# Driving licence chaos



## daftandy (Jan 20, 2011)

I have to drive to spain through france next week for a pre planned holiday problem is i have misplaced my lience and dvla are saying it will be 4 weeks before i get my replacement , if i take my v5 car ownership document and insurance will i be ok ?


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## djfwells (Sep 28, 2009)

Nope.


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## daftandy (Jan 20, 2011)

djfwells said:


> nope.


could you elaborate a little please


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

daftandy said:


> could you elaborate a little please


presumably you'd be OK as long as you didn't get stopped by the police


what would happen if you were stopped without your licence in the UK? - you'd have to go to a police station & produce it, yes?

what if you couldn't?


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## djfwells (Sep 28, 2009)

Neither document proves your eligibility to drive the vehicle in question legally.
For what it's worth, I applied for a replacement UK driving license online about a month ago and it was delivered in about 1 week. Might be worth a try online, worst thing that could happen is that you end up with 2 x Licenses, at best one of the 2 is delivered in the nick of time.
It is unlikely that you will be asked to produce your license, but not a risk that I would recommend you take.


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

Legally it's a custodial offence now in spain, plus if you are stopped for an offence they'd want payment on the spot & probably won't let you drive on. It could end up an utter nightmare.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

gus-lopez said:


> Legally it's a custodial offence now in spain, plus if you are stopped for an offence they'd want payment on the spot & probably won't let you drive on. It could end up an utter nightmare.


I had a feeling that might be the case, but wasn't sure, being a non-driver


def not worth the risk


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

gus-lopez said:


> Legally it's a custodial offence now in spain, plus if you are stopped for an offence they'd want payment on the spot & probably won't let you drive on. It could end up an utter nightmare.


Correct, I think it became a criminal offence during the last round of changes. I tend to worry if I go out forgetting my driving licence even if I'm just local, as it's not unusual to encounter a police check


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

I have an idea!

I sent my driving licence back to the UK to be renewed last year. Obviously I was not quite in your position because I was able to get a notarised copy of mine before I posted it BUT....

DVLA will, for a small fee (I think around 5GBP) fax you a certidicate of entitlement to drive. Although this is not a substitute for a driving licence it will show your name, licence number, and classes of vehicle you may drive. It will also show the valid to and from dates.

They can also post this if you prefer (I think they can only fax it to a foreign number). If they post it should only take a day or two and then you have the original (which spanish authorities prefer). The certificate has rubber stamps on it which the Spanish also love!

To be frank, I am not entirelysure if this will surfice in the event of a Guardia pull BUT it is a safer bet than beinging nothing. I would not drive under any circumstances outside of the UK without my licence! I always carry mine here... I would never drive without it. Taking your V5 and insurance may prove you own the car and have paid a policy but in no way proves that youa re legally entitled to drive it!


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

I have only been stopped once by the traffic police and that was the one day I didn't have my licence. However, a p*ssed off wife and a screaming baby in the back made the traffic cop see sense and he waved me quickly on. So if you really have to drive over here without a licence (something I would strongly advise against) make sure you have a rented screamer in the back


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## djfwells (Sep 28, 2009)

steve_in_spain said:


> I have an idea!
> 
> I sent my driving licence back to the UK to be renewed last year. Obviously I was not quite in your position because I was able to get a notarised copy of mine before I posted it BUT....
> 
> ...


Sounds good in theory, I wonder how it would hold up in practise ?


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

djfwells said:


> Sounds good in theory, I wonder how it would hold up in practise ?


Dunno is the honest answer! I had one as I said but also a copy of my expired licence. I also got a friend who is a sworn translator to translate the DVLA doc so I think I was pretty covered BUT I never got stopped..... All depends on the mood of the bobby I guess!


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## lottie46 (Jan 6, 2011)

If you are driving through France, you will definetly need your driving licence, the law here is that you MUST carry it with you at all times, and the gendarmes love stopping english registered cars, we have lived in France for 8 years and won,t leave home without our driving licences. Honestly beware!


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