(1)A licence shall, unless previously revoked or surrendered, remain in force, subject to subsection (2) below—
(a)except in a case falling within paragraph (b) or (c) of this subsection, for the period ending on the seventieth anniversary of the applicant’s date of birth or for a period of three years, whichever is the longer,
(b)except in a case falling within paragraph (c) of this subsection, if the Secretary of State so determines in the case of a licence to be granted to a person appearing to him to be suffering from a relevant or prospective disability, for such period of not more than three years and not less than one year as the Secretary of State may determine, and
(c)in the case of a licence granted in exchange for a subsisting licence and in pursuance of an application requesting a licence for the period authorised by this paragraph, for a period equal to the remainder of that for which the subsisting licence was granted,
and any such period shall begin with the date on which the licence in question is expressed to come into force.
(2)To the extent that a provisional licence authorises the driving of a motor cycle of a prescribed class it shall, unless previously surrendered or revoked, remain in force—
(a)for such period as may be prescribed, or
(b)if the licence is granted to the holder of a previous licence which was surrendered, revoked or treated as being revoked—
(i)for the remainder of the period for which the previous licence would have authorised the driving of such a motor cycle, or
(ii)in such circumstances as may be prescribed, for a period equal to that remainder at the time of surrender or revocation.
(3)Where it appears to the Secretary of State—
(a)that a licence granted by him to any person is required to be endorsed in pursuance of any enactment or was granted in error or with an error or omission in the particulars specified in the licence or required to be so endorsed on it, or
(b)that the particulars specified in a licence granted by him to any person do not comply with any requirement imposed since the licence was granted by any provision made by or having effect under any enactment,
the Secretary of State may serve notice in writing on that person revoking the licence and requiring him to surrender the licence forthwith to the Secretary of State.
(4)Where the name or address of the licence holder as specified in a licence ceases to be correct, its holder must forthwith surrender the licence to the Secretary of State and provide him with particulars of the alterations falling to be made in the name or address and, in the case of a provisional licence as respects which the prescribed conditions are satisfied, with a statement of his sex and date of birth.
(5)A person who fails to comply with the duty under subsection (4) above is guilty of an offence.
(6)Where a person who has a duty under this section to surrender his licence is not in possession of the licence in consequence of the fact that he has surrendered it to a constable or authorised person (within the meaning of Part III of the [1988 c. 53.] Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988) on receiving a fixed penalty notice given to him under section 54 of that Act, he does not fail to comply with the duty if he surrenders the licence to the Secretary of State immediately on its return.
(7)On the surrender of a licence by any person in pursuance of subsection (3) or (4) above, the Secretary of State—
(a)must, except where the licence was granted in error or is surrendered in pursuance of subsection (3) above in consequence of an error or omission appearing to the Secretary of State to be attributable to that person’s fault or in consequence of a current disqualification, and
(b)may in such an excepted case which does not involve a current disqualification,
grant to that person free of charge a new licence for such period (subject to subsection (8) below) that it expires on the date on which the surrendered licence would have expired had it not been surrendered.
(8)Where the period for which the surrendered licence was granted was based on an error with respect to the licence holder’s date of birth such that, if that error had not been made, that licence would have been expressed to expire on a different date, the period of the new licence shall be such that it expires on that different date.