Dvla Reviews 

This Department is not fit for purpose and could not organise a drink up in a brewery. My HGV licence is due for renewal and my health is ok. and they want to send me for a cardiogram. I would not mind but they send the forms to the doctor via post, and it’s been five weeks and No appointment. Do they not realise we have Email these days. But like most Government Departments they simply don’t care about peoples Anxiety and lives and would rather put people health in decline rather than arrange appointments in a better way. They all need sacking.

10 weeks still no refund lies about refund being sent out twice. Great way for the goverment to make money. Small claims court next for this show of s££t

The system is broken, smug, lazy incompetent workers, an epitome of the UK civil service.

Scraping a one star. I am a GP Practice Manager and have urgently needed to speak to someone for two serious errors they have made and it is impossible! One error meant they removed someone's license with no cause, resulting in a distressing situation for those at the practice and the patient involved. Now they are sending out letters saying our GP can be contacted for medicals - it is not our GP and it is not our practice but they are creating work for us and we can not stop them! They do not appear accountable to anyone

Still waiting on hold for over an hour to get an answer to something I can't find online. The phone was answered after about 40 mins. A dopey sounding employee said there was something wrong with her computer and she was transferring me to a colleague, when in fact they put me back to the beginning of the queue.
after over an hour i got through again. Half way through explaining my query, the advisor cut me off and transferred me through to a satisfaction questionnaire.
So, over an hour wasted on two completely incompetent employees. what a joke.

I completed my original application and sent along with my medical form. Seven weeks later I get a letter asking for my doctor to complete a medical questionnaire. Five weeks later still nothing. Over three months in total.
No response to emails, incorrect information issued by call centre and no guidance on time scale.
In general, I would suggest that if an organisation in the private sector operated like DVLA they would quickly go out of business.

So far to date, I have been waiting 9 MONTHS for my driving licence to be issued! Yes, 9 months and still I've received nothing.
I applied for it in December 2025 last year (seriously??)
They have sent me lots of forms to fill out, I've phoned and phoned chasing to see where it is and why it's taking so long, and all they keep saying is we are working on it and to wait a little longer.
Wait a little longer?! It's nearly a whole year DVLA, hello?
Upon reading lots of other reviews, this incompetent company cannot and will not improve it's service, so many, including myself are being let down and not listened to.
Customer service is not helpful at all, they have no clue as to what is going on and do not even try to offer any valuable help.
No disrespect, but they are beyond bad, why is is it taking 9 months plus to sort a plastic card with my photo on the front out?
Also, why hasn't anyone in authority asked any questions as to why the DVLA are failing people? Judging by their poor rating, it's a wonder how they are still in business to be honest.
All I want is my licence, why is it taking over 9 months?
Unacceptable...!

If i could give minus stars I would, totally incompetent and you get told the same thing that another team are dealing with my query and not contactable by phone, I had to question if I was infact speaking to the DVLA due to the level of incompetence, no response or acknowledgement to an email sent in may.

Taken over 8 weeks to receive logbook and now trying to assign my private plate onto our car and delays delays and more delays. It's like they only have 1 person that's dealing with customers enquiries. 1 hours and 45mins and still on hold

A shambles, they are meant to be a department of the Government. That is just right really, the whole Government is up in the air. I have been trying to get my license back for 6 years, YES 6 Years!! I have done everything they have ask of me, but they keep coming up with something else for me to do. Every time I send a postal order it cost me an extra £6.50 then they send a Cheque back and because I have an online bank they don’t take cheques. So then I have to take to a cashing shop then I lose £17.95 charge. DVLA have done this to me 4 times now, even though the reason why I am getting it back isn’t listed so it should be free then yes, well no they don’t see it that way. Now I’m going for it again after more evidence from personals state I can drive and they said they have sent me the forms again, but again these forms have NOT one thing to do with me, so now they will say that I didn’t fill it out correctly. But I will keep going, I am a very good driver with my advanced and 37 years of driving, I only needed 1 lesson and 1 before the test and I passed. So I know I am a very good driver.DVLA use really need to playing by the rules, NOT your rules the laws rules !

Went to a Greek island without my driving licence, (I know, dumb),  car hire people in Kefalonia called Greek stones, contacted the DVLA and they replied to immediately and gave them the documents. holiday saved.

Thank you, DVLA.

Btw , can you take the three points off my licence? 😉

The dysfunction and abuse continues.
1 month ago I escalated my complaintto to the Head of complaints which according to their timeline, they had 10 days to reply. They failed to follow that. 11 days aga I made the complaint again, the timeline for reply was 10 days which expired today. How this dep't can operate like this is beyond disgusting. I am now waiting for the PHSO to direct me to the next stage of my complaint. My local MP has signed the paperwork which the PHSO will get Tuesday. all concerned at DVLA think they can ride roughshod over me, well they can think again.They still have not explained their wrongl statement that my account for payying road tax comes from a savings account. The guilty never explain.

I have been reporting untaxed vehicle parked in my street,for over a year.Parking is a nightmare and nothing has been done the DVLA is a joke, most people pay there car tax and serial offenders just keep getting away it

An appeal process set up by a dictatorship……. very poor!!

I have been waiting for 18 weeks for the return of my licence following my request for change of address, this ment that I had to cancel my holiday abroad with my grandchildren as I would not be allowed to drive in Europe without a licence. I think this is a disgrace and someone ought to be held responsible for incompetence

My wife applied for a medical driving licence in August 2025.

We are still waiting, zero communication, no guidance, no timeframe and phone line zero help.

Needed to phone DVLA and looked at the reviews first and I was not expecting a great service. However on calling, the phone was answered within seconds and a very helpful lady dealt with my query and emailed me additional information to help me out.
Great service

The DVLA are the epitome of everything thats wrong with the civil service. Lazy, incompetent and incapable of completing basic tasks, like checking links work in their documentation. They revoked my licence on medical grounds despite their own guidelines saying they didn't need to. They've taken 2 months so far to process 4 forms. They are a complete disgrace.
They don't listen. You can't complain. I wouldn't advocate this often but everything to do with medical decisions should be automated because we'd have the same result, but faster, more consistent, transparent and cheaper.

It's a shame there's no Zero rating here. My license was revoked for six months on medical grounds (heart issue), and understandably so. I am back to full fitness and more than capable of driving.
I reapplied two months ahead of the possible return date (July 16th), they took a month to send me another form to fill (comical that there is no online option), then awaited the consultant's clearance letter which takes up to 10 days to scan (seriously). They had that July 27th, I've called a few times chasing, the Drivers Medical Group just say they can't (or won't) access the system to see what is happening, and that they understand my frustrations - you have no idea of the despair I am in at still being a prisoner at home because of such an archaic system and lack of care by staff. Looking online their target time is 90 working days, from what start point I do not know, but I'll be lucky to get it back by Xmas.
They have no comprehension of what they are doing to people, and don't care.

Having had my car written -off due to an accident 2 months ago I completed a SORN which was confirmed. Today I received through the post a TAX IT OR LOSE IT-FAILED D/D REMINDER O.M.G