More than 900,000 people are exposing themselves to £1,000 fines by holding onto expired driving licences, new figures show.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) holds data on around 926,000 drivers whose licences are known to have gone out of date in the past year.

New licences are granted for 10 years and must be renewed to ensure the image on the photocard is a good likeness of the driver.

Failing to do so is an offence punishable by fines of up to £1,000 and also renders any driving insurance cover invalid.

Since driving without insurance is also a criminal offence, getting behind the wheel with an expired licence exposes drivers to further fines of unlimited size and disqualification, as well as leaving them unable to make claims.

The figures, obtained under Freedom of Information laws by the PA news agency, show more than one in every 50 drivers have let their licences expire.

A small number of them are thought to be licence-holders who don’t drive anymore but haven’t notified the DVLA.

But most have simply forgotten, are unaware of the law or haven’t realised their licences have gone out of date.

The DVLA is supposed to warn people in writing 56 days before the expiry date is reached.

Many miss the letters as they fail to notify the agency of a change of address, but this is not seen as a valid excuse under the law.

Using a licence listing an out-of-date home address or other incorrect details is also an offence carrying fines of up to £1,000.

Driving with such a licence isn’t the only way to risk prosecution: trying to use it as ID in many circumstances also counts.

Renewing a driving licence costs upwards of £14 can be done online using a valid UK passport, residential addresses for the last 3 years, a current driving licence and a National Insurance number.

Drivers can continue to use their vehicles while waiting for their licence to be renewed.

Philip Gomm of the RAC Foundation said: ‘There are good reasons to keep licences up to date, beyond the basic legal requirement.

‘They are also a widely accepted form of ID and will certainly be required if you are ever stopped by police.

‘Renewal also provides an opportunity for people to assess whether they are still fit to drive, and we think there is an argument for linking a compulsory eye test to the process to make sure we all remain safe on the road, though Government should help keep costs as low as possible for motorists.

‘When you do renew beware of private web sites which offer to help with the application but charge an extra fee for doing so.’

A DVLA spokeswoman said: ‘We encourage customers to use GOV.UK as applying online is the quickest and cheapest way to renew their photocard driving licence.

‘If you stop driving altogether, you should inform DVLA and return your licence rather keeping it as a form of out of date photo ID.’

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