UK drivers, get ready for digital driving licences

The UK’s driving and vehicle licensing agency (DVLA) is set to make digital driving licences available by the end of the year.

The plans – first reported by The Times – will be detailed this week in parliament, but it’s expected a government app, henceforth known as a 'Digital Wallet', will enable travel without a physical photo ID card.

Apparently, the app-based licence developed by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) could be used at self-service checkouts, bars and clubs as proof of age, or even getting on flights around the UK.

To mitigate security worries, the app will feature the same kind of authentication and identification as banking apps, using biometrics and security codes, and only be available to the licence holder. Plus, users will be able to hide elements of their existence, such as home addresses, when in such situations. Handy.

The move sees the DVLA firmly planted in the era of technological progress (welcome!), albeit a long way back from the front, since all of this is already available to drivers in Australia, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and some US states, including California, Georgia and Hawaii.

It's not going to be mandatory, either, so if you're still living at the same address and clinging on to your pre-2000 old-style paper licence, it won't be prized from your fingers just yet.

UK drivers can already apply for a licence online (using a stored digital photo), pay their road tax and access their licence status digitally. 2025 is so much fun right now.