UK driving license
 

I have read some other posts on this, but none in my situation.
Can anyone help....

I have a uk license registered to my house in uk, but I now live in the US,where my bank etc are registered to.
I looked on the DVLA website and it seems I can't change my address to a non us address with them.
Trouble is I am supposed to be renting a car in the uk next week.
And.... I have only held my us license for 3 months, so can't rent with that.

Am I screwed?! :(

Re: UK driving license
 

Yes. But why can't you rent with your short-lived US license?

Your UK licensed ceased to be valid when you ceased to be a UK resident.

Do NOT be tempted to use your UK license when you go back, it's not valid and should you be in an accident it's highly likely that any insurance/damage waiver you purchase for your car rental based on your UK license will not be valid either.

Re: UK driving license
 

Thanks BritishGuy.

this is where i get confused; if i still have a house in UK, and in USA on a visa (so not a permanent resident here) am i am resident of the UK still?!

It states on the car rental companies' terms and conditions that you need to have held the licence for at least 1 year. I live in MA so i didnt just transfer my UK licence - i had to apply for a whole new one.

It seems that when you leave the UK to live elsewhere, you cant hire a car back in the UK then? (unless youve been away long enough to have got a license they deem to be 'valid').
Crazy if you ask me......

Re: UK driving license
 

You have a US visa and are a resident of the US now...not the UK. BTW I got my NJ license within a few days of arriving in the US.

Re: UK driving license
 

ah thanks... good to know.

ive not even been here a year so wouldnt be able to use it anyway. My MA licence took forever to get as i had to wait over 2 months just to take the test!

Re: UK driving license
 

Try another rental place, they're all different.

You should use your US license, not just for sake of validity and insurance, but you might get a better rate.

Re: UK driving license
 

thanks Bob, i have had a look and most say a year. So i'm either on public transport (on a bank holiday and on my own with a toddler in tow... oh joy!) or i'm illegal.
So frustrating that there is such a gaping hole in the regulations, and that this scenario isnt considered....

Re: UK driving license
 

Driving Licenses are governed by each State, there are different regulations for each State. These regulations also determine when you are resident in that State and how long you have to get a Drivers License.

Seems to vary between a few weeks to 3 months.

Re: UK driving license
 

What if you explained to them the situation, and how you have been continually licensed for more than a year and show them proof of both licenses?

I typically read that rule as "you must have been licensed for a year" and not "you must have had the same license for a year."

But, I could be totally wrong.

Re: UK driving license
 

Do they really mean that you need to have had 'that' licence for a year, or is it more that they want you to have held 'a' licence for a year, ie, not be a total beginner?

Hubby rents in various European countries with National all the time, using his US licence which he's only had since last October. Before that, he had a Swiss licence for a couple of years; before that, a UK one. They haven't batted an eyelid at all the changes or that his current licence is so new.

Perhaps give the hirer you're planning to use a call, and see if it'd be ok as long as you show them both licences, to prove you've been driving for a good long time?

Re: UK driving license
 

Although I'm a newcommer to this site I have been a Greenie for a couple of decades and have been back and forth to UK over those years. I got my 1st USA permit in Maryland on the basis of holding a UK license, which they gave back to me. The address on the UK license is an accommodation address with a friend and I have used both my US and UK permits when renting cars in UK and have had no problems. My last trip back was about 7/8 years ago so there may have been some changes to the laws. Producing both of your licenses sounds like it should work.

Re: UK driving license
 

Bad advice. :thumbdown:

I presume you haven't had a problem using your UK license because you have not been involved in an accident or stopped by the police. You are not entitled to a UK DL...use your US DL in future when you are visiting the UK. There is a EU law preventing non residents being able to renew their DLs.

Re: UK driving license
 

Easier to use your US DL to hire cars in the UK than a UK one.

Re: UK driving license
 

Mea culpa. I was unaware of the EU law, appologies but just sharing my experiences. You are also quite correct in that using my US DL is easy, legal and less documentation to carry.

Re: UK driving license
 

I just recalled that about 10 years ago I was stopped by the UK police for speeding and they had no problem with my UK DL.

Somewhat off the subject I had returned from Texas after a 6 month work project where I was required to get a TX license. On my return from TX at the NC DMV they reissued my permit and gave me back the current TX one. When I asked why they did not want to keep it I was told not to worry about it!! I did cut it up and a law enforcement friend told me it is still illegal to hold 2 licenses, one from a different state.

Re: UK driving license
 

Some of the assertions in this thread surprised and concerned me, so I have been doing some research and find some confusing information.

I will say that my personal experience of hiring a car in UK was in 2008. At that time I had with me both a Florida licence and my old UK licence (from 2003 when I applied for the early photo card version). I don't honestly remember which one I used . It never occurred to me there was an issue either way and there was none.

I have seen a number of threads on the DL topic and it is obviously contentious. At the risk of hijacking this thread, here is what I discovered today.

Quotes are from the booklet INS57P indicated on my licence.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum.../dg_067673.pdf

"Photocard driving licences are only valid for up to 10 years. The expiry of the photo on a drivers’ licence does not affect the validity period of the entitlement shown on the licence."
***My card/photo will expire in 2013

"After the age of 70, you will have to update your photo once only. This will be when you renew your actual licence."
***My paper licence is and always has been valid until I am 70.

"Moving to another country
If you move to another country, you should get information about driving there from the relevant authority in that country.

If you return here from a country that is not in the EC or EEA and you do not have a GB licence, you may:
• drive for up to 12 months on a valid licence that is not a GB licence; or
• apply for a replacement of your previous GB licence by paying the appropriate fee and giving up any foreign licence you hold."
***It does not say you need to do anything if you DO have a GB licence.(except update address)

Here's the thing, on the back of the paper licence, item 5: You must tell DVLA at once of any permanent change of address...//...You need only notify a change of address in GB. An address outside GB cannot be entered on your licence.

**Does having an out of date address on the card & paper make the licence invalid, given that there is no means to get the right address on it...?

Anyway. I get that it will be unlikely to get a new card when mine expires, and it does not really matter, but I am not convinced that my Licence is "invalid". Maybe just on sabbatical till I move back? Or maybe I am completely overlooking something.

Popcorn anyone?

Re: UK driving license
 

Well, I'm glad we got that cleared up!

Garlic salt on mine please.