ArchwayJack

Hi there,

I wonder if anyone can help me with some questions about my UK driving license.

I would like to update the information on my UK driver's license, but as far as I can tell, this is not possible if you are no longer a resident in the UK [you have to be a resident in the UK for more than 185 days n a calendar year]. Is this correct?

I read online also that if you are no longer a resident in the UK, your driver's license is no longer valid? Is this true? I have an UK driver's licenese that is only experiing in a few years. I have been using it in France, because I understood that as an EU member country, my UK license is valid in France.

I know I can swap my UK license for a EU-French one, but therein lies the problem. I need to update my license details first [change of name]. If I can't update my license via the DVLA, I can't apply for a French one because it won't have the right details.

For what it is worth, I do have a UK address (where my daughter lives), and my UK mail goes there, but I am reluctant to use it for anything related to my UK license. The declaration explicity states:

I declare that I am a resident in the UK and understand that it is a criminal offence to make a false declaration to get a driving license and that to do so can lead the prosecution and a maximum penalty of up to two years imprisonment.

Just to be clear, I am not applying for a new/first driving license. I do have one, but it needs to be updated. Also, I am currently living in France and is due to be here for another two years (having lived here for one year already).

Many thanks

EuroTrash

Your UK-issued licence is valid in France until it expires.
But, if you commit a traffic offence in France that incurs points on your licence you may be obliged to change it for a French licence.
Assuming you don't get yourself any points, and your licence doesn't expire before you go back to the UK, would you still need to update the name? Could be more hassle than it's worth unless you absolutely have to.

BritInParis

If you want to change your name on your GB driving licence you'll have to first exchange it for a French licence and then update your new French licence with the relevant details.

Unless there's a burning necessity to update your name then I would just leave it until you return to the UK.

bobbi2

A UK licence is valid in France until it expires, that is correct. You cannot change the address on it which is madness. I still have an old address on it from years back. I did get stopped for a regular check by Genderms once and they said I should change it for a French one, but when I emailed the local Prefecture they said this was incorrect. I can carry on using it until it expires. I now carry this note in the car in case I get stopped again. My hubbie got stopped once and they didn't query his UK licence at all.

InVinoVeritas

Chatter Static posted a link to the online driving licence site on another thread:-

https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence

Although I exchanged my UK licence for a French one over 20 years ago I thought it would be interesting to look it up on the database. Surprise, surprise, my UK licence is still valid!

Chatter Static

Your entitlement to drive in the UK will always remain until of course you hit that age for a retest as you probably took your test there if you returned to the UK you could probably just apply for a duplicate although you would probably be legally obliged to hand in you French license at the same time.

I have no clue what the protocol for returning to you home state is regarding licenses.....

But I seriously doubt the French even bothering informing the UK that they have issued you a spanking new French license on the basis of already having a UK one. Probably keep them all on file in the prefecture that you exchanged them at or shredded it or someone is using them to level their wobbly desk out.

InVinoVeritas

I got a duplicate UK licence before exchanging the first one for my French licence

ArchwayJack

I thought about this, but I am nervous. I don't know if I will be able to get a French one because the name on my license is not exactly the same as in my passport. I see you have to provide your passport (or copies of it) to the French officials when exchanging your license.

For some reason the DVLA misspelled my second name. If I take in my license and passport, the French officials will see it is not the same. I will then have to explain to them and taking into account all the stuff nowadays about identify and security, I think they will get suspicious.

ArchwayJack

Many thanks for all the replies. I am relieved to hear that my license is still valid.

I am still uncertain as to whether I can/should update my license though. The reason for this is because of the issue of residency. While I have not been in the UK for more than 185 days, the fact is, I have not taken up official residency in France either. Where do I stand?

cyrian

Residency is a whole different thread.
However, it does not depend only on 183 days.
If you live in France; if you work in France or if your family is in France would mean that you are resident from day one - not after day 183.
It is not a matter of you taking up residency - it is not your choice.
If you trigger any of the several tests for residency then you are legally resident.
If that is the case and you are not currently filing french tax returns then you are living in France illegally from a tax point of view and you are not legally covered by the NHS.

I would just keep your UK licence if it is only for a couple of years otherwise I would do a change of address (and name) to your daughter's address and immediately afterwards convert to a french licence.
Good luck

ArchwayJack

Many thanks for your reply. This is getting a bit complicated. For what it is worth, I am with family. My partner, engaged in a short term contract here in France, gets paid in the UK and is taxed in the UK. As a result, we are not filling French tax returns. I am a volunteer in France, and as a result, do not get paid.

My license is already registered at my daughter's address, which is where I lived before coming to France. However, I need to update my name, or at least, I would like to do it. The problem is, I do not know if it is wise to send of a D1 form to the DVLA using my daughter's address while I am in France.

EuroTrash

Everybody's resident somewhere Residency isn't a thing you can decide whether to take up or not, it's a thing that is determined by where you've been and what you've done over the last year, and which set of criteria you've met or not met. If you've met the French residence criteria the French authorities can class you as resident whether you like it or not. If you've also met the UK residence criteria (which if you take their immensely complicated residence test you'll discover it's extremely hard to escape HMRC's clutches once you've lived there, unless you make a clean break and can prove you're resident somewhere else) then you're dual resident. Etc.

I can't quite figure out why you're so worried about your driving licence. From what you've say you've got one and it's valid all over Europe, regardless of where you're resident or not resident. Is there some kind of subscript here that I'm missing? A driving licence is just a driving licence, it doesn't prove anything except that you are entitled to drive.

In any case, I have a feeling that these days if you do apply to change your driving licence you need to get a 'certificate of entitlement to drive' from DVLA, it's not just a matter of handing your UK one in and getting a French one in return. Whether the certificate of entitlement would come with your name spelled right or not - who knows.

EuroTrash

If your partner is on a short term contract abroad, have she and her employer not told HMRC? Was she not issued with a workers S1? Has HMRC not explained what to do about tax? Why on earth aren't you filling in French tax forms when (a) it's a legal obligation and (b) if only one of you is earning you'd probably get a reduction on your taxe d'habitation?

EuroTrash

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/paying-e...working-abroad
explains what you need to do to keep your back covered, maybe you have but from what you've said it doesn't sound like it. It's important to make sure you're paying tax and social security contributions in the right place. Never mind your driving licence

TextualHealing

Hey guys a DL is important because if that's not valid then your car insurance isn't valid. I had an equivalent problem a few years ago when the photo card of my UK driving licence (but not the licence itself) expired just before Xmas. I didn't dare leave town that festive period. There's a simple answer get your UK DL updated via your daughters address and then change it to a French one. I've twice changed DLs in the EU (UK-NL then NL to B) it's one of the simplest and least expensive bit of international administration I've had to go through.