Exchange driving license

dogsden

I am English, living in France with a French driving license.  I will soon be living permanently in England and will buy a UK registered car.  For this I need insurance for which I need to change my driving license to a UK one.  I can't get through by phone to DVLA and the email address given on their website does not work.  Somebody told me that I will need to have lived in England for 6 months before I can apply to change my license.  Does anybody on the forum know if this is correct?

AdrianC

You can drive for a year, post-move, on your foreign licence. Being EU, it used to be until 70... But...

You can apply for a UK licence from the day you move here. But, tbh, I'd leave it a while to let the current double-edged chaos settle down a bit.

Have you had a UK licence before?

Iceweasel

You do NOT a UK licence to obtain Insurance in the UK.
EU licences are still treated as equal.
As AdrianC says - wait a while before changing your French licence.
DVLA are currently in chaos with many employees off with Covid or frightened to go to work.

williamgriffin

Iceweasel said:

You do NOT a UK licence to obtain Insurance in the UK.
EU licences are still treated as equal.
As AdrianC says - wait a while before changing your French licence.
DVLA are currently in chaos with many employees off with Covid or frightened to go to work.

Post brexit are they still equal?

The_Groat_Counter

williamgriffin said:

Iceweasel said:

You do NOT a UK licence to obtain Insurance in the UK.
EU licences are still treated as equal.
As AdrianC says - wait a while before changing your French licence.
DVLA are currently in chaos with many employees off with Covid or frightened to go to work.

Post brexit are they still equal?

Yes.

And the 12 month time limit to EU/EEA licences only applies if you originally passed your test outside the EU/EEA, i.e. you later swapped to have an EU/EEA licence.

The information on GOV.UK regarding this could be clearer, but see this 'Ask the Police' answer from the Police National Legal Database, a service provided by West Yorkshire Police on behalf of the police services of England & Wales:

www.askthe.police.uk/content/Q416.htm

williamgriffin

The_Groat_Counter said:

williamgriffin said:

Iceweasel said:

You do NOT a UK licence to obtain Insurance in the UK.
EU licences are still treated as equal.
As AdrianC says - wait a while before changing your French licence.
DVLA are currently in chaos with many employees off with Covid or frightened to go to work.

Post brexit are they still equal?

Yes.

And the 12 month time limit to EU/EEA licences only applies if you originally passed your test outside the EU/EEA, i.e. you later swapped to have an EU/EEA licence.

The information on GOV.UK regarding thsi could be clearer, but see this 'Ask the Police' answer from the Police National Legal Database, a service provided by West Yorkshire Police on behalf of the police services of England & Wales:

www.askthe.police.uk/content/Q416.htm

The .gov site is clear, the reason I asked is last month they had a disclaimer saying their info maybe out of date pending brexit. 

dogsden

I am 74, my French license does not have an age limit.  I passed my test in England in the 70s.  The Ask the police link says : 

Ordinary licences:
Until you are 70 or have lived in GB for three years, whichever is longer.

The phrase 'Until you are 70 or have lived in GB for three years, whichever is longer', means that you can drive in the UK any vehicle covered by the categories shown on your valid EU/EEA licence until you are 70. The three-year element relates to someone who came to live in the UK at say the age of 68, they could drive until they were 71 on their EU licence because it is the longer of the two periods i.e. 70 or for three years, whichever is longer.

So I am still unsure where I stand.

AdrianC

It's very simple. You are over 70, so your French licence is only valid for three years post-migration.

And that assumes the French address on your French licence is still valid, of course.