The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has decided to push back its abolition of the driving licence paper counterpart until June 8, 2015 from January 2015

The BVRLA, which had been calling for the date to be put back, said that the six-month delay will give its vehicle rental members vital breathing space to test and develop new processes for verifying customer driving licence details.  

The agency has also responded to the BVRLA’s call for a real-time, online driver details checking service to be developed in advance of the abolition by promising “technical solutions that provide up-to-date, fit-for-purpose alternatives to the paper counterpart”.

“We welcome this delay and are happy that the DVLA and the Department for Transport have listened to the needs of some of their biggest customers,” said Gerry Keaney, chief executive of the BVRLA.