To be annoyed that the signature on my new driving licence photocard is only 1mm tall?

[Prestel]

I went to the post office to get it renewed so they could check everything was right so it wouldn't be rejected (which to be fair it wasn't) but it's just come back and my signature is barely larger than a dot, you'd need a magnifying glass to read it! I'm irrationally annoyed about it. FFS.

I think I'd be annoyed too. It does call into question the attention of whoever checks over them and so what else could be missed.

I don't recall the signature on my driving license ever being of any importance. But presumably there is a reason for having it on there, so it being illegible could be a problem should you ever find yourself in a position to need it.

Which one have you got OP?
Because my new one arrived last month and it's much smaller, probably 2mm, compared to my old licence signature that is 4mm. But it's still perfectly legible.

Oblomov22 It was just a straightforward renewal of a full licence. I'm reassured that it might not just be me, but a general thing that they've got smaller, still annoying I can't read mine though.

NumberTheory I assume they hold a copy of my signature at DVLA so it shouldn't matter, should it?

They are all like that now.

Seriously? Is it some kind of cock-up? Because I can't actually see the point of having it on there at all if it's so small you can barely see it. What was wrong with having them big enough to actually read like before? I'm actually quite curious about what it's all about now.

Why does it matter?

seriously 1mm? I've just looked at mine and its about 5mm

@Prestel I don't know. DH and I renewed ours this year and my DD got a new licence last year. The signatures are all tiny.

For those asking does it matter, you're right, it doesn't in the grand scheme of things and I accept I'm BU to expect the signature on my photocard to be visible to the naked eye (I genuinely needed a magnifying glass to verify it actually was my signature, I'm not kidding).

If you could only see it, though....there's this big space on the card for a signature with this tiny little dot in the middle of it, my family think it's hilarious 😂

Does everyone really have a signature these days? I physically sign things so rarely I never really developed a way of writing my name that is consistent enough to be a signature I don't think.

I'm not sure what the point of it being on the driving licence is really. Maybe they are shrinking it as a precursor to getting rid of it!

Yes, they presumably have the digitised version stored. I guess printing it on there is a holdover from the days when it was your actual signature, in ball point pen ink on your paper license!

I guess I'd be a little concerned that places that require "official" ID and pretty much only accept driving licenses or passports would not want to take it if they couldn't read the signature. Bank when you've just moved, haven't updated your address and had your debit card eaten, perhaps?

I know this is a old thread. Did it get accepted as ID? Mine is tiny and I need a magnifying glass to see it.

I don't think I've actually needed to use it as ID anywhere yet but I can't imagine it would be a problem as people just want to check the name and address and photo these days. Which is why it was decided I was being unreasonable 😂. I still find it annoying, though, if they're not going to reproduce it properly why do they even bother asking for a signature, it's just daft.

Thanks for replying.

I’ve just got my driving license renewed at the post office and my signature is exactly the same as you have said tiny m. It’s so hard to see it compared to my last license

Wait until your kids start school, you'll sign things so much you'll consider ordering a stamp of your signature

I’ve just used my driving licence as proof of signature when selling my house… I can’t think what other proof of signature I have!

My Post Office assisted renewal of my licence did not reproduce the signature to a legible size. I returned the licence to DVLA with the DVLA form showing my usual signature within the signature box. They have lost it so I now have to pay £20 for a replacement. I can't find out if the signature should be the same size as on the form. Basically, Computer Says No!