Section 164 — Road Traffic Act 1988: Power of constables to require production of driving licence and in certain cases statement of date of birth.

Power of constables to require production of driving licence and in certain cases statement of date of birth. 164 1 Any of the following persons—

a a person driving a motor vehicle on a road, b a person whom a constable or vehicle examiner has reasonable cause to believe to have been the driver of a motor vehicle at a time when an accident occurred owing to its presence on a road, c a person whom a constable or vehicle examiner has reasonable cause to believe to have committed an offence in relation to the use of a motor vehicle on a road, or d a person—

i who supervises the holder of a provisional licence while the holder is driving a motor vehicle on a road, or ii whom a constable or vehicle examiner has reasonable cause to believe was supervising the holder of a provisional licence while driving, at a time when an accident occurred owing to the presence of the vehicle on a road or at a time when an offence is suspected of having been committed by the holder of the provisional licence in relation to the use of the vehicle on a road, must, on being so required by a constable or vehicle examiner , produce his licence ... for examination, so as to enable the constable or vehicle examiner to ascertain the name and address of the holder of the licence, the date of issue, and the authority by which it was issued.

2 A person required by a constable under subsection (1) above to produce his licence must in prescribed circumstances, on being so required by the constable, state his date of birth.

3 If—

a a person is required to deliver his licence ... to the Secretary of State under section 63 of the Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003 or the Secretary of State has—

i revoked a licence under section 92, 93 or 99 of this Act, or ii revoked or suspended a large goods vehicle driver’s licence or a passenger-carrying vehicle driver’s licence under section 115 of this Act, and or iii served notice requiring the delivery of a licence to him in pursuance of section 99C , 109B or 115A of this Act, b the holder of the licence fails to deliver it ... to the Secretary of State or a traffic commissioner , as the case may be in pursuance of section 92, 93, 99 99C, , 109B 115A or 118 or section 63 of the Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003 (as the case may be) , a constable or vehicle examiner may require him to produce the licence ... , and upon its being produced may seize it and deliver it to the Secretary of State.

4 Where a constable has reasonable cause to believe that the holder of a licence, or any other person, has knowingly made a false statement for the purpose of obtaining the grant of the licence, the constable may require the holder of the licence to produce it ... to him. 4A Where a constable to whom a provisional licence has been produced by a person driving a motor bicycle has reasonable cause to believe that the holder was not driving it as part of the training being provided on a training course for motor cyclists, the constable may require him to produce the prescribed certificate of completion of a training course for motor cyclists.

5 Where a person has been required under paragraph 5 of Schedule 3ZB to the Social Security Administration Act 1992, section 26 or 27 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 , section 40B of the Child Support Act 1991 , section 40 of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997, section 168 of the Sentencing Code or section 223A or 436A of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 to produce a licence ... to the court and fails to do so, a constable may require him to produce it and, upon its being produced, may seize it and deliver it to the court. 5A If a person is required to surrender the person’s licence or test certificate to the Secretary of State under—

a section 37A of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, or b section 3A of, or paragraph 5A or 8A of Schedule 1 to, the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995, and fails to do so, a constable or vehicle examiner may require the person to produce the licence or test certificate and, upon its being produced, may seize it and deliver it to the Secretary of State. 5B In subsection (5A), “ test certificate ” has the same meaning as in Schedule 1 to the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995.

6 If a person required under the preceding provisions of this section to produce a licence ... or state his date of birth or to produce his certificate of completion of a training course for motor cyclists . . . fails to do so he is, subject to subsections (8) and (8A) below, guilty of an offence. 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8 In proceedings against any person for the offence of failing to produce a licence ... it shall be a defence for him to show that—

a within seven days after the production of his licence ... was required he produced it in person at a police station that was specified by him at the time its production was required, or b he produced it in person there as soon as was reasonably practicable, or c it was not reasonably practicable for him to produce it there before the day on which the proceedings were commenced, and for the purposes of this subsection the laying of the information or, in Scotland, the service of the complaint on the accused shall be treated as the commencement of the proceedings. 8A Subsection (8) above shall apply in relation to a certificate of completion of a training course for motor cyclists as it applies in relation to a licence.

9 Where in accordance with this section a person has stated his date of birth to a constable, the Secretary of State may serve on that person a notice in writing requiring him to provide the Secretary of State—

a with such evidence in that person’s possession or obtainable by him as the Secretary of State may specify for the purpose of verifying that date, and b if his name differs from his name at the time of his birth, with a statement in writing specifying his name at that time, and a person who knowingly fails to comply with a notice under this subsection is guilty of an offence.

10 A notice authorised to be served on any person by subsection (9) above may be served on him —

a if the statement to the constable was made in England and Wales, in accordance with Criminal Procedure Rules, or b if that statement was made elsewhere, by delivering it to him or by leaving it at his proper address or by sending it to him by post; and for the purposes of this paragraph and section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978 in its application to this paragraph the proper address of any person shall be his latest address as known to the person giving the notice. 10A For the purposes of subsection (10)(a)—

a Criminal Procedure Rules (as they have effect from time to time) apply to the notice as if it were a document to be served in criminal proceedings before a magistrates’ court, and b any magistrates’ court may discharge functions conferred on a court by those Rules in relation to such service.

11 In this section— “licence” means a licence under Part III of this Act , a Northern Ireland licence or a Community licence, “vehicle examiner” means an examiner appointed under section 66A of this Act; and “ Community licence”, ... , “Northern Ireland licence”, “provisional licence”, “training course for motor cyclists” and, in relation to such a course, “the prescribed certificate of completion” have the same meanings as in Part III of this Act.