tamhawk1969

Hi

I have lived in the USA (georgia) for 8 years now and through work I will be spending more time in the UK over the next yea or two.

When I applied for my dirving license in the USA they took my UK driving license off me. Is there anyway to get that back or to somehow find out the information on it from the USA / UK?

TIA

Tamhawk1969

NatashaB

I would just report your old UK licence as lost and get them to send a replacement.

Pulaski

This, beginning and end of the matter. ..... That said if you are only "visiting" the UK you would be better off using your US license as it can't have points attached to it in the UK.

As they made you take a road test I don't believe they should have taken your UK licence from you.

MidAtlantic

I took my test in GA 6 years ago and they didn't take my UK licence.
You can obtain details of your UK licence here: https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence

petitefrancaise

Natasha, you are absolutely brilliant!!

Now, I wonder if that will work for me? I had to surrender my UK license to the french dvlc to get a french one. Then I exchanged the french one to get a texas one....

I have been having nightmares about having to re-do a test in France just to get an EU license. So, do you reckon I can just tell the DVLA that I lost the UK one ? Or maybe I can just swap the Texas one for a french one- no, that won't work because I can't see me living in France again..

Pulaski

Unlike the licence that the OP turned over in Georgia, it is much more likely that your UK license swapped in France was returned to the UK and cancelled, or otherwise notified by the French to the DVLA as having beened switched for a French licence, so think hard before claiming it was "lost".

sir_eccles

As has been noted, you can look up your driving record online now. Generally speaking for someone who moves overseas, your record of permission to drive remains intact on the DVLA computers, your little plastic card becomes meaningless.

To get a new card legally you must be resident in the UK. Once you have established a UK residence the DVLA will send you a new card in exchange for money and a photo, no new test should be needed.

kodokan

We had to hand in our UK licenses to get our Swiss ones; the old ones were sent back to the DVLA and cancelled/ put on hold/ whatever they do with EU/ EEA trade-ins.

We still have the Swiss cards, as they made us take the entire test from scratch in AZ rather than trading in an old license. But they're no longer valid, of course, as we're not resident there - just keeping them as souvenirs, and a useful record of the details along with photocopies of our UK ones (our UK license numbers appear on the Swiss licenses, as well as the date we passed our UK test which I'd personally forgotten - no idea how they sucked out THAT info, but it suggests the databases are quite well aligned...)

And now we've traded in our AZ licenses for OH ones. It's a merry-go-round.

BritInParis

Just exchange your Georgia state licence for a GB licence when you return to the UK. Pick up Form D1 from the Post Office or order it online. You'll need to quote your GB driving licence number which you can check online if you need to. Your new GB photocard will then be issued based on your UK driving test.

Once you head back to the US then exchange it again for a Georgia state licence.

thinbrit

If you are not becoming a resident in the UK, and your employer is paying for car rental, insurance, etc, I'm not sure what benefit you would have from a UK license. Why not just use the US one?

hungryhorace

Get out of jail free card when out of state I find

thinbrit

hmmm, didn't work for me. I was in Colorado many years back, going too fast on the freeway when a trooper pulled me over. I gave him my UK license. Sadly he ran my plates, found my TX address and TX DL #
He asked why I gave him my UK license. I'd left the TX one at home during my road trip, and told him that. Other than escorting me to an ATM to pay the fine, it went better than it could have done...

hungryhorace

I am always in a hire car when outside of New England states. I wouldn't give my UK one over when in NE for the reasons you cite.

mrmacfixit

When I first arrived here in '93, I got stopped for a left turn from the wrong lane.
Gave the officer my UK license, didn't have the US one then, and by the time he had unfolded the big green thing, (remember those) looking for the photo and the expiration date, he gave in and told me not to do that again.
He couldn't get over the fact that the license did not expire until I was 70!