The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is getting ready to introduce major changes to MOTs and driving licences in the UK - including bringing in digital versions.
Over the next few years, the DVLA has significant plans to overhaul many motoring policies as part of a move to bring the UK into "the modern age".
Part of these changes will reportedly include a scrapping of physical driving licenses and replacing them with digital versions that can be accessed from a phone.
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The DVLA is looking to launch an app for provisional licenses by 2024, as reported by the Manchester Evening News.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps indicated that being a member of the EU prevented the UK from introducing the new measures, and called them "exciting new post-EU freedoms".
He stated in a tweet the intention to "move provisional cards online, doing away with paper test certificates & bringing MOTs into the modern age".
The Transport Secretary also said: "This is a golden chance to shake off the bureaucracy, invest in our future, and realise our potential with world-leading transport that benefits all of Britain."
In its strategic plan for 2021-2024, the DVLA said: "We will introduce a digital driving licence for provisional drivers and also start to build a customer account facility.
"This will ultimately give our customers personalised, easy and secure access to a range of services and allow them more choice in how they transact with us.
"Our services will be secure, scalable and resilient and we will continue to explore and expand the use of emerging technologies."
However, driving charities and firms have been concerned about the new plans.
Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, said: “These days the one thing drivers are most likely to have with them is their phone, so using it to carry their driver’s licence could be quite handy.
"The risk is that the more personal data we store on our phones the more tempting a target they become for thieves and hackers."
