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Driving while disqualified

s.103(1)(b)Road Traffic Act 1988

Driving a motor vehicle on a road while disqualified for holding or obtaining a driving licence.

Driving while disqualified · Road Traffic Act 1988, s.103(1)(b)Card 77 / 85

Points to prove

Disqualified – s.108(1): disqualified for holding or obtaining a licence (or, where the disqualification is limited, a licence to drive vehicles of the class it relates to).
Drives – not defined in the Act. The essence of driving is using the driver’s controls to direct the vehicle’s movement (R v MacDonagh 1974).
Motor vehicle – s.185(1): a mechanically propelled vehicle intended or adapted for use on roads.
Road – s.192(1): any highway and any other road to which the public has access, including bridges a road passes over.

The offence is on a road only, not a “road or other public place”.
It does not apply to someone who is only too young to hold a licence (s.101), or to a s.102 disqualification (s.103(4) and (5)). An under-age driver commits the s.87 offence instead.
Someone disqualified until they pass a test (RTOA 1988, s.36) may drive on a provisional licence while keeping to its conditions (RTOA 1988, s.37(3)). Breaking those conditions is driving while disqualified.
The prosecution must prove the defendant is the person who was disqualified, and that the disqualification was in force at the time.
Aggravated versions: causing death by driving while disqualified (s.3ZC, 10 years) and causing serious injury by driving while disqualified (s.3ZD, 4 years).

Legislation: Road Traffic Act 1988, s.103(1)(b) (opens legislation.gov.uk in a new tab)
Mode of trial: Summary only
Maximum penalty: 6 months' imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine; discretionary disqualification, otherwise 6 penalty points