# UK driving licences?



## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

I'm utterly confused about this and everyone I ask here in PT gives me different answers.

I have a UK pink paper driving licence that only expires in about 16 years time but it obviously has my old UK address on it and it's slightly torn on a few of the folds. The DVLA won't give me an updated or replacement licence with my PT address but they have given me a 'Confirmation of GB Driving Licence Details' form that lists the categories of vehicles I'm licenced to drive.

So the question is, am I allowed to just retain my UK licence and drive on that or must I get a PT driving licence to replace my UK one and if i do that, will the PT licence cover me on the same categories or will it limit me more than my UK licence?

If I have a choice, I'd obviously prefer to keep my UK licence because it's less hassle. 

FWIW, I've been stopped by the GLR a few times since I've been here and they look at my UK licence and just hand it back without any comment.


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## 4rivers (Jun 16, 2011)

Your UK driving license, is valid for all European countries , including Portugal . 

I had the same experience as you - the GNR and Police , acccepted it , and sometimes, they said, I had to change it to a Portuguese driving license. I never did . Partly because the way it is now , you have to update the Portuguese license, every five years - which means going through the hassle , more than once , and paying more frequently. And when it comes to Portugal , bureaucracy, and payment - everything becomes more complicated and payments, always go up .

My motto is - If it is not broken , don't fix it .


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

The paper licences are being done away with. From 19th January all renewals of licences will be standardised across Europe.

http://www.fleetnews.co.uk/files/D844X14.12.12EU3DFactSheet.pdf

This means that everyone will have the revised licences within 10 years (the validity of the photcard licence) or less.

This will apply whether you keep your UK licence or change to a PT one. If you are approaching 70 (the end of validity of your UK licence under the old rules) it has always been a good idea to exchange your licence before then because you may be required to take a driving test if you wait until it runs out.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

I'm 57 so probably worth waiting for a few years before I go to the trouble of changing to a PT licence then?


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

The official regulations for Portugal are
1. You can retain your UK or other EU licence but it must be registered with your Portuguese address at IMTT and must be exchanged before expiry.

2. You can exchange your UK or other EU Licence for a Portuguese Licence but you might have to have the extra physiological & medical to retain certain driving categories,

3. Since January of this year if your Driving licence *does not* have an expiry date *it must be exchanged*

In all cases this should be done within 30 days of registering Residence 

Your problem is will IMTT accept your your old "pink" licence and a covering letter from the DVLA, my feeling is they won't purely because they won't have a clue that this is actually a Driving licence, maybe an official translation with a few stamps might swing it


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

I've already looked at that route but the IMTT are a real PITA and told me they won't accept my old UK licence because it's torn along the folds........ I also spoke to tony C and he got his changed by having his local driving school handle it all for him which they did for a relatively small charge. 

I'm just trying to decide if it's better to let sleeping dogs lay!


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

Fine leaving them lying until such time as you might need to be totally legal say and accident, or Mr GNR that does know the rule book, the danger is you might be forced to take a Portuguese Driving test and that is expensive and a pain as you must have x number of hours tuition with a registered school, go back and try my PM suggestion.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

That might be the most convenient way to do it.


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

Definitely


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## Etchy Boy (Oct 16, 2012)

canoeman said:


> The official regulations for Portugal are
> 1. You can retain your UK or other EU licence but it must be registered with your Portuguese address at IMTT and must be exchanged before expiry.
> 
> 2. You can exchange your UK or other EU Licence for a Portuguese Licence but you might have to have the extra physiological & medical to retain certain driving categories,
> ...


I registered my UK license at IMTT Faro last wk (been resident since Jan tho) ... I didnt show them the paper counterpart, just the card ... interesting thing is that Ive had a license since 1998 but the card was reissued with a new UK address in 2011, and IMTT have taken that date as when i've had a license from.

Oh yeah, and I came out of IMTT with the document and read that my nationality is Kenyan ... despite showing them a British passport, lols


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

You should go back and get them to correct errors a pain but Mr GNR might not like you hold a Passport from another country, the important date on your UK Licence is the expiry one as it should be exchanged before that date


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## dstump (Apr 26, 2010)

I'm just picking this thread up instead of starting a new one on the same subject. 

I have a conundrum on driving licenses. I left the UK nine years ago, although have kept our family house, which is rented out. I have my paper UK license, (which is valid until the ripe old age of 70, so still a little over a decade to go on that one), this has the family house address on it. I also have the photo card UK license, BUT this has now expired. I see from the UK DLVC site I can’t renew the photo license because only UK ‘residents’ can apply or renew a UK license. 

I live in Dubai, so have a DXB license. I plan to retire to PT very soon. So, what driving license: will, can or should I register with IMMT. Does anyone know if the PT authorities will accept the old UK paper license (it’s the white & green one, not the antique pink one)? 

The other part of the conundrum is what license will be valid during the ‘n’ number of months it will take to get my residency? 

Am I correct in my assumption that once the UK license is registered with IMTT, I get a PT driving license, which will supersede my UK license, because according to DLVC a person should/must have only one license based on residency? Apparently this avoids the potential of nefarious individuals who have been banned from driving in one country using the driving license from the second country.


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

Your UK photocard licence should have replaced your old paper licence which might now well be void, so that's 1st thing you should check.

If your *register a UK D/Licence *with IMTT then *no you don't get a PT D/L* but you must exchange your UK D/L & registration with IMTT* before UK expiry date* for a PT D/L

Your UK D/l is valid until you register Residence you must then exchange or register with IMTT within 30 days, there is supposed to be a central database to record all the various registration seeing as a lot of other EU driving Licence standardardization is and has happened this year I can well believe it

By DXB do you mean a Dubai D/L as it might be recognized bt Portugal and possible to exchange for a Portuguese one 

http://www.imtt.pt/sites/IMTT/Portu...rtaConducao/Paginas/TrocadeCartaConducao.aspx


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## dstump (Apr 26, 2010)

Thanks CM, I see from the IMTT web site they do not recognise or convert a Dubai issued license. And as my photo card license has expired and DLVC will not issue me with a replacement, because I’m not resident in the UK, the phrase “up the creek without a paddle” comes to mind. 

This is way I’m eager to find out if the IMTT will accept the paper license and whether anyone out there has done so. As the alternative seems to be to go back to driving school after 40+ years of driving.


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## dstump (Apr 26, 2010)

Hold on! I just took a closer look at the web site and see that UAE is a member of the International Convention on Road Traffic. So, fingers crossed, IMTT 'should' convert it. 

Seems as part of the paper process I will need a medical certificate, issued by a doctor. Anyone know how easy it is to get one of those?


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## Centralbound (Aug 16, 2013)

UK license is now photocard plus pink paper counterpart; anyone without both is skating on thin ice if something bad happens. Old paper-only license no longer legal.

OP situation seems complicated, I would shell out for the driving school to wade through the red tape if it was me.


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

The medical reguired to exchange is a straightforward visit to your family doctor, form/s available on IMTT site, extra medical & psychological tests for certain cats.

The *older paper licences are still legal* to use, *it's an option* to replace,* it's newly issued* licence that must be photocard, in dstump case think because he did exchange then his old paper licence now void.
Suggest he follows my PM advice for an easy life


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