Complaints procedure
Source: gov.uk (2025-07-17)

How to complain if you’re unhappy with the service you get from DVLA.

If you have a query or an issue that needs resolving

You should first contact the department that you’ve been dealing with (https://www.gov.uk/contact-the-dvla) as this is often the quickest and easiest way to resolve your query. To deal with your queries we’ll need to know:
- your full name and address
- your date of birth
- your driver number (for queries about your driving licence)
- your vehicle registration number, including the make and model of the vehicle (for queries about vehicle licensing, registration or enforcement)
- any reference number we’ve provided on previous correspondence
Making a formal complaint

Step 1

We have recently simplified our complaints process. If you wish to make a formal complaint, you can write to our complaints team telling them your concerns.

To make your complaint, please contact our complaints team (https://contact.dvla.gov.uk/complaints) or write to:

Complaints TeamDVLASwanseaSA6 7JL

We’ll acknowledge receipt of your complaint and aim to send you a full reply within 10 working days.

Please note that when you receive a response to your complaint, you may also be asked to complete a short feedback survey to help us measure customer satisfaction and understand your expectations of the service provided by our Complaints Team.

Step 2

If you’ve been through Step 1 and you feel that your complaint has not been resolved, you can write to our Head of Complaints, who will make sure your case is reviewed and responded to. We aim to respond within 10 working days.

You can contact our Head of Complaints here (https://contact.dvla.gov.uk/head-of-complaints). Please note that our Head of Complaints is unable to deal with general enquiries.

Or you can write to:

Head of ComplaintsDVLASwanseaSA6 7JL

An independent review

If you think your complaint has not been resolved through our 2 step formal complaints procedure, you can ask us to refer your complaint to an Independent Complaints Assessor (ICA).

They’ll review the way your case was handled and will expect you to have tried to resolve your complaint directly with us, in line with our complaints procedure, before they consider your complaint. Find out more information about what the ICAs cover (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/independent-complaints-assessors-for-the-department-for-transport).

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

If you are not satisfied and you’ve had your complaint investigated by the ICA, you can ask a Member of Parliament (MP) to refer your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO).

We welcome all feedback including concerns, complaints or comments on what we’ve done well. We want to do everything we can to learn to do more of what we do well and improve where we can do better.

We aim to meet the PHSO’s UK Central Government Complaint Standards (https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/gcs) when handling complaints. These standards help us provide a quicker and simpler complaints handling service that:
- promotes a learning culture
- welcomes complaints in a positive way
- is thorough and fair
- gives fair and accountable responses
You can find out more on the PHSO website (http://www.ombudsman.org.uk).

Privacy notice

For further information about how we process your data, your rights and who to contact, see our privacy notice (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dvla-privacy-policy).

Our commitment

Customers are at the heart of our business and we are committed to providing a high quality of service to everyone. We value your feedback and are committed to act on any concerns or complaints about the service we provide.

We aim to:
- objectively investigate all complaints and put things right for you when it is possible
- learn from where we went wrong
- make sure we do not make the same mistake again
DVLA complaints statistics and what we learn from complaints

(https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6878c2c0a52cca025ef5bdb1/MIS1026-dvla-complaints-statistics-2024-to-2025-and-how-we-have-improved-from-customer-feedback.pdf)

DVLA complaints statistics 2024 to 2025 and how we have improved from customer feedback (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6878c2c0a52cca025ef5bdb1/MIS1026-dvla-complaints-statistics-2024-to-2025-and-how-we-have-improved-from-customer-feedback.pdf)

PDF, 860 KB, 8 pages

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