Driver licence renewal for over 70s

leck · 28-09-2020 9:26pm #1

My neighbour (in her 80s) got an NDLS driving licence renewal form in the post today. Her licence expires on 1 Oct (Thurs). She had heard about the six month extension that her friends got so hadn't done anything about renewal as presumed she would get that.

They included a Driving Licence Medical Report Form, but there is a note in with it saying:

If you are aged 70 and do not have a medical condition you are no longer required to submit a medical report on renewal. This exemption will be in place until 31 December 2020.

She's already made an appointment with her GP to fill in the medical report. Should she do that anyway even though she's exempt from that at the moment?

Can her licence be renewed online? The NDLS website says:

If you have a verified MyGovID, are under 70 and don’t need to submit supporting documents you can Apply Online now at NDLS.ie.

It doesn't actually say that if you are over 70, you must appear in person.

Thanks.

looksee · 28-09-2020 9:35pm

Its quite likely that she will need a doctor's note from December so if she has an appointment she might as well do it. Presumably it was intended just to keep people from having to go to doctors' surgeries during the pandemic.

It does look as though, from what you say, that she will have to go in person. I was in the same situation (age and license, doctor's letter, during pandemic) and I was not made aware that I could not go in, I had to go into the gp and the ndls. That was back in April though. It doesn't seem entirely logical that she would have to go in and not younger people, I agree.

leck · 28-09-2020 9:39pm

looksee wrote: »

... It doesn't seem entirely logical that she would have to go in and not younger people, I agree.

I suppose the idea is that they have to see that she's roadworthy in herself!

I'd go ahead and try and submit an online application for her, but she doesn't have a MyGov ID.

Funny thing is that the link on their site to the renewal form is to a downloadable form rather then one you can fill online.

Davy · 28-09-2020 9:46pm

leck wrote: »

I suppose the idea is that they have to see that she's roadworthy in herself!

I'd go ahead and try and submit an online application for her, but she doesn't have a MyGov ID.

Funny thing is that the link on their site to the renewal form is to a downloadable form rather then one you can fill online.

The renew online application isn't available for over 70's even with the current medical exception until year end. The new licence will be valid for just 3 years because of the no medical.

leck · 28-09-2020 10:40pm

Davy wrote: »

The renew online application isn't available for over 70's even with the current medical exception until year end. The new licence will be valid for just 3 years because of the no medical.

If she gets her GP to fill the medical form, will licence be valid for five years?

Cerco · 28-09-2020 10:48pm

leck wrote: »

If she gets her GP to fill the medical form, will licence be valid for five years?

No. Licences for over 70’s are three years.

Cerco · 28-09-2020 10:52pm

Davy wrote: »

The new licence will be valid for just 3 years because of the no medical.

This is not correct. The licence is for three years for over 70’s even with a medical report.it maybe limited to 1 year due to medical condition. See excerpt below fro NDLS.

Licence term
Your age will determine the licence term you can apply for:

Under 60: 10-year cars and motorcycles, or 5 year for buses and HGVs.
60-66: a licence that will expire when you reach 70
67-69: 3-year licence
70 or over: 3-year or 1-year licence (subject to certification of fitness to drive by your doctor)

leck · 28-09-2020 11:31pm

Earliest in-person appt she can get is Friday, 6th November.

The medical report "must be submitted to NDLS within one month of this date" - so will get her to cancel GP appointment she made for tomorrow as that would be money wasted.

looksee · 28-09-2020 11:40pm

leck wrote: »

Earliest in-person appt she can get is Friday, 6th November.

The medical report "must be submitted to NDLS within one month of this date" - so will get her to cancel GP appointment she made for tomorrow as that would be money wasted.

Yes I had some hassle with that timescale, I can't remember exactly what, but it was a bit tight getting consultant's letter, doctor's letter and an appointment all in the timeframe. And the insurance company nagging me till I lost it with them and told them I was doing the best I could in the circumstances and to back off. (this was all to do with a medical situation, I got the 3 year license ok in the end though).

bobbyy gee · 28-09-2020 11:45pm

if she does not have a.medical issue she can renew it up to December no doctor visit needed

leck · 28-09-2020 11:50pm

bobbyy gee wrote: »

if she does not have a.medical issue she can renew it up to December no doctor visit needed

Would that mean that if she had the appointment in early November, the licence would only be valid until December? Or would she be required to submit the medical report later to ensure the licence remained valid.

Or maybe you mean because she's doing the renewal before December, the need for GP report is waived and she'll still get a three-year licence anyway?

leck · 29-09-2020 9:58pm

I rang NCDL this morning. If she renews her licence before end of December, she doesn't need medical report (as long as no pertinent medical conditions) and licence will be for three years.

The reason the Over 70s have to appear in person is that the site was set up that way because the medical reports could not be submitted online. So now even though, in many cases, the medical report is waived, they haven't updated the website.

leck · 16-10-2020 10:03pm

My 70+ neighbour was set up for a walk-in appt for driving licence renewal next month. Today she got a form in the post and invitation to apply by post instead.

Does she need to include her old licence when returning the renewal form? She has the newer credit card size licence. I figure they will have her photo and sig on file, but just wanted to check.

Atlantic Dawn · 16-10-2020 10:07pm

They will have her photo on file from the old licence and/or her social welfare cars she uses to collect her pension with. Don't think you need to include it, it will say on the form.

rusty the athlete · 03-11-2020 6:24pm

I am totally confused about how to apply for a DL license renewal because:
1. The NDLS says you must have an appointment before attending the local NDLS center unless you are over 70. There is no information about what over 70s should do.
2. I called my GP and asked for an appointment for the usual eyesight test form, but she said not to fix a time until I knew when I had an appointment booked at the NDLS center.
3. There seem to be no way to get in touch with the NDLS to get clarification about what to do because they do not publish an email address or phone number .
Its almost like a Kafka novel and I really don't know what to do and wonder if anyone on these boards has managed to get their DL renewal and how they went about it. Thanks.

biko · 03-11-2020 6:29pm

Merged with previous 70s thread

rusty the athlete · 03-11-2020 6:36pm

biko wrote: »

Merged with previous 70s thread

Thanks. I did not find that thread. There's some helpful info there.

lukin · 19-01-2021 8:21pm

I thought it better to resurrect this thread rather than start a new one for this question; my parents are in their 80's and both of their driving licenses are expiring on March 21st. I was going to renew them both until I saw this:https://www.ndls.ie/news/220-medical-report-exemption-for-those-age-70-years-and-over.html
It seems they will receive a renewal pack in the post and be invited to apply by post. Has anyone reading this received this renewal pack and did the NDLS send it out well in advance of the license expiry date? Also I know that the medical report is not required but I assume the eyesight test is required?
Thanks for any replies.

Rodin · 19-01-2021 8:23pm

I'd be having them do their test again never mind just getting a medical report.
I don't believe in a driving licence for life.

lukin · 19-01-2021 8:26pm

Rodin wrote: »

I'd be having them do their test again never mind just getting a medical report.
I don't believe in a driving licence for life.

Yeah I agree with you there but that is a different argument

leck · 19-01-2021 9:20pm

lukin wrote: »

I thought it better to resurrect this thread rather than start a new one for this question; my parents are in their 80's and both of their driving licenses are expiring on March 21st. I was going to renew them both until I saw this:https://www.ndls.ie/news/220-medical-report-exemption-for-those-age-70-years-and-over.html
It seems they will receive a renewal pack in the post and be invited to apply by post. Has anyone reading this received this renewal pack and did the NDLS send it out well in advance of the license expiry date? Also I know that the medical report is not required but I assume the eyesight test is required?
Thanks for any replies.

I was the original poster asking the question for my neighbour who is in her 80s. There was no option to renew online for over-70s. She had made an in-person appointment and while waiting for that got the renewal by post. She completed the application by post. In her case it was well past the renewal date, I think she got her replacement license within 2-3 weeks of submitting the form.

If you want to speed things up, you could probably submit the standard renewal form available online. No med report needed. The only difference is the one they will get by post will be prefilled with their names and I think it has a barcode on it, which might (or not) speed up processing.

Are they planning a road trip

lukin · 19-01-2021 9:26pm

leck wrote: »

I was the original poster asking the question for my neighbour who is in her 80s. There was no option to renew online for over-70s. She had made an in-person appointment and while waiting for that got the renewal by post. She completed the application by post. In her case it was well past the renewal date, I think she got her replacement license within 2-3 weeks of submitting the form.

If you want to speed things up, you could probably submit the standard renewal form available online. No med report needed. The only difference is the one they will get by post will be prefilled with their names and I think it has a barcode on it, which might (or not) speed up processing.

Are they planning a road trip

Thanks for the reply.
I am not surprised it was sent out well after the renewal date; this is Ireland after all. That's why I wanted to know, because I don't want my parents license's to be expired while they wait for this "renewal pack". Did your neighbour have to do an eyesight test?

leck · 19-01-2021 11:39pm

lukin wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.
I am not surprised it was sent out well after the renewal date; this is Ireland after all. That's why I wanted to know, because I don't want my parents license's to be expired while they wait for this "renewal pack". Did your neighbour have to do an eyesight test?

At the time her license expired, the mail-in option was not available. It was her own fault that she didn't make the appt in time. At that time, over 70s were obliged to appear in person. Then that changed and they started sending out the postal applications. I rang NDLS for her to see if I could get a straight answer on whether she had to attend in person. Surprisingly I got a sympathetic woman on the phone who agreed it was mad that they were making the 70+ come in but the system was not set up to allow them to renew online.

Your folks will hopefully get the renewal by post in time.

leck · 19-01-2021 11:39pm

... and no, there was no eyesight test.

Cerco · 20-01-2021 12:36am

Rodin wrote: »

I'd be having them do their test again never mind just getting a medical report.
I don't believe in a driving licence for life.

This is a nonsensical ageist comment making assumptions and generalisations about people’s competency. Many drivers eighty and over are well capable of driving and better than many younger people who consider themselves “good drivers”
Experience and sense comes with age.

lukin · 20-01-2021 8:53pm

leck wrote: »

At the time her license expired, the mail-in option was not available. It was her own fault that she didn't make the appt in time. At that time, over 70s were obliged to appear in person. Then that changed and they started sending out the postal applications. I rang NDLS for her to see if I could get a straight answer on whether she had to attend in person. Surprisingly I got a sympathetic woman on the phone who agreed it was mad that they were making the 70+ come in but the system was not set up to allow them to renew online.

Your folks will hopefully get the renewal by post in time.

Thanks. I still don't trust that this renewal form will be sent out in time so I won't wait for it to be sent and will renew it myself in the normal way.

lukin · 25-01-2021 8:43pm

I am still having problems. When I go on the NDLS site and select "Postal Applications for those over 70" it tells me about the renewal pack that will be sent out and that if I intend to avail of this then there is no need to contact NDLS or to attend any centre.
There is the option to book via the MyGov.ie site but when I try to register my father on it (using his PPSN no.) it says it doesn't recognise the PPSN number. I have the correct PPSN no.
If I go to this https://www.ndls.ie/booking-service/appointment.html link I am allowed book an appointment but in another part of the site it says that only essential workers can go to an NDLS centre to renew their license. I am nervous about my parents going to the NDLS centre anyway because it is well outside the 5 km limit and they are in thier 80's; I don't want them to catch COVID.
I don't want to wait for that renewal pack to be sent out because I am fairly certain it won't be sent out before the license expires.

Edit: I was able to get a my father registered on myGov.ie and from there on I was able to renew his license without any hassle. I don't know how long it will be renewed for, probably a year I'd say. I need to do my mother's now but she does not have a Public Services card so she must get one.

Driver licence renewal for over 70s

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