How early can I get my licence back after driving ban?

Many people wonder when they will be able to get the driving licence back after a ban and whether they could get it well before the ban expires. The good news is that these people could get their licence earlier but it depends on the individual circumstances. There are two main factors which govern this possibility – first is the length of the driving ban imposed by the court and second is the conduct of the individual following the driving ban, that is, whether more driving offences were committed afterwards or not.

You are able to get your licence earlier by applying for it to the court which sentenced you under Section 42 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 (proof here on DirectGov's website).However you can only apply after a certain length of time has elapsed for your driving ban as follows:

• For driving bans less than 2 years, you will have to complete the whole ban.
• For driving bans between 2-4 years, you can apply after 2 years.
• For driving bans between 4-10 years, you can apply after half the ban term has elapsed (eg for a 6 year ban, you can apply after 3 years)
• And for driving bans greater than 10 years, you can apply after 5 years.

As you can see above, you cannot escape the driving ban for short disqualifications, that is, bans less than 2 years. However if you have been requested to complete a drink driving rehab course, you would be able to get upto one quarter of your ban off no matter how long your ban is for (eg for a 1 year ban, you can get your licence back after 9 months if you complete the rehabilitation course).

Your application to have your licence early will be considered by the court which sentenced you in the first place and things like driving offences made after the ban was imposed may result in rejection or refusal of your application. So make sure you have been a good driver following your ban to prevent any disappointment. If your application is rejected by the court, then you will have to wait 3 months before you can make another appeal to get your licence back.

Another point worth noting is that many people take the advice of a drink driving solicitor to help them with their application before contacting the court, so it might be worth getting in touch with one if you’re considering doing this.