Should I exchange my EU license?

EnPointe

akira181 said:

I'll go through what I learned in case anyone is in a similar situation. The DVLA require you to send in your foreign license to exchange. After breaking out my rusty German, I finally got through to someone in the Kraftfahrt Bundesamt (Federal Motor Transport Authority, KBA) in Germany to tell me the process if you've lost your German license abroad. The language barrier was a challenge but I think I got the gist of it.

Unfortunately you cannot get a replacement German license if you are not still registered with the local authority (which you wouldn't be if you're no longer living there). Even if you never de-registered when leaving, they will only send the replacement to your registered address.

If you have lost your license, you can apply to the KBA or to the relevant department of your local authority in Germany for an extract of your driving license entitlement from the Zentrale Fahrerlaubnisregister (Central Driving Licence Register, ZFER).

You can view and obtain a copy online free of charge (seems like the UK is one of the few countries in Europe still stuck in the 80s of convoluted pen and paper forms behind paywalls) and use this extract to apply for the exchange of a lost German license to a UK one.

However, to sign up, you need an eID Number or alternative eIDAS number (the later only applicable to certain EU/EEA countries. UK is in the Brexit void and not on the list). The eID system started in Nov 2010 after my time, so I never got one and I may be out of luck if I lose my licence as I cannot register at the moment. The system may be expanded to accept alternative UK ID but considering the clusterf**k of Brexit, it's unlikely this will happen anytime soon, if at all.

In short, it's probably in my best interest to pay the £43 to exchange my license while I still have it, otherwise I'll be in for significantly greater bother and expense to get a replacement if I lose it as it would require an appointment with the KBA and trip to Germany at the very minimum.

if you know your UK  driving licence number  you can access the online record  fairly easily ( there are a few difficulties surrounding  certain smallish groups of peopel with Protected data around their NINO. but that can be  easily  dealt with by the DVLA call centre on the phone or webchat )

Huffnagel

Even back in the pre-brexit days they used to say you can use your driving licence from other EU countries for 12 months. But they couldn't really check that in a country where there's no address register and no personal identification documents... In reality, the driving licence is international and only its expiry date matters.

The interesting thing is, if you apparently have an active UK driving licence and now exchange your foreign one to a new UK one and put your current address on it, what will happen?

Car_54

Huffnagel said:

Even back in the pre-brexit days they used to say you can use your driving licence from other EU countries for 12 months.

No. Pre Brexit you could drive in the UK on an EU licence until your 70th birthday. And there has been no change.

sheramber

You can drive in Great Britain for only 12 months if you got your EU licence by exchanging your non-EU licence.

https://www.gov.uk/driving-nongb-licence/y/a-resident-of-great-britain/full-car-and-motorcycle/european-union-or-european-economic-area

Car_54

sheramber said:

You can drive in Great Britain for only 12 months if you got your EU licence by exchanging your non-EU licence.

https://www.gov.uk/driving-nongb-licence/y/a-resident-of-great-britain/full-car-and-motorcycle/european-union-or-european-economic-area

But the OP didn’t. He got his by exchanging an EU (UK) one.

akira181

sheramber said:

You can drive in Great Britain for only 12 months if you got your EU licence by exchanging your non-EU licence.

https://www.gov.uk/driving-nongb-licence/y/a-resident-of-great-britain/full-car-and-motorcycle/european-union-or-european-economic-area

Yeah, the 12 month rule only applies if the origin of your licence is from a non-EU country and you want to swap to an EU one. The UK is still in Brexit purgotaroy but the rules haven't changed. However, it's a useless rule as it cannot be enforced. Mainly because UK doesn't talk and work with other EU countries and isn't going to get better post Brexit.

Some EU countries may recognise licences issued in a number of non-EU countries. If you have an EU driving licence that was issued in exchange for a non‑EU licence, and you wish to move to another EU country, your new EU licence may not be recognised there, but very few EU countries have the systems in place to check, especially not Britain.

For instance, Spain recognises Chilean driving licenses while a lot of the EU doesn't. You can swap your license in Spain, then swap the Spanish license in the UK without needing to resit the theory or practical tests as the UK has no way to check the origin of the license.

Huffnagel said:

The interesting thing is, if you apparently have an active UK driving licence and now exchange your foreign one to a new UK one and put your current address on it, what will happen?

Going by how the cops were acting, it seems like whatever license they have on record for me takes precedence over my actual current license. 

Considering I have no access to that license or any of the details, and the cops wouldn't give whatever driving license number they have for me, it wouldn't surprise me if it was just another convoluted DVLA rule they got wrong.

no_real_names_please

Why not just get a replacement UK licence? Shouldn't the details still be on file?