EU car licence valid on mopeds?

biko

Hope it's ok to ask - but if this is asking for legal advice please lock.

Q.I have a full B (car) licence. Does this entitle me to drive a motorcycle?

A. The holder of a category B licence granted prior to 21 October, 2006 is entitled to drive a moped up to 50cc with a maximum design speed of 45 km/hour. All category B licences granted, for the first time, on or after 21 October, 2006 do not hold this entitlement. Such licence holders wishing to drive a category M vehicle would have to obtain a provisional licence in category M and successfully undergo the practical driving test in order to obtain a full licence in this category.

http://www.cbtgroup.ie/resources/faq-2

The question is: does this apply to EU licences as well? My Polish mate with a car licence from 1990s is considering taking car off road and just getting a moped.

brownacid

I would presume that igf he was entitled to it it would show on his licence. Polish licences are pretty much the same as ours so should have the categories the licence is valid for.

biko

Yeah there's nothing in the fields for moped or motorbike.
Would that be filled in on an Irish car licence from pre 2006, automatically?

btb

Yes, would have the dates filled in on the category if entitled to it, if blank the no entitlement to it.

brownacid

biko wrote: »

Yeah there's nothing in the fields for moped or motorbike.
Would that be filled in on an Irish car licence from pre 2006, automatically?

Well I never Applied for the work/tractor licence but the dates are filled in on that section on my licence so I would imagine the saem would be true for teh mped if I was entitled! He could always give the RSA a shout and see what they say, but I imagine he will have to to do the test

fando

The question is: does this apply to EU licences as well? My Polish mate with a car licence from 1990s is considering taking car off road and just getting a moped.

Tell him to swap his Polish licence to Irish one and tick moped along with B cat.
I emailed RSA while ago about exactly the same thing and their reply was: if there is moped marked on your national licence then you can ride a moped, otherwise not.

CiniO

I won't be able to answer OP's question, but I can add few factc to the discussion.

1. What brownacid said about Polish licenes is incorrect. There isn't any category for mopoed on Polish licences. In Poland everyone over 18 is entitled to ride moped without any qualifications, so therefore there is no special category for mopeds. Also even if there was category for mopeds, and B licence would entitle to such category automatically, this category wouldn't be filled in anyway, as the rule there is that only categories for which you pass a test are filled in on your licence, and if this category entitles you to any other category, this isn't indicated on a licence (f.e. someone with car and truck licence - category B and C) who decides to pass CE licence (trucks with trailers / artic trucks) obviously is entitled to for category BE (cars + trailers). But category BE wouldn't be indicated on a licence, and in case of road check, policeman is meant to know that category CE entitles driver to category BE as well.

2. Both me and my wife changed our Polish licences to Irish licences in 2008. My wife had category B and on Irish licence she got category B and W. (she never had category W on Polish licence). I had categories B and D on my Polish licence, and I got B and D and D1 on Irish. (so I get D1 extra even it was not indicated on my Polish licence, but I didn't get W as my wife - i don't know why).

3. After few years, I was updating my licence with new address, and withing this occasion I applied for categories W and M, as I though I was entitled to them.
When my new licence arrived, none of those categories were put into licence. When I asked in motortax office, lady said that I was indeed entitled to W but they forgot to put it on. But that I wasn't entitled to M, as my Polish licence didn't have it.
I showed her a printout from road traffic regulations saying that holders of B licence before October 2006 are entitled to M licence automatically, but she claimed that it applies only to Irish licence, and in 2006 I didn't have Irish licence. I didn't carry on, as I don't really need M licence, but I'm of an opinion that she was wrong, as it doesn't specify in the regulations, that one must have been holder of B category on Irish licence before 2006. Instead it just says B licence. I assume this is a question to a good lawyer how to interpret it. As I said I don't really need M licence for anything, so I didn't bother involving a lawyer in this

keithclancy

If its the same as here then your entitled to whatever you have on your license when you go to exchange it.

Similarly if you don't have something on your license and you automatically get when you have another category you get that also.

E.G. I have an Irish license that doesn't have the M Category on it, If I exchange it for a Dutch license now I get the M plus keep the W also.

I passed my test (car only) in Ireland in 2003, I briefly lived in the UK and exchanged my licence for a UK one a few years back.

The back of my licence states I'm licenced for B, B1 and fkp.

f = tractors, p = mopeds.