Renewing your driving licence entitlement for larger vehicles, minibuses or buses at 45 or 65 :Cross Stitch – Motoring

Your entitlement to drive lorries, minibuses or buses is valid until your 45th birthday. After that, you’ll need to renew your entitlement every five years until you are 65. After the age of 65 you have to renew your licence every year.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will send you, 56 days before the expiry of your driving entitlement, a D47P ‘application for renewal of lorry and bus entitlement’ and a D4 ‘medical examination report’.

Photocard driving licence holder

You’ll need to:

  • complete the D47P form
  • ask a doctor to complete the D4 form – the doctor will normally charge you for completing the report and those registered for VAT are also required to charge an additional 20 per cent on top of their fee
  • send the completed forms to DVLA, Swansea SA99 1BR

A message on your D47P form will tell you if your photo is due for renewal, in which case you’ll need to include a new passport type photo and the fee of £20.00. You only need to provide the fee if your photo needs renewing.

If your name has changed you’ll also need to send (along with the above):

  • a completed D2 ‘application for a large goods vehicle (LGV) or passenger carrying vehicle (PCV) driving licence’ available from the DVLA form ordering service
  • original documentation confirming your change of name

Renewing without a D47P ‘application for renewal of lorry and bus entitlement’

If, for any reason, you don’t receive the reminder application forms you can complete a D2 with a D4, available from the DVLA form ordering service.

You’ll also need to check the expiry date of your photo on your driving licence. If your photo is due to expire very soon, it’ll need to be renewed before the date of expiry. The expiry date of your photo is shown in section 4b on the front of your driving licence.

Once DVLA has received your valid application you can drive before you receive your licence as long as you:

  • have held a Great Britain or Northern Ireland licence issued since 1 January 2024 or another exchangeable licence
  • aren’t disqualified from driving (the traffic commissioner for your area will decide whether to grant your entitlement to drive these vehicles)
  • haven’t been refused a licence for medical reasons or for failing to comply with medical enquiries
  • wouldn’t be refused a licence for medical reasons (if in doubt, check with your doctor)
  • keep to any special conditions which apply to the licence