That Gov link does not say you cannot legally drive but it does say you can get fined up to £1K for not having a valid licence
Unless I missed something …
ROG:
That Gov link does not say you cannot legally drive but it does say you can get fined up to £1K for not having a valid licence
Unless I missed something …
“the date in 4b will show the licence expiry date”
gov.uk/guidance/changes-to- … categories
If something has expired, is it still valid?
I’d like to take a guess that you renewed your medical at the same time you renewed your photo.
The hgv entitlement ends with the medical.
The whole license ends with the photo.
ROG:
That Gov link does not say you cannot legally drive but it does say you can get fined up to £1K for not having a valid licence
Unless I missed something …
OK if we’re going to be that pedantic the page I linked to doesn’t say anything about an invalid licence it says “Motorists must renew their photocard licence when it expires. If they fail to renew their licence they will be breaking the law and risk a fine of up to £1,000”.
To be honest ROG I think most people would equate a threat of a possible £1,000 fine to not being able to legally do something i.e. a £1,000 fine for driving with an expired licence means you cannot legally drive with an expired licence 
tachograph:
Maybe I’m missing something but nothing I’ve read in this thread shows that you can still legally drive when the date at 4b has been passed, I wasn’t aware that they align the licence expiry date with the HGV expiry date but I don’t see how that alters the fact that when the 4b date has been passed the licence has expired and you cannot legally drive.What am I missing ?
The last lady on the phone told me my photo is good until 2025 and that the 4b date was the date that my hgv entitlement ran out due to not taking medical, as at the time I didn’t need it.
Take a look on your own license if over 40 and you’ll see you too only have 5 years between 4a and 4b it’s crazy I know.
As a matter of fact she said that my renewal had already been flagged up as to why I’d paid £21.50 and not sent in a D4 or D2
Trucker Ed:
tachograph:
Maybe I’m missing something but nothing I’ve read in this thread shows that you can still legally drive when the date at 4b has been passed, I wasn’t aware that they align the licence expiry date with the HGV expiry date but I don’t see how that alters the fact that when the 4b date has been passed the licence has expired and you cannot legally drive.What am I missing ?
The last lady on the phone told me my photo is good until 2025 and that the 4b date was the date that my hgv entitlement ran out due to not taking medical, as at the time I didn’t need it.
Take a look on your own license if over 40 and you’ll see you too only have 5 years between 4a and 4b it’s crazy I know.
As a matter of fact she said that my renewal had already been flagged up as to why I’d paid £21.50 and not sent in a D4 or D2
Ed, I don`t doubt the accuracy of your conversation.
I fully believe that what you heard on that phone conversation is somehow official.
The Gov site I linked to states
Franglais:
“the date in 4b will show the licence expiry date”
gov.uk/guidance/changes-to- … categories
So,
The Gov site states 4b is the licence expiry date.
Therefore the licence has expired.
Therefore the licence is invalid.
Therefore you do not have a valid licence.
It is crazy to put the date of expiry of a particular class or group into 4b if other groups or classes remain valid, but that is what is happening.
Trucker Ed:
tachograph:
Maybe I’m missing something but nothing I’ve read in this thread shows that you can still legally drive when the date at 4b has been passed, I wasn’t aware that they align the licence expiry date with the HGV expiry date but I don’t see how that alters the fact that when the 4b date has been passed the licence has expired and you cannot legally drive.What am I missing ?
The last lady on the phone told me my photo is good until 2025 and that the 4b date was the date that my hgv entitlement ran out due to not taking medical, as at the time I didn’t need it.
Take a look on your own license if over 40 and you’ll see you too only have 5 years between 4a and 4b it’s crazy I know.
As a matter of fact she said that my renewal had already been flagged up as to why I’d paid £21.50 and not sent in a D4 or D2
Well I am over 40 by a year or two 
but I let my HGV licence lapse when I retired a few years ago so can’t check that.
However I have just logged in to the .gov website to check my licence and it shows the date that the licence expires, so have you tried logging in to view your licence details at the link bellow.
View or share your driving licence information
Trucker Ed:
Morning good people.
So I’m returning to the land of driving again once had medical and sorted cpc.
So quick question if you can help me please.
To get some funds together I’ve applied for a van driver job which I’ve got but assessor said I cannot drive as license has expired, I found it a little odd that the 4b date was exactly the same as the date my CE ran out but couldn’t get hold of DVLA to check so went yesterday and paid for renewal at post office thinking that’s going to be best way as I don’t have a passport.
Managed to speak to DVLA just now and woman told me that the 4b date is in fact the date my CE expired and I’m fine to drive.
Could anyone check on their license for me to see if same on your own ie 4a to 4b is only 5 years and that 4b is same date as CE expire date.
Cheers good people.
I think this is the relevant link.
gov.uk/renew-lorry-bus-coach-licence
Specifically “If you do not want to renew but you want to continue driving cars and motorbikes, you must fill in section 2B of the form D47PU.”
In that case, @Trucker Ed’s van employer was right, he did need to renew his licence, even if the photo was in date to continue to drive a B category and let his HGV entitlement lapse (until its renewal with a medical).
Seems to go against the phone calls.
stu675:
I think this is the relevant link.
gov.uk/renew-lorry-bus-coach-licence
Specifically “If you do not want to renew but you want to continue driving cars and motorbikes, you must fill in section 2B of the form D47PU.”
In that case, @Trucker Ed’s van employer was right, he did need to renew his licence, even if the photo was in date to continue to drive a B category and let his HGV entitlement lapse (until its renewal with a medical).Seems to go against the phone calls.
Good link.
All those with an LGV/PSV licence who simply “let it lapse”, that is those who don`t need a vocational licence and do nothing when due for a medical renewal, loose all classes on their licence. Looks like this happened with Ed?
This is because DVLA puts the date for renewal of vocational licence in 4b rather than the date of losing other classes.
Seems wrong to me, but that is what they are doing.
And even more wrong is them giving incorrect information on help lines.
IMHO* the DVLA are wrong to put date of LGV expiry in 4b, and it should be the date of expiry of photo, or 70th birthday or whatever. Anyone checking to see if the holder is entitled to drive a LGV or ■■ should check the back of the card, where the date of expiry for that class is clearly marked anyway.
- it`s forum!
stu675:
I think this is the relevant link.
gov.uk/renew-lorry-bus-coach-licence
Specifically “If you do not want to renew but you want to continue driving cars and motorbikes, you must fill in section 2B of the form D47PU.”
In that case, @Trucker Ed’s van employer was right, he did need to renew his licence, even if the photo was in date to continue to drive a B category and let his HGV entitlement lapse (until its renewal with a medical).Seems to go against the phone calls.
Hi Stu thanks for that link yes it certainly seems to put doubt in my mind over what I was told by two different DVLA staff and the second one also went away for advice.
And yet my application has been flagged and questioned why I’d paid £21.50
The whole process seems crazy,
I’m best just going to get my medical sorted and put that application in to renew my entitlements but now won’t be able to do that until I receive my license back in the post, as crazy as it sounds they’re just going to send back the same license with my old address on it to my new address, you just couldn’t make it up.
The amount of bad luck I’ve had leading up to this poxy job would make you think nobody actually wants me to get this job.
I can’t see why anyone would be bothered if they were a employed driver , most places check them electronically, you just have to agree to them doing the check ,