/ Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
Drivers Customer Support
D12
DVLA
Longview Road
Swansea
SA6 7JL
Telephone / 01792 788142
Mr R Jackson
/ Fax / 01792 783212
Textphone
Email / Cheryl.
Website /
Your Ref
Our Ref
Date: / 1August 2008

Dear Mr Jackson

Thank you for the e-mail of 11 July requesting information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

You asked

What information DVLA holds in relation to dealing with drivers of no fixed abode and vehicles registered to same.

DVLA holds no information and provides no advice to drivers of no fixed abode. The same applies to vehicles. It is not possible to issue a driving licence or a vehicle registration document unless we are provided with a residential address at which the driver and/or vehicle keeper can be contacted. This is required for law enforcement purposes by the Police and by DVLA.

Note: Post Office boxes are not considered viable address details as in the event of an emergency the authorities i.e. police would not have an address to contact the driver. Secondly it also increases the risk of fraud. Post Office boxes can be rented for a short time and the person then become untraceable.

The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. You are free to use it for your own purposes, including any non-commercial research you are doing and for the purposes of news reporting. Any other re-use, for example commercial publication, would require the permission of the copyright holder.

Most documents supplied by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency will have been produced by government officials and will be Crown Copyright. You can find details on the arrangements for re-using Crown copyright on the Office of Public Sector Information website at:

If you have any queries about the information in this letter please contact me using the details above, remembering to quote te reference number in any future correspondence.

If you are unhappy with the way the Agency has handled your request, you may ask for an internal review. You should contact Cheryl James, Customer Complaints Section, Drivers Customer Services, DVLA, Longview Road, Morriston, Swansea SA6 7JL, or by email, if you wish to complain in the first instance. If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:-

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely

Laura Reed

Head of Unit

Drivers Customer Services

Unsigned – sent by e-mail

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