Driving in Great
Britain (GB) on a licence issued in a European Community/European Economic Area
(EC/EEA) country
All drivers must
comply with British minimum age requirements. These are 17 years for cars and
motorcycles, 18 years for medium sized vehicles and 21 years for large lorries
and buses.
European Community
and European Economic Area
Licences issued
in the European Community and European Economic Area make up two groups that are
treated equally. The full list is:
Austria, Belgium,
Czech Republic, Republic of Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden,
United Kingdom.
Visitors
If you hold a valid
community licence and are visiting Great Britain (GB), you can drive any vehicle
if your licence is valid. The appropriate full entitlement for the vehicle you
wish to drive must be shown on your licence.
Residents
If you have a valid
community licence, this will authorise you to drive in GB for the period set out
below. Alternatively, you can exchange your licence for a British one at any time
and continue driving in GB if your licence is valid.
Car, moped, motorcycle
driving licence holders (ordinary driving licence):
- until aged 70
or for three years after becoming resident, whichever is the longer period
Lorry, minibus,
bus driving licence holders (vocational driving licence):
- until aged 45
or for five years after becoming resident, whichever is the longer period
- if you are aged
over 45 (but under 65) until your 66th birthday or for five years after becoming
resident, whichever is the shorter period
- if you are aged
65 or over for 12 months after becoming resident
In order to continue
driving after these periods, you must get a British driving licence.
Register of community
licence holders
Holders of community
licences with vocational entitlement who live in GB must register their details
with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). For further information you
can contact them on 0870 240 0009.
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Notifying health
conditions
You must tell DVLA
about conditions which existed before you came to GB and which you may have already
notified to the authorities, as well as any conditions you have recently become
aware of. In most cases, the rules will be the same as those in other EC/EEA countries
although there may be some differences eg epileptics who have had attacks in the
last 10 years are not permitted to hold a vocational licence in GB.
Taking a driving
test
If you want to
take a British driving test you must be normally resident in GB. However, if you
have moved to GB having recently been permanently resident in another state of
the EC/EEA, you must have been normally resident in GB for 185 days in the 12
months prior to your application for a driving test and a full licence.
To take a GB driving
test you will need to either:
- apply for a GB
counterpart licence (D58/2) by completing a D9 (available from embassies or DVLA)
and enclose your community driving licence, which will be returned to you. The
provisional licence document is issued free of charge. However, the appropriate
fee must be paid and your community licence surrendered in exchange for a GB one
when claiming the full entitlement
- exchange your
community licence for the British equivalent and request the appropriate provisional
entitlement
Vehicles which
community licence holders may also drive in GB
Community licence
holders with category B entitlement can also drive certain vehicles in GB, which
are exempt from the normal large vehicle driver licensing requirements. These
include non-commercial minibuses driven on a voluntary basis, permit minibuses
and large vehicles such as agricultural motor vehicles and road construction vehicles.
Further details about these vehicles and the conditions that apply to them can
be found in the fact sheet "Special Licensing Arrangements For Drivers of Large
Vehicles" available from DVLA.
Community licences
issued in exchange for licences from elsewhere
A community licence
issued on the strength of a licence from a designated country will be valid for
driving in GB for 12 months only and is acceptable for exchange purposes.
A community licence
issued on the strength of a licence from a non-designated country will be valid
for driving in GB for 12 months only but is not valid for exchange purposes.
A licence from
any country outside the EC/EEA, which was originally issued on the basis of a
community licence, will be valid for driving in GB for 12 months only and is acceptable
for exchange purposes. Evidence of the original EC/EEA entitlement must be provided.
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