Skip to main content

https://dvladigital.blog.gov.uk/2018/05/30/pay-a-dvla-fine-online-service-bye-bye-beta/

Pay a DVLA fine online service: bye bye beta!

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: DVLA Digital Services

A team of twenty people standing in a group

We’ve recently had some great news about our ‘Pay a DVLA fine’ service – it’s gone from beta to live, and in just 6 months!

The service helps customers to put things right as simply as possible if they’ve had a fine, and it’s successfully passed the 18 service standards for government digital services on GOV.UK.

Providing customers with this simple to use, direct route also speeds up the recovery of vehicle tax owed.

In-house technology rules ok

In my last blog I talked about how we’d expanded the service so customers could deal with a broader range of fines more easily and sort out their vehicle tax, all at the same time. Linking these two DVLA services together for the first time was groundbreaking for us.

More recently, our in-house team has further enhanced the service so customers can pay all major fine types digitally. Once a customer pays their fine the service updates immediately, closes down the enforcement case and links directly into our ‘Tax your vehicle’ service. Customers can also request an email receipt.

Facts and figures…

Since the service went into public beta in September 2017 we’ve had some interesting stats:

  • around £1.8m in fines has been collected through the service
  • 46% of payments have been made outside office hours (the service is available 24/7)
  • 45% of payments are made on a tablet or smartphone
  • an increase of £736,447.79 in fines paid online in December 2017 (compared to December 2016)
  • fewer calls to our Contact Centre to pay the fine as people switch to online – 70% of people are now using the online service instead

Customer feedback is really encouraging

We’ve had some great feedback about the service and how user friendly it is – here are just a few of the comments we’ve had:

  • “Payment method was straight to the point thank you for making it easy.”
  • “This is the best government website I have used.”
  • “Incredibly straightforward and smooth process. Excellent, well designed website. Thank you!”

So, well done to everyone on the delivery team for all their hard work – it’s really paid off. Watch this space for more updates…

Follow DVLA on TwitterFacebook and LinkedIn and subscribe to our Inside DVLA blog.

Sharing and comments

Share this page

29 comments

  1. Comment by RUTH Wallace posted on

    What about a similar facility for 1st time applicants of Digital Tachograph Cards. After all, DVLA already have got the licence details, the photograph, the signature (from the driving licence), it's just a matter of paying the £32.

    And who these days has got a cheque book? And what a hassle to go the the post office for Postal Orders?

    PLEASE, Please, Please - bring the rest of the DVLA service into the 21st Century!

    • Replies to RUTH Wallace>

      Comment by Michelle Billing posted on

      Thank you for your comment, DVLA is currently undergoing a transformation of our IT services and I’m pleased to say that part of that work will be to provide new online services for Tachograph card users, we have been working on prototypes and testing these with users to ensure they meet their needs. We’ll blog about our progress here and development continues.

  2. Comment by barry percy posted on

    Hope I don't have to use it but good to know it is available!

  3. Comment by Hardev Lal Kalyan posted on

    hi
    that's much better
    to pay on the internet.

  4. Comment by David Townsend posted on

    Do not want to have to,pay a fine but paying for vehicle excise licence is very simple.P.S. I am retired from police service when Instarted my Sgt insisted it is a Vehicle Excise Licence and not tax. D Townsend

  5. Comment by David Rushforth posted on

    Just been through the experience and sadly it didn't work for me. I could not log in as it did not recognise my reference. When I called the help line they tried to log on using the same info and yep, neither could they! No surprises there.
    Consequently had to go through the whole written episode.
    Anyway, fine paid, points added and the misery goes on.
    Sincerely hope that I never have to try again.

  6. Comment by Jack posted on

    Nice to know the DVLA is actively working to ensure it’s easier to make & collect money for themselves going forward. With this and the new MOT rules, it’s a license to print money for them.

    • Replies to Jack>

      Comment by Michelle Billing posted on

      All revenues collected by DVLA are paid directly to HM Treasury. MOT and vehicle testing is administered by the Driver Vehicle Services Agency ( DVSA ).

  7. Comment by john Lawrence posted on

    Do we need an easier way to be taxed?
    We pay enormous taxes now and the burden goes up and up.
    I know there are dodgers and they need to be caught but most lawabiding citizens get caught up with some draconian decisions and some dont have phones or computors to sort out a bad deal.
    I can't see why you lot want to gloat about this, not better for the honest public who get swept up with all this chase for cash.

  8. Comment by A J LAPTEW posted on

    So now you have more ways of extorting money - You should be proud of yourselves which of course you are! Are you certain that you are not breaching the new Data Protection Regulations. I never asked you to contact me nor would I have given you permission.

  9. Comment by Robert Jones posted on

    I think a excellent service hopefully i haven't got to use it

  10. Comment by Gareth Fielding posted on

    Why not put the link in the article?

    • Replies to Gareth Fielding>

      Comment by Michelle Billing posted on

      Full details of the online payment facility including a penalty reference number are provided within the Enforcement correspondence issued to the individual customer.

  11. Comment by Don MacGreggor posted on

    This seems to be a good idea which hopefully I will not need.
    If a fine is levied will this method of payment be shown on the fine.

    • Replies to Don MacGreggor>

      Comment by Michelle Billing posted on

      Yes, DVLA’s Enforcement letters provide information to assist the customer in making an online payment.

  12. Comment by Keith Toft posted on

    While this is good news in a way , I hope that I never have to make use of this service although if I do it would appear to be a real timesaver to both parties involved. Well done.

  13. Comment by Chris Parker posted on

    Please keep the telephone service for those difficult queries and those folk who have poor eyesight and poor internet access not everyone is internet savvy !

    • Replies to Chris Parker>

      Comment by Michelle Billing posted on

      The telephone service is still available for those customers who wish to contact the Agency in this way.

  14. Comment by Jack Scott posted on

    I have absolutely no interest in this life wasting article. Further, I am flabbergasted at the apparent sappy willingness of meek induviduals demostrated here within your claimed feedback and the comments to this item. Almost all of your issued fines are outrageously and unjustifiably over priced revenue raising additional taxes. They are NOT designed as a deterrent against so-called offences...because the "offences" were never such in the sensible past but have only been invented and inflated in recent years to make up deficits caused by government quango dept. ineptitude, incompetence and profligacy.
    Our hard earned wages are used to substitute the balance sheet deficits caused by YOUR wasteful spending!

  15. Comment by Jk posted on

    Nice to know that the DVLA has its priorities sorted - collecting fines is the top priority! Plenty of other services are still paper based and full of pointless beauracracy 🙂

  16. Comment by brian knibbs posted on

    Where will all this lead to in the next 25 years,

  17. Comment by Paul posted on

    Just a shame they can't bring the registration process into the 21st century too. 10 days to register a vehicle and has to be done by post!!!
    Come on DVLA sort it out. The whole process is archaic.

  18. Comment by Darren posted on

    Paid mine (sp30) a year ago in may,never sent my license off as on a previous speedcam fine which was later deemed a faulty camera and refunded,points were added without sending my license off first time so I did the same again,and ended up in court in November with 6 points and a £589 fine...??

  19. Comment by Ian Sutherland posted on

    Anything that eases the pain of having to pay a fine has to be a good thing.
    Congratulations on successfully setting up this system.
    I too hope that I never have to use it.

  20. Comment by Peter Street posted on

    Thank you for actually designing something properly, rather than farming it out to the lowest bidder... This work (speaking as a web developer of many years myself) looks great, unlike most of the government contractor-written websites. Standards are great, but you need common sense as well, and contractors don't give you that in most cases.

  21. Comment by Paul Marshall posted on

    Online government services are improving month on month. Keep up the good work.

  22. Comment by Michael O. Famakinwa posted on

    I hope that I do not get to use this new facility. A good new development to pay fines.

  23. Comment by Jack posted on

    Is there any news on DVLA bringing the ability of any of the following being done online:

    Apply for replacement V5 - V62 form
    Receive V11 by email rather than post

    • Replies to Jack>

      Comment by DVLA Communications Team posted on

      Hi Jack, we're always looking at ways we can increase the online services we offer our customers. Keep an eye on our blog page for the latest updates.