Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (the DVLA) is an agency of the Department of Transport in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for maintaining a database of British drivers and vehicles. The agency adminsters driving tests, grants driving licences and organises collection of Vehicle Excise Duty (also known as road tax).

The DVLA is based at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre (DVLC) in Swansea,Wales but has local offices throughout the country, where driving tests are held.

Data held by DVLA is used in many ways. For example, cars caught entering Central London without paying the congestion charge or driving too fast on a road with speed cameras are matched to their owners using the DVLA database.