My 17 year DS is applying for his Provisional Driving Licence (I know there’s an horrendous backlog) His Passport expired during Lockdown (as did the whole family’s but no plans for travelling abroad anytime soon!)
So I worked out that I can send through his birth certificate - I’ll be sending the original, full version - and a letter from HM Revenue & Customs that informed him of his National Insurance Number just before he turned 16.
On the form itself, you’re asked to put a cross by the documents you’re providing, so he did that next to ‘U.K. birth/adoption certificate’ - immediately beneath this it reminds you ‘plus one other form of identification’. But there is no box to tick that says ‘letter confirming NI number’. So I assume I just send it in alongside the birth certificate?
But then there is a box that says ‘Please write the serial number(s) of the document(s) you are enclosing’. Now there’s a 7-digit number at the top of the birth certificate that starts with BF and ends with CE - is this classed as a serial number? Shall I put that? But when it comes to the letter from HMRC there’s an ‘our reference’ number and a tiny, subscript 36 number sequence printed at the top with loads of zeros but I’m sure that’s just some internal correspondence reference - you can barely read it. There’s no way I can fit both numbers in the box.
(It might be that the serial numbers refer to EU Identity cards or Biometric Residence Permits. But I’m not sure)
Has anyone else gone through this process that doesn’t have a valid passport? All I have to do now is go to the Post Office to get a postal order as I don’t have a cheque book anymore. It’s such a bloody palaver when you don’t have a passport. I feel like I’ve stepped back 20 years!
And I’ve read the other thread where it says no one is picking up the phone at DVLA, and that some people have waited months and then had their forms returned because they’ve said there’s been mistakes on the form, and that the forms will sit unopened for months - so I really want to get it right first time so I don’t further exacerbate the delay.
Anyone advice gratefully received!