Ministers set to unveil plans for digital driving licences

18 January 2025, 11:14

A UK licence card with the older paper counterpart
A UK licence card with the older paper counterpart. Picture: PA

A newspaper report says licences will be available through a new Government app.

Ministers are set to unveil plans for digital driving licences next week, according to reports.

The Times reported on Saturday that the licences will be available through a new government app, potentially by the end of this year.

Officials have emphasised that a digital licence would not be mandatory.

The digital wallet that will contain the licence would be accessed through a Government app which will have security measures similar to banking apps, according to reports.

There will also be protections in place to ensure only the licence holder will be able to access it, and it is understood this will be made possible through inbuilt security features already in smartphones.

A Government spokesperson said: “This Government is committed to using technology to make people’s lives easier and transform public services.

“Technology now makes it possible for digital identities to be more secure than physical ones, but we remain clear that they will not be made mandatory.”

The photocard driving licence was introduced to the UK in 1998. It had to be used in conjunction with a paper counterpart until that requirement was abolished in 2015.

By Press Association

More Technology News

See more More Technology News

General view of IMI headquarters at Lakeside, Birmingham Business Park, Birmingham.

Engineering group IMI latest UK firm to be hit by cyber attack

A person's hands on the keyboard of a laptop

PSNI exploring use of AI to analyse mobile phone evidence

A screenshot of the homepage of AI chatbot DeepSeek, showing a warning message about new users being unable to register for the app

DeepSeek reopens new user sign-ups despite ongoing security concerns

A Google logo on the screen of a mobile phone, in Londons

Google axes diversity hiring targets as it reviews DEI programmes

A person’s hand pressing keys of a laptop keyboard

UK to get new cyber attack severity rating system

People working at computers

Capital raised by tech start-ups under Government scheme doubles

Xbox Series X and S games consoles

Currys launches Xbox console repairs programme

Hands typing on a keyboard

Military to fast-track recruitment of ‘cyber warriors’ as online threat grows

Composer Max Richter

Human artists could disappear if copyright not protected from AI, MPs told

Google image

Google drops pledge not to use AI for weapons

Icon for ChatGPT seen on a smartphone screen

WhatsApp users can now use their voice and images to prompt ChatGPT

An Openreach engineer next to a company van

New technology delivers ‘hyper-fast’ broadband speeds in trial – telecoms firms

Icons for the Apple App Store, iTunes Store, and Apple Music displayed on the screen of an iPhone

Apple hits out at pornography app allowed onto EU iPhones

A child presses a key on a laptop

Ofcom drops OnlyFans probe into underage user access

A teenager using a mobile phone

Two-thirds of mobile phone-owning 13 to 16-year-olds ‘targeted by scam texts’

Someone types at a computer keyboard

Mumsnet halts picture sharing after ‘child sexual abuse images shared on site’