Comment by robertlagrant

>Why would you need historic addresses for this service?

The police (and other authorities like councils) who issue penalties, need to know who was the registered keeper of a vehicle on the date of an alleged offence.

That's where the DVLA's Keeper At Date Of Event (KADOE) system comes in.

It's currently being transitioned to a modern API:

https://developer-portal.driver-vehicle-licensing.api.gov.uk...

Now you've got two addresses to handle - the vehicle's keeper and the licence holder.

Further, the DVLA isn't sending correspondence relating to criminal matters, that's coming from the police who use the Police National Computer, into which the driver and vehicle files are fed along with data from the motor insurers bureau.

I’m happy you’re taking it in the spirit intended :) it’s a trap I frankly despise but that’s cos I’m old and bitter.

The problem being addressed - if you’ll forgive the pun - is that you’re not storing someone’s current address; what you have is their _most recently known to us_ address, which obvs over time can become a problem, least of all if you’re wasting time and money sending undeliverable post. (I have a vague memory of Royal Mail fining bulk delivery users for not pre-screening, not sure if that was a particularly dull dream or not tho).

The thing it’s important to keep in mind is - there is no single nor centrally-held repository of addresses within the UK. I don’t mean about oh mr so-and-so lives at 11 acacia avenue. I mean for just the addresses themselves.

Throw in the mad mixture of Scotland having a separate national statistics agency that’s independent of the ONS, plus Northern Ireland having the same -plus- a separate OS in the form of OSNI, the whole landscape’s set up for pain and failure.