Before you can take driving lessons in Colchester or start learning to drive with Steer We Go Learners, you must have a provisional driving licence. It’s mandated by UK’s regulation so it’s clearly not an optional step to take if you want to get a full driving licence in the UK. At this point, you need to know how to apply for a provisional driving licence before anything.
Ensure Your Eligibility
First of all, you need to ensure your eligibility so your application can proceed. You should be at least 16 years + 9 months old to apply for a provisional driving licence in the UK. It should be noted that at this age, you’re only eligible for application but you can’t use a provisional driving licence to drive a car as you need to wait until you’re 17 years old. However, you can use it for learning to drive under the supervision of adults or in most cases, the instructor of driving schools where you take the driving lesson.
Applying for Provisional Driving Licence
The most traditional way to apply a provisional driving licence is by post but you can also apply the licence online. You can pay the application via postal order or cheque. If you choose the online method to apply your provisional driving licence, you\ll be required for a valid UK passport. Today, online application has become the most preferred method not only because it’s cheaper than the post method but it also offers the fastest application process.
If you want to go for a post method, you can simply go to the post office nearby, order and fill D1 form, and post it. However, you want to apply for a provisional licence online, check these following points
1. Prepare your UK Passport
As previously mentioned, you’ll need a valid UK passport to apply for your provisional licence online. It means that your UK passport shouldn’t be older than five years if you want to use it for application. If your passport is expired, don’t even try to apply, renew it first instead.
2. Residential Address
The provisional licence application requires a minimum residing period of three years. At this point, if you’ve been living in different addresses these past three years, you’ll have to provide them all. Be sure to provide the valid address and correct previous addresses if you want it run smoothly.
3. National Insurance Number
You should note down your National Insurance Number. If you don’t recognize one, you can request it from HM Revenue & Customs but you can actually find this number on your National Insurance card.
4. Paying the Application Fee
After you’ve completed the application details, the last thing you should do is paying the online provisional license application fee which cheaper than the post method. In most cases, the online application would proceed faster and you should receive your provisional licence within two weeks.
Tips: Be sure to provide valid information only whenever you’re filling the form both in the post and online method to ensure your application is approved by the driver and vehicle licesning authority.
Once you’ve recieved your provisional driving licence you can go ahead with booking your first driving lesson.