Getting Your Licence Back Early

Appeal for early return of driving licence

If you have been disqualified from driving by a Court judgment, it is possible to make the argument for an early return of your driving licence if you feel that you are justified in making such a request.

Under Section 42 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, you may make a request for the early return of your licence after a period of:

• Two years, if you have been disqualified for less than four years
• Half of the disqualification period if you have been disqualified for less than ten years but more than four years
• Five years in any other situation

Presenting a case for the early return of your driver’s licence involves an assessment by the Court in which they will consider your character, the manner in which you have conducted yourself since the disqualification, and other points such as the offence which led to your disqualification and the circumstances which surrounded it. This will be done according to the criteria of the aforementioned section of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, which lays these out as a basis.

Often you will find your application for early return contested by the Crown Prosecution Service, so it is unfortunately a rare occurrence to succeed in having your licence returned early. After a refusal, you are not permitted to make another request of this type for 3 months, and you will find that the law of diminishing returns works against you if you repeatedly apply after a previous failure.

If you feel you have a case, however, it would benefit you to get professional help from an experienced solicitor who will be able to present your argument in the most appropriate manner.

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