Online car tax renewals extended across UK

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's (DVLA) online tax disc service has been extended nationally but will not be fully available until the end of March because of delays to the computerised MOT database project.

The vehicle licensing service allows drivers to apply for and renew their tax discs online or over the telephone without the need to present MOT and insurance documents at the Post Office.

Although the online service crashed under the high volume of users trying to renew their tax discs last year, the system pilot was largely successful - and the service is now available across the UK to all drivers with vehicles less than three years old.

The DVLA system checks the driver and vehicle details through links with other external databases including the motor insurance database, the Post Office, local authorities, the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency, the Driving Standards Agency, Automated First Registrations and Licensing, the new MOT system and the Department for Work and Pensions' Veterans Agency disability allowance databases.

But the tax disc system will not be fully operational until the end of March when the MOT computerisation project, currently running three years late, is expected to be rolled out to all testing stations and garages across the country.

More than one million drivers have used the online service to renew their tax discs to date and a spokeswoman for the DVLA said a quarter of eligible vehicle licensing transactions are now being done electronically. The DVLA expects this to rise to 30 to 35 per cent over the next year.

The government claims the DVLA vehicle licensing system will make it quicker and easier for motorists to renew their tax discs and help fight fraud by cross-checking details with other databases.

The online tax disc service has been developed by the DVLA and its IT partner IBM.