Penalties for Driving Without a License

The AA suggest that up to 800,000 drivers in the UK do not hold a valid license. Those who are caught driving without holding a license can receive penalties of a fine and penalty points.

Some unlicensed drivers have previously held a valid license but lost it through disqualification, whereas others only hold a provisional license or have never held any form of driving license at all. If you have been driving or have been caught driving while not holding a valid license, it is important to understand how the law works and what impact a conviction can have.

Provisional License Holders

You are only entitled to drive a car while holding a provisional driving license if you are accompanied by an insured and fully licensed driver. The law stipulates that the person accompanying you in the car must be at least 21 years of age and have held their license for a minimum of three years. It is also important that the car that is driven is insured for provisional drivers and that ‘L' plates are displayed on the vehicle.

Driving License Conditions

All license holders, including provisional license holders, must abide by conditions that are set out by the law. If you break these conditions, you will have committed an offence and can be charged. This can result in you needing to pay large fines and receiving penalty points which can impact on your ability to secure car insurance in the future and suffer higher premiums. If you commit a serious offence, it may be deemed necessary to disqualify you from driving.

Driving Without a Valid Full Driving License

If you are caught driving without holding a valid full driver's license, you will be committing an offence as per the LC10 conviction code. If you are caught in theses circumstance, you can be liable for a fine of up to £1000. The courts also have the power to prevent you from obtaining a license for a set period of time.

Endorsable and Non-Endorsable Driving Offences

Two types of offences can be issued for driving without a license cases, which are referred to as endorsable and non-endorsable:

• Endorsable offences are those in which penalty points will be applied to your driving license for a specific period of time
• Non-endorsable offences are those in which points cannot be applied to a driving license because you don't hold one. Instead, a period of disqualification is ordered.

Insurance Considerations with Driving without a License

Insurance will be effected by an offence relating to driving without a license, and any policy that is held is automatically invalid if the driver does not meet the conditions of driving licenses and UK law.

If you are caught driving without holding a valid license, you will also have committed the offence of driving without insurance. This means that you are liable for penalties including up to 8 penalty points, a fine of up to £5,000 and increased premiums for future policies.

The Consequences of Driving Without a Full License

There are a number of potential consequences for driving without a license, and the penalties can be severe. They include:

• A fine of up to £1000 
• Between three and six penalty points
• The fine can increase to up to £5000 if you are convicted of driving without valid insurance
• Disqualification from driving for a set period
• The cost of legal representation
• Higher premiums for future motor insurance plans