GETTING STARTED

UK drivers

• Applying for a provisional license:
• To apply, must complete the application form D1 available from either the ‘Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) form ordering service,’ www.dvla.gov.uk/onlineservices/order_forms.aspx?ext=dg or from your local Post Office. The application takes about four weeks to be processed and for the license to be sent and you must have received the provisional license before commencing your practical driving lessons.

 Non UK drivers

EC/EEA, Gibraltar and designated countries:

Applying for the exchange of your foreign driving license

If you want or need to change your driving license for a GB driving license, you must complete the application form D1 that is available from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) form ordering service and Post Office® branches. You will need to enclose original documentation confirming your identity and a passport style colour photograph. Send your completed application and the appropriate fee to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BT.

If the license being exchanged is vocational, and the original was issued in Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man, you must also provide a D4 medical report form that must be completed by a doctor, ensuring that all the relevant questions are completed.

If your vocational license was issued in an European Community (EC) or European Economic Area (EEA) country you need only submit a medical report form if, on exchange, you are 45 years of age or over. This applies even if your vocational license is still current. Application forms D2 and medical form D4 are available from the DVLA form ordering service.

www.dvla.gov.uk/onlineservices/order_forms.aspx?ext=dg

Premium checking service for holders of EC/EEA, Gibraltar and designated countries driving license

If you are the holder of a full EC/EEA, Gibraltar or designated country driving license you can exchange it for the UK equivalent using a premium checking service.

Rules for exchange:

The following conditions must be met before a license can be granted in exchange for a GB one:

• You must be normally resident in GB and have a permanent address here.
• If you are a community driving license holder applying for a British test at the same time as exchanging your license and you have moved to GB having recently been permanently resident in another state of the EC or EEA, you must have been normally resident in GB for 185 days in the 12 months prior to your application for a full driving license
• Licenses from the designated countries must be current at the time the application for exchange is received at DVLA: licenses from the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands are acceptable for exchange if issued after 01/04/91.Those issued in any EC or EEA country may be valid for exchange even if they have expired
• You must surrender your foreign license which will be returned to the issuing authority
• International driving permits are not exchangeable
• Test pass certificates are not exchangeable except for those issued in Northern Ireland or Gibraltar when the test was passed within two years of the date of the license application
• Japanese licenses 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
• Republic of Korea licenses must be accompanied by an official translation from the Embassy of the Republic of Korea at 60 Buckingham Gate, London, SW1E 6AJ
• Motorcycle licenses from the Republic of Korea and Faroe Islands are not exchangeable

 South Africa:

As there are two types of South African driving licenses, the following will apply:

• The book of life, which is a driving license and identity document: the license part of the book will be stamped to say the applicant has exchanged their license and the book returned to the person; for the book of life to be acceptable for license exchange the applicant will need a letter of authority from the South African licensing authority
• The photocard license will be returned to the South African licensing authority

Canadian licenses:

If you are the holder of a Canadian license you will receive automatic transmission only when exchanging for a British license. This can only be upgraded to manual upon presentation of confirmation, from the relevant licensing authority, of a manual test being passed or a manual test is passed in this country.

International license holders - Driving on licenses from all other countries, and students on a foreign license:

If you are a visitor, resident or student in Great Britain (GB) and still have a driving license issued in the country you have come from, there are certain conditions that affect how long you can drive, and what you can drive in Great Britain.

Visitors:

• You may drive vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes and with up to eight passenger seats, provided your full license or driving permit remains valid for up to 12 months from the date of coming to GB. However, you may only drive large vehicles which have been registered outside GB and which you have driven into the country.

Residents:

• If you are the holder of an ordinary driving license (car, moped, motorcycle entitlement) and provided your license remains valid, you can drive any category of small vehicle shown on your license for up to 12 months from the time you became resident.

To ensure continuous driving entitlement a provisional GB license must have been obtained and a driving test(s) passed before the 12-month period elapses. If you obtain a provisional license during this period, you are not subject to provisional license conditions eg displaying 'L' plates or being supervised by a qualified driver or being precluded from motorways.

However, if you do not pass a test within the 12-month concessionary period you will not be allowed to drive as a full license holder and provisional license conditions will apply. If you do not apply for a provisional license within the first 12 months you must stop driving and obtain a British provisional license with a view to passing a driving test. Provisional license conditions will then apply.

If you are the holder of a vocational license (minibus, bus, lorry entitlement) and a new resident, you must not drive large vehicles until you have passed the relevant GB driving test. Driving test candidates are required to pass a motorcar (category B) test first before applying for provisional entitlement for larger vehicles.

Driving in GB as a student:

• If you are a student holding a community license you may drive cars and motorcycles in GB for as long as your license remains valid, or until age 70. If you do not hold a license you must have been studying here for at least six months prior to taking a driving test or applying for a full license.

If you are a student holding a non-community license or an international driving permit you may drive here for up to 12 months. If you hold a driving license from a designated country you may apply to exchange this for a British one up to five years after becoming a resident here. If you do not hold a license, or your license was not issued in a designated country, you will need to apply for a provisional license and then pass a driving test. You will be able to take a test and obtain a full license once you have been in GB for six months.

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