When to renew your documents in the United Kingdom
Start your HMPO British Passport renewal 6 months ahead of its expiry date, and DVLA Driving Licence closer to the date. The table below gives the window for every UK document DueTrack tracks, and links to the official page to renew on.
| Document | Usually valid for | DueTrack warns you | Renew at |
|---|---|---|---|
| HMPO British Passport | 10 years | 6 months ahead | Official page |
| DVLA Driving Licence | 5 years | 3 months ahead | Official page |
| MOT Test Certificate | 1 year | 30 days ahead | Official page |
| DVLA Road Tax (VED) | 1 year | 30 days ahead | Official page |
Last reviewed 7 September 2026. The “warns you” column is DueTrack’s own reminder schedule, not a government processing time — only the issuing office can tell you how long a renewal is currently taking, and the official links above are where to check.
Why the warning windows differ
A reminder is only useful if it leaves you time to act. DueTrack sets each window in proportion to how long the document lasts and how painful it is to replace: roughly a fifth of its validity, held inside sensible limits for that document type. A passport valid for ten years warns you months out. A one-year vehicle document warns you weeks out, because that is all the notice it needs.
Documents that block travel get the longest windows of all. Anything you cannot board a flight without is worth knowing about early, and that is a judgement about consequences rather than about paperwork.
Questions
Can DueTrack remind me about my MOT and road tax?
Yes. Both are tracked as their own document types with a 30-day warning, because both are annual and both are enforced automatically by number-plate cameras rather than by anyone reminding you.
When should I start renewing my UK passport?
DueTrack starts reminding you 6 months ahead, and again at 30 and 7 days. That head start matters more than it looks: many countries require six months of validity left on your passport before they will let you in, so a passport can stop being useful for travel months before the date printed in it. The issuing office is the only source for how long processing currently takes — the official link above is the one to check.
Does DueTrack keep a copy of my UK passport?
No. A photo or PDF is held in memory only for as long as it takes to read the dates off it, then dropped. There is no image column in the database and nothing is written to disk. What gets saved is the expiry date, the issue date, and the last few characters of the reference number.
Is it free to track UK documents?
Yes, for up to five of your own documents. Premium adds unlimited documents and a separate vault for each family member or business, and removes the ads.
Track it once, and stop checking
Scan a document and DueTrack reads the expiry date off it, then counts down and tells you before it lapses — by email and on your phone. Free for five documents.
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