UK License expired - simple question on section 88 - and can I drive on my Brazilian license?!

capetown1982

Thank you in advance to anyone who sees this message and replies with any help!! 😊

 

I am a UK national and have been living in Brazil for the past few years.  Whilst I was there my UK driving license expired around a year ago.  Unfortunately I was unable to renew the license online as the DVLA made a mistake in my postcode when I received it and changed one of the letters and therefore the postcode is non existent and an error appears on the online system when I try to renew as it cannot match the address and the postcode…. ☹

 

I understand that I will have to renew my driving license at the Post Office.  I have checked section 88 PDF (I cannot post the (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/695575/inf188x6-can-i-drive-while-my-application-is-with-dvla.pdf) and I am unfortunately not intelligent enough to understand if it applies to me or not. 😊  This is the first line from the Section 88 PDF:-

 

“Section 88 of The Road Traffic Act 1988 may allow you to continue driving even though you do not hold a current driving licence. In practice, this will be when you have applied to the DVLA to renew your licence, but the licence expires (runs out) while we are processing the application.”

 

Simply put does this mean that in order for Section 88 to apply you should have applied for a new driving license before your current license expired?  Or does it mean that as long as you have applied for a license and are medically sound you are allowed to drive while you are waiting to receive your new license?

 

If I cannot drive under section 88 then my second question is that I also hold a valid current Brazilian driving license.  When I fill out the questionnaire on the Government website (gov.uk/driving-nongb-licence) it asks me whether I am a UK resident (answer yes as I am still registered as a UK Resident) and if I hold a driving license yes and says I can drive for 12 months.  However I think I did see elsewhere that this is only valid if Brazil is my country of origin….Anybody have any thoughts on this?

 

Many thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide!

Car_54

AFAIK what you saw elsewhere is wrong. You can drive on your Brazilian licence.
Section 88 only allows you to drive if your application has been received by DVLA. See section 1(1(b(i)))
 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/88

AdrianC

capetown1982 said:

I am a UK national and have been living in Brazil for the past few years.
...
it asks me whether I am a UK resident (answer yes as I am still registered as a UK Resident)

Residence isn't about "registration" - it's about where you live...

You've been living in Brazil for "the past few years"? Then you aren't a UK resident.

As for your UK licence... Is it just the photocard that's expired, or have you hit your 70th birthday and your actual right to drive has expired?

As a holder of a Brazilian licence, you can drive for up to 12 months in the UK.

capetown1982

Many thanks for your answer!

AdrianC said:

As for your UK licence... Is it just the photocard that's expired, or have you hit your 70th birthday and your actual right to drive has expired?

It is just the photocard that has expired.  I have a clean license and I am a long way from my 70th birthday.

AdrianC said:

You've been living in Brazil for "the past few years"? Then you aren't a UK resident.

I have never registered as a non UK Resident.  I still pay my taxes here and so have never formally declared that I am not a resident.  Does this have an impact on me being able to drive on my Brazilian license?  I guess it's academic anyway if you give me the answer I can still drive on my UK license.

capetown1982

Car_54 said:

AFAIK what you saw elsewhere is wrong. You can drive on your Brazilian licence.
Section 88 only allows you to drive if your application has been received by DVLA. See section 1(1(b(i)))
 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/88

Many thanks for the answer!  To be honest this link is fairly incomprehensible!!  
If I am correct though, providing my license has just expired, I am not disqualified from driving, have no medical conditions and the license has not expired due to me hitting my 70th birthday then I can legally drive once  my application to renew my license has been received by the DVLA.  Correct?!
Do the DVLA actually confirm receipt of your renewal or do you just presume after say 3 or 4 working days from the day of sending that they have received?

AdrianC

capetown1982 said:

AdrianC said:

You've been living in Brazil for "the past few years"? Then you aren't a UK resident.

I have never registered as a non UK Resident.  I still pay my taxes here and so have never formally declared that I am not a resident.

So how much time a year do you spend here and how much in Brazil?

Residence is about location, not registration.

capetown1982

If you could confirm the section 88 question then I'm not sure necessarily my residence situation is that important, correct?

MalMonroe

capetown1982 said:

If you could confirm the section 88 question then I'm not sure necessarily my residence situation is that important, correct?

Section 88 doesn't apply to you. Your usual residence is Brazil, and you are able to use that current driving licence while you are in the UK for a period of 12 months. While you are here you could make enquiries and apply for a British licence if you intend to stay here. But you will need to supply a residential address here. Although if you are not going to stay here, there seems little point in applying because you won't be using it.

AdrianC

capetown1982 said:

If you could confirm the section 88 question then I'm not sure necessarily my residence situation is that important, correct?

Well, apart from whether you answer "yes" or "no" to the question about whether you're a UK resident...

Dr_Crypto

capetown1982 said:

If you could confirm the section 88 question then I'm not sure necessarily my residence situation is that important, correct?

Wrong.
Your residence is the starting point. If you’re a non-UK resident you can drive on your Brazilian licence for up to 1 year as far as I remember. S88 is irrelevant.
If you want a UK licence you need to be a UK resident and thus supply an UK address.
Establishing residency isn’t always straightforward but I don’t believe you have to register as a UK resident although I think some foreign nationals might. 

Car_54

OK. If your're confident you're a GB resident, and so s88 may be relevant, your question was:

"f I am correct though, providing my license has just expired, I am not disqualified from driving, have no medical conditions and the license has not expired due to me hitting my 70th birthday then I can legally drive once  my application to renew my license has been received by the DVLA.  Correct?!

Do the DVLA actually confirm receipt of your renewal or do you just presume after say 3 or 4 working days from the day of sending that they have received?"

To which the answer is NO, you cannot presume it has received. And DVLA don't normally send confirmations of receipt, they just send out a new licence.