From 8 June 2015, the paper counterpart to the photocard driving licence will not be valid and will no longer be issued by DVLA. 

The counterpart was introduced to display driving licence details that could not be included on the photocard.

The decision to abolish the counterpart came as a result of the government’s Red Tape Challenge consultation on road transportation.

Government have advised motorists on the changes they can expect on the abolition of the counterpart to the photocard driving licence. These include:

• If you already hold a paper counterpart, after 8 June 2015 it will no longer have any legal status. You should destroy your paper counterpart after this date.
• Paper driving licences issued before the photocard was introduced in 1998 will remain valid and should not be destroyed
• From 8 June 2015 new penalty points will only be recorded electronically, and will not be printed or written on either photocard licences or paper driving licences
• If you commit an offence you will still have to pay any applicable fine and submit your licence to the court but the way the court deals with the paperwork will change
• From 8 June 2015 neither the photocard driving licence nor the paper licence will provide an accurate account of any driving endorsements. This information will be held on DVLA’s driver record
• If you drive for a living and you’re asked to provide evidence of your driving record you can do this online for free by accessing our Share Driving Licence service
• If you’re a lorry or a bus driver with a licence issued by an EU member state and registered with DVLA, from 8 June you’ll no longer get a counterpart.

For more information and to find further advice on how the changes will effect you visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/driving-licence-changes