Test Drives and the abolishment of the paper counterpart

legal updates

If a test drive is being booked in advance it might be as well for you to ask the customer to go online and obtain a PDF of their licence summary.

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As many of your will know, the paper counterpart to the driving licence, which contained this information, was abolished on the 8 June so this information now needs to be obtained online from DVLA.

If a test drive is being booked in advance it might be as well for you to ask the customer to go online and obtain a PDF of their licence summary, which can then be printed for your consideration and your records.

Should you need to check the DVLA website yourself on the day of the test drive then the customer will need his or her photo card licence and national insurance number to allow you to do that.

Some trade insurers will need to be notified and their prior authority may be required if a customer’s licence summary reveals a high number of penalty points. Please check the terms and conditions of your trade policy in this regard.

If your trade insurer refuses to indemnify a potential customer then the customer will be required to arrange their own insurance for the day and they must bring with them details of and documents to confirm that they are adequately insured to drive your vehicle.

To assist with this and other issues arising from test drives, Lawgistics have produced a Test Drive Agreement form, which Motor Traders should find useful.

Should you have any questions regarding this matter Lawgistics members can get advice from the legal team.

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Howard TilneyHead of Strategy / Legal AdvisorRead More by this author

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