How do I change the name on a Northern Ireland driving licence?#
On paper, by post, to the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA), which issues licences in Northern Ireland; DVLA does not. nidirect says you cannot tell the DVA about a change of name online: you fill in a DL1 application form and post it with your documents. The change is free. It is also not optional. nidirect's DL1 notes say that if you change your name you must surrender your licence and apply for a new one straight away, and that "It is an offence not to do so."
DL1 forms come from main Post Office branches. The DL1 covers cars, motorcycles and other ordinary licences; for a lorry or bus licence, nidirect points you to form DL2.
What to send with the DL1#
- Both parts of your licence. A Northern Ireland licence is a plastic photocard and a paper counterpart, and nidirect's fee table makes the free change of name conditional on surrendering both.
- Original evidence of your new name. The DL1 notes give as examples a passport in the name you are now known by, or your birth certificate with a marriage or civil partnership certificate, and say the evidence "must show a clear link" between the name on your identity document and your current name. nidirect's identity page accepts a deed poll or a statutory declaration; a marriage or civil partnership certificate for a new surname; or a divorce or dissolution document with your birth, adoption or naturalisation certificate. It also asks for the identity document or driving licence that shows your previous name.
- No photo, as a rule. nidirect's photo page says a change of name needs none. If your appearance has changed significantly, it says to apply for an optional renewal instead, which needs a new photo.
Photocopies are refused, and so are laminated certificates.
Proving who you are#
A new name means proving your identity again: nidirect says identity documents are needed if you are changing your name on an existing licence. The DVA prefers one of three:
- a full, valid UK or Irish passport in your current name;
- a share code from your UK Visas and Immigration account;
- a UK or Irish birth certificate, or an adoption or naturalisation certificate. A UK one must go with a second document, such as a P60, a payslip or a letter from DWP or HMRC showing your National Insurance number.
A passport in your new name is the simplest. With a UK passport or a share code, nidirect says nobody else has to sign your form. With anything else, someone must sign it to confirm who you are: a person who holds a valid Northern Ireland photocard licence, lives in the UK, knows you personally, is not a relative and does not live at your address. The DVA contacts whoever signs.
Do not send a passport you may need soon: nidirect suggests waiting if you need it in the next four weeks, as the DVA cannot promise to return it by a set date. Changing your name with HM Passport Office sets out how a new passport works.
Where to send it, and getting your documents back#
The Department for Infrastructure's contact page gives the postal address, and says the DVA accepts applications only by post or online:
DVA Driver Licensing Division, County Hall, Castlerock Road, Waterside, Coleraine, BT51 3TB
Pay the full postage; nidirect warns that the DVA cannot accept post with too little, or none. Your documents come back separately from the licence, normally within ten working days, by second class post. For a secure return, nidirect says to include a prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery envelope.
How long it takes, and driving meanwhile#
The DVA aims to process a fully completed application within 10 working days, longer if it has to check your health or personal details. nidirect says to allow at least six weeks for the new licence to arrive and to contact DVA Driver Licensing if it has not come by then; if you do not tell the DVA within ten weeks that it has not arrived, you will have to apply, and pay, for a duplicate.
You can usually keep driving. nidirect says you can drive before the new licence comes as long as you have held a Northern Ireland or Great Britain licence issued since 1 January 1976, or another exchangeable licence; are not disqualified; have not been, and would not be, refused a licence on medical grounds; and keep to any conditions on your licence.
If you hold a GB licence and live in Northern Ireland#
GOV.UK's DVLA page on a change of name sends Northern Ireland to nidirect, and DVLA's online address service is only for residents of Great Britain. nidirect says that if you live in Northern Ireland with a GB car or motorcycle licence, you can drive on it while it is valid, "or you can exchange the licence for a NI one to show your new details".
A full GB licence issued on or after 1 January 1976 can be exchanged, on the DL1. nidirect's fee table lists the exchange as free if you send a valid, complete licence, and £30 if you cannot, and the DVA may ask for a code to view your GB driver record. The evidence and identity rules above apply to the new name.
If you move from Northern Ireland to England, Scotland or Wales#
The DVA cannot follow you. nidirect says it can only issue a licence to someone living at an address in Northern Ireland, and that an address outside Northern Ireland cannot go on a Northern Ireland licence. In Great Britain the licence comes from DVLA: GOV.UK's exchange tool says a resident of Great Britain with a car or motorcycle licence from Northern Ireland, issued on or after 1 January 1976, can exchange it for a GB licence on form D1, with no fee, usually within three weeks.
The exchange tool does not mention a change of name. DVLA's rules for one, also on form D1, are in changing your name with DVLA, and What do I send to DVLA? turns them into a list for your envelope.
The log book, and who else to tell#
nidirect says a change to your licence does not change your vehicle registration certificate (V5C) or your vehicle record, and sends you to GOV.UK, which says you must update the log book when you change your name, that it is usually free, and that you can be fined up to £1,000 if you do not tell DVLA. Changing your name on your V5C log book has the steps.
The other bodies to tell in Northern Ireland, and the choice between a deed poll and a change of name recorded with the General Register Office for Northern Ireland, are in changing your name in Northern Ireland.
Questions people ask
Can I change the name on my Northern Ireland driving licence online?
No. nidirect says you cannot tell the DVA about a change of name online. The DVA's online services take a new address, a renewal or a replacement for a lost or stolen licence, and its online address page says that if your name has changed you must fill in a DL1 (or a DL2) and send it with the right identity documents.
Do I tell DVLA or the DVA about a change of name in Northern Ireland?
The DVA, if your licence was issued in Northern Ireland. GOV.UK's DVLA page on changing the name on a licence says there is a different process in Northern Ireland and links to nidirect. Your vehicle log book is the exception: for the V5C, nidirect sends you to GOV.UK and DVLA's own process.
How much does it cost to change the name on a Northern Ireland licence?
Nothing, as long as you send both parts of your licence; nidirect's fee table lists a change of name or address as free. If you have lost either part, the DL1 notes say to apply for a duplicate or renew instead, and nidirect lists £30 for either. Pay by cheque or postal order made out to DVA, never cash.
Can I send a certified copy of my deed poll to the DVA?
No. nidirect's identity page says the documents you send must be originals, and it rules out certified copies, including those certified by the Post Office's document certification service. The DVA posts originals back once it has seen them.
Something else? Ask us, and a person replies by email, normally the same working day.
