My wifes uk driving licence has expired. Is she allowed to drive?

gbh2930 · 12-10-2012 1:21pm #1

She has a UK licence that has expired.

Is she allowed to drive?

Where/how does she apply for an irish one?

btkm8unsl0w5r4 · 12-10-2012 1:23pm

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=where+to+get+a+irish+driving+licence

Wile E. Coyote · 12-10-2012 1:23pm

With no licence she can't drive.

She can get an application form for a provisional Irish licence from any garda station and all details are here....

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

SDTimeout · 12-10-2012 1:40pm

2930

I would not be so quick to say she cannot drive in this country, or rather that it is not a hanging offence.
the attitude of the british police if they stop you with an expired licence is that you may not proceed as your insurance is invalid(because of the out of date licence)

Irish insurance certs say that anyone who holds OR HAS HELD a licence is insured .so at least that bit is ok

If she had a UK full licence she can exchange it for an irish one, whether or not the Irish authorities will regard her expired one as being sufficient I have no idea. So, worst case ,renew the Uk one and then exchange(or dont)

Regards Rugbyman .

randy hickey · 12-10-2012 1:57pm

I did my driving test in Belfast in 1995, so when my full UK licence expired in 2005, I simply handed it into the Motor Tax Office with the required form filled out plus new photos, and they swapped it for a full Irish licence there and then.

seamus · 12-10-2012 2:11pm

Legally no, she cannot drive as it is an offence to drive without a valid licence.

In reality it's a very minor offence* provided that you have held a driving licence in the past five years, since your insurance is still valid.

She can swap her licence for a full Irish licence, no test required:
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/travel_and_recreation/motoring_1/driver_licensing/exchanging_foreign_driving_permit.html

*Unless you're being paid to drive. Then it's a serious offence with fines ranging from €1k to €5k

Marcusm · 12-10-2012 2:52pm

gbh2930 wrote: »

She has a UK licence that has expired.

Is she allowed to drive?

Where/how does she apply for an irish one?

Unless your wife is over 70 her licence has not expired rather he photo card has expired. There is a big difference between these statements. She is licenced to drive until age 70 but must renew the photocard every 10 years. So far as I am aware, DVLA will not issue a photocard to a foreign address so she may need to swap over to an Irish licence which she is entitled to do providing this is her current country of residence. Applying for a photocard using a friemd's UK address is likely an offence and, while some here mayquestion whether you'd ever get caught, I don't think it's a sensible thing to do.

Our man in Havana · 12-10-2012 3:22pm

It is not an offence as the DVLA only need an address where you can be contacted at.

CiniO · 12-10-2012 3:44pm

Wile E. Coyote wrote: »

With no licence she can't drive.

She can get an application form for a provisional Irish licence from any garda station and all details are here....

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

Why would she want to apply for provisional licence (I suppose you mean driving permit) while she can apply for full licence (just exchange her expired UK licence for Irish one).

Marcusm · 12-10-2012 4:03pm

Our man in Havana wrote: »

It is not an offence as the DVLA only need an address where you can be contacted at.

Unfortunately you need to sign a declaration that you are resident in the UK at that address when you make the application. MakIng a false declaration would be the offence. Older licences (pre photocard) didn't't need to be renewed but this issue has come up quite a bit on UK expat forums.

Our man in Havana · 12-10-2012 4:43pm

And the consensus is that once the address is one where you can be reached there is no harm done.

Marcusm · 12-10-2012 4:51pm

Our man in Havana wrote: »

And the consensus is that once the address is one where you can be reached there is no harm done.

Not much point in carrying on this deviation, I guess the OP and his wife will decide what they want to do.

iora_rua · 12-10-2012 5:01pm

OK, so can someone please explain what needs doing, should you be lucky(!) enough to still be alive at 70 - residing in Ireland, driving on Irish roads

- and clutching a UK Driving Licence? Do you have to take a new driving test to obtain an Irish Licence, or get the Dr to certify that you're still breathing, or both?

Our man in Havana · 12-10-2012 5:07pm

Just get a doctor to say you are not a danger to society and apply for an Irish licence.

My wifes uk driving licence has expired. Is she allowed to drive?

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