Hi Everyone,

I expect this has been asked before but I have been unable to find it so sorry if this is a recurring query.

I hold a UK driving licence but that now has an old residential address on as I am no longer a resident there. I have searched on the DVLA website but cannot see anywhere that I can update my licence to a non-UK residential address. I am concerned that using the licence back in the UK e.g. for a car hire, I would be contravening a law by not having the correct address shown. Does anyone have a similar experience and know what I should do.

I realise I can obtain a Spanish licence, but I also wish to have the UK one in a usable & legal format.

Thanks in advance for any help.

You can't change your address to a non-UK address and you cannot renew it unless you are resident in the UK. You can continue to use it in Spain until it expires although I would suggest exchanging it for a Spanish licence before that would be easier.

That about sums up what I had recently read. It was a comment from a rep at a UK rental company Europcar, that he had seen a German address on a UK licence, that had me thinking this was something I needed to do. Many thanks for your reply.

From the DVLA


National licences may only carry an address from the country which issued that licence. We are therefore unable to re-issue your British licence with an overseas address.

It is accepted that drivers who move to another part of the EC/EEA could be holding a licence showing an incorrect address.

This is permissible under the terms of the EC Directive on Driving Licences.

Thanks Fred, plenty of scope for DVLA to change all that in the coming few years I expect.

More here

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizen...e/index_en.htm

Not sure if still relevant but many years ago when serving with the military in Cyprus for 3 years our UK driving licences always had to have a UK "care of address" I had to use my sister's .

Many thanks.