Misplacing any of your belongings is a major annoyance.
But when it comes to losing your physical driving licence card, or having it stolen, you’re obliged by law to take certain steps.
And you’ll also have to fork-out £20 to the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) for a replacement card.
How many people lose their physical driving licence card each year in the UK? How much is amassed annually in replacement fees?
And where and when are you most likely to misplace, or have stolen, your automotive photo ID?
To find out, Select Car Leasing sent a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the DVLA.
The stats we uncovered might shock you - and they cover just a relatively short 12-month period, between September 2022 and August 2023.
Lost Licence UK Hot-Spots
The total number of licences reported as either lost or stolen in the UK over the last 12 months was more than 1 million - that’s 1,015,048, to be precise.
The typical cost to replace a licence is £20 - which means an enormous £20.3 million has been channelled to the DVLA in lost card fees.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the city with the most licences lost is London, with more than 108,000 cards gone missing in the last 12 months, generating £2.2 million in replacement fees.
The area with the second most licences lost is Birmingham, with more than 32,000 ID cards lost in 12 months. The city with the third highest number of lost licences is Manchester, with 23,000.
Number of Driving Licences Lost in the UK by Area
To get a better idea of how many licences are lost without population figures skewing the data, we looked at the number of misplaced cards per 100,000 population.
According to our list, Scotland’s capital Edinburgh is the UK's No.1 lost licence hot-spot, with 2,547 licences lost annually for every 100,000 people.
This is almost 500 more per 100,000 population than London, which is in second, with 2,094 licences lost per 100,000 population. The third highest area of the UK is Watford, with 2,050 licences lost per 100,000.
The stats for Edinburgh are intriguing. January is one of the peak times for lost or stolen licences (read more about that below) and with Edinburgh revelling in Hogmanay celebrations, motorists there might begin the new year wondering where they’ve left their wallet or purse!
Most Common Month to Lose Your Licence
The most common month to lose your licence is July, a time in the year where Brits are getting outside and socialising with friends, with a total of 93,000 licences gone astray or lost.
The second most common month to lose your licence is January, with 91,000 having gone missing.
What to do if you’ve lost your licence:
Report it immediately: If you’ve lost your driving licence, or suspect that it has been stolen, it’s important to report it to DVLA, via the official website. Your licence contains important personal information that could be used to commit identity theft or fraud against you.
Apply for a replacement: A new licence can be applied for online or by post and costs £20.
Found your old one? Contact the DVLA: If you find your lost driver’s licence after you’ve already applied for or received your new licence, you are required to return your old licence to the DVLA.
Conclusion
More than one million UK motorists reported their driving licence as either lost or stolen over a 12-month period between September 2022 and August 2023.
And those drivers spent a staggering £20.3 million in DVLA replacement fees.
London led the list with over 108,000 lost licences, amounting to approximately £2.2 million in fees. Edinburgh, Scotland, emerged as one of the worst-offending regions per capita, recording 2,547 lost licences per 100,000 population.
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