Statutory Instruments
1998 No. 1229

ROAD TRAFFIC
The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 1998

Made
14th May 1998

Laid before Parliament
27th May 1998

Coming into force
1st July 1998

The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 97(1), 105 and 108(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988(1), after consulting with representative organisations in accordance with section 195(2) of that Act and with the approval of the Treasury(2), hereby makes the following Regulations:—

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 1998 and shall come into force on 1st July 1998.

2.—(1) The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1996(3) shall be amended as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3) below.

(2) For regulation 18 there shall be substituted—

“Signatures on licences

18.  In order that a licence may show the usual form of signature of its holder—

(a)where the licensing authority so requires, a person applying for a licence shall provide the licensing authority with a specimen of his signature which can be electronically recorded and reproduced on the licence;

(b)where no such requirement is made, a person to whom a licence is granted shall forthwith sign it in ink in the space provided.”.

(3) For Schedule 3 (licence fees) there shall be substituted the provisions set out in the Schedule hereto.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions

Helene Hayman
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State,
Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions We approve the making of these Regulations
11th May 1998

Graham Allen
Jim Dowd
Two of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury
14th May 1998

Regulation 2(3)

SCHEDULEPROVISIONS SUBSTITUTED FOR SCHEDULE 3

“LICENCE FEES

PART 1TABLE OF FEES

Description of Licence and circumstances of application
Fee payable

1
A first licence.
£21

2

A provisional licence granted following the revocation of a licence under the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995(4).

£21

3
A full licence granted in exchange for a full Northern Ireland licence or to a person who has held a full Northern Ireland licence which was granted on or after 1st January 1976.
£11

4

A provisional licence authorising the driving of vehicles of a class included in category A except—

(a)
a first licence,

(b)
a licence granted following the revocation of a licence under section 93(1) or (2) of the Traffic Act(5) or the delivery of a Community licence to the Secretary of State under section 99C(1), (2) or (3) of the Traffic Act, or

(c)
a licence falling within paragraph 8, 12 or 13.

£11

5
A licence which is the applicant’s first full Group 1 licence, first full licence authorising the driving of vehicles in category C or first full licence authorising the driving of vehicles in category D.
£6

6

A licence granted in exchange for a licence still in force or in place of a licence which has been revoked or a Community licence which is required to be delivered to the Secretary of State, except—

(a)
a licence granted pursuant to section 118(4) of the Traffic Act,

(b)
a licence granted following the revocation of a licence under section 93(1) of the Traffic Act or the delivery of a Community licence to the Secretary of State under section 99C(1) or (3) of the Traffic Act,

(c)
a licence which the licensing authority is required to grant free of charge under section 93(2), 99(7) or 99C(2) of the Traffic Act,

(d)
a short Group 2 licence, or

(e)
a licence falling within any other paragraph of this Part.

£11

7

A Group 1 licence granted upon the expiry of a previous Group 1 licence, except—

(a)
a licence falling within paragraph 4, or

(b)
a licence granted under section 99(1)(b) of the Traffic Act.

£6

8
A licence granted by way of replacement of a lost or defaced licence.
£11

9
A provisional licence authorising the driving of vehicles of a class included in category C.
£21

10.
A provisional licence authorising the driving of vehicles of a class included in category D.
£21

11.
A full Group 2 licence granted upon the expiry of a previous full Group 2 licence, other than a licence granted under section 99(1)(b) or (1A)(c) of the Traffic Act.
£26

12.
A licence, other than a short Group 2 licence, granted upon the expiry of a period of disqualification ordered by a court under section 34 or 35 of the Offenders Act—

(a)
in the circumstances prescribed under section 94(4) of the Traffic Act irrespective of the date when the court order was made;

£26

(b)
otherwise than in those circumstances.

£17

13.

A provisional licence, other than a first licence, granted following disqualification ordered by a court under section 36 of the Offenders Act(6), whether or not the court also made an order under section 34 or 35 of that Act—

(a)
in the circumstances prescribed under section 94(4) of the Traffic Act irrespective of the date when the court order was made;

£26

(b)
otherwise than in those circumstances.

£17

14.
A provisional Group 2 licence granted first to a person who has been ordered to take a driving test under section 117 or 117A of the Traffic Act.
£17

PART 2INTERPRETATION

In Part 1 of this Schedule—



“first licence” means a licence (other than a licence falling within paragraph 3 of the Table in Part 1) granted to a person—

(a)
who has not held a licence before,

(b)
whose last licence was a full licence which expired before 31st December 1978, or

(c)
whose last licence was a provisional licence which was granted before 1st October 1982;

“short Group 2 licence” means a Group 2 licence which, when granted upon the expiry of a period of disqualification, must (by virtue of the expiry date of the licence which was revoked upon disqualification) expire not later than 3 months after the date it is granted,

and “Group 1 licence” and “Group 2 licence” have the meanings respectively given in regulation 65.”

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations further amend the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1996 (S.I. 1996/2824) by—
(a)imposing new fees of—

(i)£6 for the grant of a person’s first full licence and for the grant of a first full licence in category C or D, and

(ii)£21 for a provisional licence granted following the revocation of licence under the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995;
(b)increasing some of the other fees payable by applicants for licences;
(c)providing for specimen signatures to be supplied by applicants for licences in order that facsimiles may be inserted in photocard licences.
The new and revised fees apply to applications for licences to come into force on and after 1st July 1998. The fees other than the new fees mentioned above were last revised in February 1992. They are (with the percentage increase since the last revision shown in brackets):—


(a)First licence (except when granted in exchange for Northern Ireland licence or for a Community licence if on medical grounds).

£21 (no change)

(b)First licence granted in exchange for Northern Ireland licence.

£11 (83.3%)

(c)Licence granted in exchange for subsisting licence (unless special rate or statutory exemption applies).

£11 (83.3%)

(d)Group 1 licence granted on expiry of previous licence (except licence with limited period of validity on medical grounds).

£6 (no change)

(e)Licence replacing lost or defaced licence.

£11 (83.3%)

(f)Provisional licence to drive vehicles in category C or D.

£21 (no change)

(g)Licence granted to high risk offender following disqualification (including provisional licence granted in case of disqualification until test passed).

£26 (30%)

(h)Licence granted to any other person following disqualification (including provisional licence granted in case of disqualification until test passed).

£17 (41.6%)

(i)Provisional licence to drive large goods or passenger-carrying vehicles granted to person disqualified until test passed under section 117 or 117A of the Road Traffic Act 1988.

£17 (41.6%)



(1)
1988 c. 52. Section 97(1) was amended by the Driver Licensing and Information Systems Act 1989 (c. 22) (“the 1989 Act”), section 6(2) and Schedule 3, paragraph 9. Section 105(2) was amended by the 1989 Act, Schedule 3, paragraph 14, by the Driving Licences (Community Driving Licence) Regulations 1990 (S.I. 1990/144), and by the Driving Licences (Community Driving Licence) Regulations 1996 (S.I. 1996/1974). In section 108(1), see the definitions of “prescribed” and “regulations”.

(2)
See section 105(4) of the Road Traffic Act 1988.

(3)
1996/2824, to which there have been no amendments relevant hereto.

(4)
1995 c. 13.

(5)
I.e. the Road Traffic Act 1988.

(6)
I.e. the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988.