don’t include your National Insurance number or financial details on postal applications; the DVLA warns against it.⁵ Allow several weeks for the new licence to arrive.

Updating Your V5C Log Book

Online

To update the V5C online you need three details: your vehicle registration number, the document reference number printed on the log book, and the postcode currently shown on it.⁶ The record updates in real time, and a new log book arrives within five working days.⁷ PO Box addresses aren’t accepted.

Changing your name and address at the same time can’t be done online. That goes by post using a different process.⁶

By Post

How you fill in the V5C depends on which version you hold:

New-style V5C, with multi-coloured numbered blocks on the front cover: write your new address in Section 3 and post the whole log book to the DVLA address printed in that section.
Older-style V5C: write your new address in Section 6, sign the document, and post the whole log book to the address in Section 8.

Postal V5C updates can take up to six weeks, so tracked post is a sensible precaution.⁷

What If Your V5C Is Lost

You can’t update an address on a log book you don’t have. If your V5C is lost or destroyed, download and complete a V62 to apply for a replacement, and send it to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1DD with a cheque or postal order for £25 payable to “DVLA, Swansea.”⁸ The replacement is issued with your new address. You need a UK address to apply, so if you’re moving abroad, sort this before the vehicle leaves the country.

How Long It Takes and Driving in the Meantime

You can keep driving while you wait for the new documents, provided your existing licence is still valid and your application has been submitted.² Typical timings:

Driving licence online: new photocard within about a week.
Driving licence by post: several weeks; contact the DVLA if nothing has arrived after four weeks.
V5C online: new log book within five working days.
V5C by post: up to six weeks.

Destroy the old photocard when the new one arrives so it can’t be misused. Do the same with the old V5C after an online update.

Other Records Tied to Your Address

Your licence and V5C aren’t the only DVLA-related records that need attention when you move:

Vehicle tax Direct Debit: tell the DVLA your new address so payments and correspondence aren’t disrupted.⁹
Personalised number plate documents: if you hold a V750 certificate of entitlement or a V778 retention document for a number not currently assigned to a vehicle, update the address on those documents separately. If the personalised number is already on a vehicle, updating the V5C covers it.¹⁰
Car insurance: tell your insurer as well. A different area can affect the premium, and failing to notify the insurer could void the policy.

1
GOV.UK. Tell DVLA You’ve Changed Address Step by Step
2
GOV.UK. Change the Address on Your Driving Licence
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nidirect. Keeping Your Driving Licence Up to Date
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GOV.UK. Track Your Driving Licence Application
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GOV.UK. Change the Address on Your Driving Licence – Apply by Post
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GOV.UK. Change Your Address on Your Vehicle Log Book V5C
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GOV.UK. DVLA Launches Online Service to Change Address on Vehicle Log Book V5C
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GOV.UK. Change Your Address on Your Vehicle Log Book V5C – Change Name and Address
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GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Direct Debit Payments – Change Your Address Email or Name
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GOV.UK. Private Personalised Number Plates – Change Your Name or Address