# UK licence-holder driving Ireland



## Marie (24 Jun 2013)

I hold a full UK license which runs until 2015.  I've sold my UK property (the address to which UK license is linked) and will now be living between USA and Ireland, spending from 2-4 months at a stretch in each place throughout the year (husband is American with commitments there).

Is my UK driver's license still valid for use in EU?  The UK online system for updating information specifies "UK addresses only" and I notice Edinburgh is considered to be in the UK for this purpose........so maybe Wales and Ireland, given the degree of traffic, 'special relationship' etc?

In the USA the requirement is that if you are resident and driving in any particular State for more than 30 days you must register for that State's licence and take their driving-test.  I will be doing that shortly.

Is it more advantageous to apply for an International Drivers' Permit on the existing (though suspect! ) UK licence or the US one I will have shortly?

The (possible) existence of all these restrictions is an eye-opener to me.  I always thought you could just continue to renew a license, wherever it was from, and use anywhere in the EU?  Any insights would be welcome as I hire cars frequently and don't want to be illegal and/or uninsured.


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## 26cb (25 Jun 2013)

AFAIK - your UK driving licence is valid for Ireland. I returned to Ireland 10 years ago and went to surrender my licence and was told by the local authority that I would not need to do so. I mentioned that the address would be incorrect - my old UK address and was told that the requirement is to give a correct address if challenged.


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## Slim (25 Jun 2013)

Hi Marie,

You should exchange your UK licence for an Irish licence within 10 years of its expiry. See here...http://www.rsa.ie/en/RSA/Licensed-Drivers/Driving-licence/Holders-of-foreign-licenses/


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## Jim2007 (25 Jun 2013)

Marie said:


> I hold a full UK license which runs until 2015.  I've sold my UK property (the address to which UK license is linked) and will now be living between USA and Ireland, spending from 2-4 months at a stretch in each place throughout the year (husband is American with commitments there).
> 
> Is my UK driver's license still valid for use in EU?  The UK online system for updating information specifies "UK addresses only" and I notice Edinburgh is considered to be in the UK for this purpose........so maybe Wales and Ireland, given the degree of traffic, 'special relationship' etc?



If you are not a UK resident, then your licence is invalid - that is why you can not update the UK online system.

Note the second bullet point of this page and the quote:



> If you’re moving abroad, you can’t register your new address on your British driving licence. Contact the driving licence authority in your new country of residence.



Consequently if you are stopped by the police in any state including the UK or the US, you can prosecuted for not having a driving licence, as happened to a colleague of mine here in Switzerland a few months ago.


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## huskerdu (25 Jun 2013)

Marie said:


> The UK online system for updating information specifies "UK addresses only" and I notice Edinburgh is considered to be in the UK for this purpose........so maybe Wales and Ireland, given the degree of traffic, 'special relationship' etc?



Just on a point of information, as you used the phrase " considered to be for this purpose"

Edinburgh is in Scotland which is in the UK. Wales is in the UK. Addresses in Wales and Scotland are UK addresses for all purposes. 

Republic of Ireland is not in the UK. 

If you intend to hire cars in Ireland, a UK driving license will suffice, but only until 2015 when it expires. 

If you intend to buy a car in Ireland and insure it here, you may have to have a valid Irish license. A UK license can be transfered to an Irish license. Do you have an Irish address of a close relative that you can use for this purpose, if necessary. 

This website should give you some useful information about converting foreign driving licenses to Irish ones, and international driving permits. 

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/travel_and_recreation/motoring_1/driver_licensing/


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## Fatphrog (25 Jun 2013)

huskerdu said:


> If you intend to buy a car in Ireland and insure it here, you may have to have a valid Irish license. A UK license can be transfered to an Irish license. Do you have an Irish address of a close relative that you can use for this purpose, if necessary.



Insurance companies in the republic will insure you if you have a UK license(NI or British, they are not quite the same).
You don't need a license to buy a car afaik.


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## Marie (25 Jun 2013)

This is an interesting range of responses.  Hours of online research were unenlightening.  The Citizens Information and DVLA both state that any EU drivers' license is acceptable to drive in Ireland.  The tricky bit is what is a 'valid' license?  The (clean) UK drivers' license I hold runs to 2015 before it needs to be renewed, so is 'valid'.  When I've used it to book hire-cars in Ireland and UK (I'm now based in USA, in process of buying a property back home in Ireland which will be a half-year residence) they are happy to accept the UK licence, issued when I lived/owned a property in UK, but with my present address/credit card details etc. linked to my USA home.

The licensing authority website states:- _"If you have a driving licence issued by an EU/EEA member state you can drive in Ireland as long as your existing licence is valid. If you wish to exchange your driving licence for an equivalent Irish driving licence, you must do so within 10 years of your driving licence expiring." _

Is a driving licence 'invalidated' by change of address within Europe, as I will shortly have a postal-address in Ireland............though Irish addresses are not recognised by the UK licensing authority.  

From the range of posts on AAM it seems most people don't even bother to register the change on their license when they move home and the statistics are that about 3 million people in the UK are driving with licenses which don't show their current address.  I want to be certain any insurance I take out on hire-cars (and on my own vehicle when the purchase of my property in Ireland is complete and I am driving there for extended periods) is valid, but I also don't want to go through the rigmarole of surrendering my UK document and paying for an Irish license if it is not necessary.........since the UK licence is 'valid' for driving in another EU country.


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## Marie (25 Jun 2013)

26cb said:


> AFAIK - your UK driving licence is valid for Ireland. I returned to Ireland 10 years ago and went to surrender my licence and was told by the local authority that I would not need to do so. I mentioned that the address would be incorrect - my old UK address and was told that the requirement is to give a correct address if challenged.



Hi 26cb - Appreciate you taking the time to respond and it would be gratifying if this is true.  The language of the Irish licensing authority website seems to support that, since they will swap any EU license up to 10 years after it expires and is 'invalid'!  

Do I need to go to the County Council in the area where I'm buying the property and check out if your solution would still hold?  

It feels as if we are all getting tied up in more and more rules and regulations, bureaucracy gone crazy.............and costing money at every turn.


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## Jim2007 (26 Jun 2013)

It is actually very simple - contact the UK authorities and ask them if your licence is still valid after you cease to be a UK resident?  That way you will know for sure.


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## huskerdu (26 Jun 2013)

Marie said:


> Hi 26cb - Appreciate you taking the time to respond and it would be gratifying if this is true.  The language of the Irish licensing authority website seems to support that, since they will swap any EU license up to 10 years after it expires and is 'invalid'!
> 
> Do I need to go to the County Council in the area where I'm buying the property and check out if your solution would still hold?
> 
> It feels as if we are all getting tied up in more and more rules and regulations, bureaucracy gone crazy.............and costing money at every turn.



I don't think its as complicated or as bureaucratic as you think

You have a valid UK license until 2015. You can hire a car in Ireland or get insured in a car here until then.  If you buy a car, check the exact requirements of the insurance company wrt UK license or a lapsed license to reassure yourself.  

In 2015, from a practical point of view, you will need to get your license renewed. This would be true if you still lived in the UK also. The Irish authorities are quite lenient on people who let their license lapse and forget to renew it ( hence the comment about 10 years). I doubt if a car-hire company are as lenient. 
Also, no-one will care if the address on your license is incorrect. No-one in Ireland gets their license updated when they move house. 

As you do not have a UK address and you do have an Irish address, the simple solution is to get an Irish license. I dont see why it is any more complicated than that.


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## Marie (26 Jun 2013)

huskerdu said:


> You have a valid UK license until 2015. You can hire a car in Ireland or get insured in a car here until then.  If you buy a car, check the exact requirements of the insurance company wrt UK license or a lapsed license to reassure yourself [snip].............Also, no-one will care if the address on your license is incorrect. No-one in Ireland gets their license updated when they move house.



Thank you.  This answers my question.  The question of _the address on the license being the address you are currently living at _comes up because in the UK, production of a license which does not bear the driver's _current address _is subject to a thousand pound fine, and any insurance policy held by that individual is _invalid!  _That goes for the USA also.

The situation is completely different in Ireland.  I can either continue to drive in Ireland/hire rental cars on my (valid-in-Ireland) UK license until 1215 OR now/anytime up to 2025 trade in my license for an Irish version.  Appreciate the time and trouble everyone has taken.


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## shesells (26 Jun 2013)

Why don't you trade the UK one in for an Irish one straight away when you move here? Sounds to me like your UK one will be invalid by virtue of you not being a UK resident. You won't have to do a test, just apply for a licence. Would be a lot safer than wondering and worrying if the other one was valid until 2015.


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## stevo (2 Aug 2013)

One advantage of having a Uk driving licence is that currently points cannot be added to a Uk licence holder if driver speeding in the Republic of Ireland. I know the authorities are trying to rectify this loop hole but believe its still the case (not advocating speeding mind you ) !


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## Time (2 Aug 2013)

There are 1000's of people driving in Ireland on UK and other EU licences, most of them will have severed all ties with their home countries. I don't believe for a minute that all those licences are invalid.


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## Jim2007 (2 Aug 2013)

Time said:


> There are 1000's of people driving in Ireland on UK and other EU licences, most of them will have severed all ties with their home countries. I don't believe for a minute that all those licences are invalid.



Weather you believe it or not.... it is a fact!  We've had several people here on the Swiss forums who have discovered this to be the case.  In most cases you are required to take out a national licence within a few months of becoming resident.  Normally you can swap licences provided your current licence is still valid and at it is a this point that several UK citizens were required to retake the test.


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## Time (2 Aug 2013)

So if you maintain an address there are no issues?


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## Jim2007 (2 Aug 2013)

Time said:


> So if you maintain an address there are no issues?



No it must be your normal place of residence. Also if you look at the new driving licence form for Ireland, it requires you to declare that Ireland is your normal place of residence.  However unlike the UK, there is no requirement to change your address, so I guess your current licence would remain valid until the expiry date.

My understanding from the UK guys I know here is that the address must be current for the licence to be valid, but to change the address you must be resident and therefore they are screwed!


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## Patrick Alder (17 May 2015)

*The old paper UK  licence carried a penalty of £1000 at some stage in the 1990s for not  changing address.    A Garda also pointed out that the Irish licence required to show the holders permanent address therefore it is  advisable to swap UK for Irish, bear in mind that when reaching the age of 70 it will be difficult if not impossible to renew if one is not resident in the UK.    Passing a driving test at that age may also be more difficult expecially if one has developed bad driving habits.   Also one would have to start allover again as a learner and take the compulsary sessons and wait six months to do the test.   All worth bearing in mind where there is little or no hassle changing to local licence.*


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