Renting a Car in the UK

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Nov 26th 2018, 5:12 pm

#16

durham_lad

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Re: Renting a Car in the UK

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winston_the_Great_Dane

And if you don't yet have your US licence are you then in illegal limbo? Surely there is some latitude in the amount of time after leaving your residential address...

Again, any references to this?

No specific time limit provided on the .gov website, so it will be up to the police officer as to what is a reasonable amount of time to have at least informed DVLA

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style...e-address-fine

https://www.gov.uk/change-address-driving-licence

Nov 26th 2018, 6:43 pm

#17

lansbury

Joined: Apr 2005

Location: Milwaukie, Oregon

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Re: Renting a Car in the UK

Quote:

Originally Posted by BritInParis

You can’t use your UK licence in the UK for the reason you mention. It’s a £1000 fine if you’re stopped.

Not sure what they do now, but in my day it would also have caused the general power of arrest under Section 25 of PACE to come into play. Unable to furnish an address to which a summons can be served. Partly came about to prevent foreign HGV drivers disappearing out of the UK before going to court.

SOCPA allows arrest "To prevent any prosecution for the offence from being hindered by the disappearance of the person being arrested". Wonder if that gets used today in respect to traffic offenses, where a person lives outside of England & Wales.

Nov 26th 2018, 9:22 pm

#18

Winston_the_Great_Dane

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Re: Renting a Car in the UK

Quote:

Originally Posted by BritInParis

You can use it in the US as long as your state of residence permits you although that’s usually a very short space of time. Google will give you multiple references.

ImI pretty happy with the use of my UK licence in the USA once I land, itsi more the specific scenario of using your UK licence on a return to blighty - potentially before you've had a chance to get a US license.

I see the info from other posters - incidentally, I always used my US license when driving in the UK last time I was living stateside.

Nov 27th 2018, 12:04 am

#19

BritInParis

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Re: Renting a Car in the UK

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winston_the_Great_Dane

I would suggest that’s quite an unlikely scenario but if you had moved to the US and then decided to return to the UK a week later and rent a car then you wouldn’t be able to drive it legally on your UK licence.

Nov 27th 2018, 1:14 pm

#20

durham_lad

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Re: Renting a Car in the UK

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winston_the_Great_Dane

We found it very difficult to do much in the USA without a photo id when we first arrived, but the process to get a driving licence was so easy that we got ours within a couple of weeks of landing, so it would be fairly unusual to be traveling back to the UK before obtaining a US licence.