Remember, as of today, the paper counterpart to the photocard driving licence will not be valid and will no longer be issued by DVLA.

The counterpart was introduced to display driving licence details that could not be included on the photocard. These details include some vehicle categories you are entitled to drive and any endorsement/penalty points. This can now be found online.

If you already hold a paper counterpart, after 8 June 2015 it will no longer have any legal status. You should destroy your paper counterpart after this date but you still need to keep your current photocard driving licence.

There is now an online service to check someone’s driving licence information, eg. the vehicles they can drive or any penalty points or disqualifications. To use this service, click here. Instead of asking you to bring your paper counterpart with you on your first lesson, driving instructors will now use this service, asking you to provide them with a ‘check code’ before your lesson.

Drivers can view their driving licence information online and generate a check code to share details with third parties at www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence.