Driving in GB as a visitor or new resident

These pages include extracts from the DVLA's D100 leaflet called "What you need to know about driving licences". You can download the original document by following this link.
This leaflet and these pages gives general information. It is not a statement of law.
Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the information reproduced is correct, Select All cannot not be held responsible for any inaccuracies.

Coming from the European Community or European Economic Area (The EEA includes all EC countries plus Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway.)

If you have a valid full licence issued by any EC/EEA country you do not need to immediately exchange it for a GB licence. As long as your EC or EEA licence is valid you can drive in Great Britain until you are 70 or for three years after moving here, whichever is longer. (See section 14d.)

If you drive for a living

If you live in Great Britain you must register with us within 12 months of moving here. For more information, contact Customer Enquiries (see section 20 for contact details).

While your licence is valid:

• you can drive large vehicles in Great Britain until you are 45 or for five years after moving here, whichever is longer;

• if you are over 45 but under 65, you can drive until your 66th birthday or for five years after moving here, whichever is shorter; and

• if you are 65 or over you can drive for 12 months after moving here.

(Also see section 14d.)

To continue driving after this time you must get a GB driving licence. To do this, fill in:

• application form D1 (if you hold ordinary driving entitlement); or

• form D2 and medical report form D4 (if you hold Large Goods Vehicle (LGV) or Passenger-Carrying Vehicles (PCV) entitlement).

You can apply to exchange your licence for a GB licence at any time. We will accept EC/EEA driving licences that have ended, but we will check your entitlement with the authority which issued your licence. If your valid non-GB licence has been lost, destroyed or stolen, you will need to get a letter from the authority that issued it to confirm your driving entitlement.

If you want to take a driving test for an extra category of vehicle you must fill in form D9, which you can get from Customer Enquiries Group (see section 20 for contact details).

Or you can exchange your EC/EEA licence for a GB one and ask for provisional entitlement for the other category.

If your EC/EEA licence was issued in exchange for one from another country, this may be valid in Great Britain for only 12 months and you may not be able to exchange it for the GB equivalent.

14b Designated non-EC countries and Gibraltar

You can exchange a full valid car, motorcycle or moped licence issued from any of the following countries for a full GB licence.

If you hold a valid licence from one of these countries you can drive here, for one year, using your non-GB licence. You can apply to exchange it for a GB licence up to five years after you come to live here, but if you want to take a driving test within this time you will need to exchange your non-GB licence for a GB one.

If you do not exchange your licence within the five-year period you will have to apply for a provisional licence and take both a theory and practical test.

For lorry and bus licences, contact Customer Enquiries for more information (see section 20 for contact details). You can exchange a full Jersey, Guernsey or Isle of Man car, motorcycle, moped, lorry or bus licence as long as it was issued after 1 April 1991. Applications to exchange a Japanese licence must be accompanied by an official translation, available for a fee from the Consulate General of Japan at 101–104 Piccadilly, London, W1V 9FN or 2 Melville Crescent, Edinburgh, EH3 7HW. Applications to exchange a Republic of Korea licence must be accompanied by an official translation, available for a fee from the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, 60 Buckingham Gate, London, SW1E 6AJ.

Motorcycle entitlement from the Republic of Korea and the Faroe Islands cannot be exchanged for GB entitlement. Except for Gibraltar, test passes cannot be exchanged for a GB pass certificate. For licences from Canada, as long as you can provide documentary proof that you passed a test in a vehicle with a manual gearbox, we will issue a licence with both manual and automatic entitlement. Without this evidence, licences will be limited to automatics only.

14c Northern Ireland (NI)

You can exchange any of the following NI licences for a GB licence.

• A full car, motorcycle or moped licence (if it was issued on or after 1 January 1976).

• A lorry or bus licence (if it was issued on or after 1 April 1986).

You can also exchange a valid Northern Ireland test-pass certificate for a GB one.

Note: you may also use your current Northern Ireland licence here until it runs out.

14d Residency

You cannot get a full GB licence unless you are ‘normally resident’ in this country. Your normal residence is the place where you normally live and have personal or work ties. If you have moved to the UK after being resident in another country in the EC or EEA, you must have been normally resident or studying in the UK for six months in the previous 12 months before your application for a driving test. You may be asked to provide evidence of this.

14e Any other country

You cannot exchange licences from countries other than those in the EC or EEA, or designated countries. However, you can drive here using your current full non-GB licence (within restrictions) or International Driving Permit for up to one year. If you want to take a driving test, you will need to apply for a GB provisional licence using application form D1.

You can get an application form for your driving test (theory and practical) from:

• approved driving instructors;

• driving test centres; or

• Driving Standards Agency area offices.

Please see leaflet INF38 which you can get from the DVLA website at www.direct.gov.uk/motoring or by phoning DVLA – 0870 240 0009.