When a driver has been disqualified it is possible for them to apply to get their license back before the end of the disqualification period.

The application can be made where at least:


(a) 2 years have been served of a disqualification for 4 years or less; or

(b) Half of the disqualification has been served in relation to disqualifications of between 4 and 10 years; or

(c) 5 years has been served of a disqualification of more than 10 years.

Any application for restoration of a driving license must be based upon ‘compelling reasons’
Where a driver has been banned for driving for three years or more and ordered to sit the extended test of driving before being allowed to drive again they can still apply for the early restoration of their driving license but will require to pass the extended test of driving first before they get it back.
In deciding upon an application for restoration the court requires to have regard to:

(a) The character of the driver and his or her conduct since the date of disqualification (i.e. whether or not they have acquired any further convictions in the meantime)

(b) The nature of the offence for which the driver was disqualified

(c) Any other circumstances of the case.

The starting point for an application for restoration of a driving license is the submission of a written application to both the court where disqualification was imposed and the prosecution.
The prosecution will thereafter commission a report from the police on the matters referred to in headings (a)-(c).

Applications will only be successful where an applicant can clearly display that their behavior since disqualification shows that there is unlikely to be repetition of the original offending behavior again in the future.

As previously stated the application must be based upon ‘compelling reason’. These could include: The fact that the restoration of driving license would enable the applicant to resume employment; the fact that disqualification is causing the applicant severe personal difficulty (i.e. where an applicant has developed problems with their health since disqualification) or where disqualification is causing severe hardship to the applicant»s family.

Here is a recent case example:

Early Restoration Of Driving Licence following a 10 Year disqualification for Death by Dangerous Driving. Petition is granted.

All of Scotland Covered:
Including: Glasgow Edinburgh Aberdeen Dundee Paisley Renfrewshire East Kilbride Perth Livingston Cumbernauld Hamilton Kirkcaldy Dunfermline Ayr Kinross Kilmarnock Inverness Greenock Inverclyde Port Glasgow Coatbridge North Lanarkshire Glenrothes fife Airdrie Falkirk Stirling Rutherglen Dumfries Galloway Motherwell Wishaw Clydebank West Dunbartonshire Bearsden East Dunbartonshire Cambuslang Newton Mearns East Renfrewshire Bishopbriggs Musselburgh East Lothian Arbroath Angus Polmont Elgin Renfrew Renfrewshire Alloa Bellshill Clackmannanshire Blantyre Dumbarton West Dunbartonshire Kirkintilloch Clarkston East Renfrewshire Bathgate West Lothian Stenhousemuir Falkirk Peterhead Aberdeenshire Barrhead Grangemouth Falkirk St Andrews Fife Kilwinning Ayrshire Giffnock viewpark Buckhaven Penicuik Midlothian Stranraer Johnstone Erskine Larkhall Moray