• New Cars
    • First Impressions
    • Road Tests
  • Classics
    • Classic Profiles
    • Classic Driving Impressions
    • Classics Information
    • Events and Days Out
  • Motoring For Fun
  • News & Views
  • Bookshelf
  • Technical
    • Grumpy Old Mechanic
    • Kim’s Tips
  • Features
    • Visits
    • Track Days
  • Contributors
    • About our contributors
    • Kim Henson
    • Chris Adamson
    • Kieron Fennelly
    • Ant Henson
    • Rachel Henson
    • David Miles
    • Gerald Morgan
    • Dave Moss
    • Dave Randle
    • Robin Roberts
    • Tom Scanlan
    • Glen Smale
    • Keith Ward
    • John Price Williams
  • More…
    • About Wheels Alive
    • Tips for using this website
    • Useful Links
  • A-Z

Wheels Alive

Old cars, new cars, borrowed cars & blue cars. If it steers it's here!

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Do you live in the EU but have a UK-issued driving licence? Read this!

Author/Source: Dave Moss

6th January 2021

Living on the other side of the Channel can show you attractive places like this village in northern France, but wherever you live in the EU, you need to check the driving licence requirements, especially regarding the status/validity of your existing UK licence. Photo copyright Kim Henson.

Driving after Brexit: Licence exchange for UK licence holders resident in Europe… by Dave Moss.

Following Britain’s departure from the EU, if you live and drive in any EU country, or Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, and hold a UK-issued driving licence, you will need to exchange it for a local one. To arrange this, in some cases you might need a medical examination, or have to re-take a driving test.

Deadlines and actual procedures involved in exchanging driving licences vary considerably country by country, so below is a brief summary of the situation as of January 1st 2021. Links offering access to further, more detailed information are included below.

The guidance offered here is believed to be accurate, and was compiled from latest available data provided by the Department for Transport and DVLA. Additional input has been provided by “Your Europe,” an official EU website, which carries information from relevant departments of the European Commission, complemented by content from authorities in every country it covers. Nonetheless, this can only be an overview: You are advised to confirm requirements with the authorities concerned in your country of interest before making any arrangement for the exchange of a current, valid UK licence.

Austria

Driving licences can be exchanged before 1 July 2021 without having to take a test.

Belgium

UK licences can be exchanged without having to take a test. The DfT advises doing this as soon as possible. If you hold a licence from Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man, you may need to take a test.

Bulgaria

UK licences can be exchanged without having to take a test. The DfT advises doing this as soon as possible. If you hold a licence from Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man, you may need to take a test.

Croatia

UK licences can be exchanged without having to take a test. The DfT advises doing this as soon as possible.

Cyprus

You can continue to use your licence without exchanging until 30 June 2021. You are encouraged to exchange your licence within this period, otherwise you may need to take a test. If you hold a licence from Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man, you may need to take a test.

Czech Republic

Most drivers can exchange their licence without having to take a test. Consider doing this as soon as possible. If you hold a licence issued by the Isle of Man, you will need to take a test to exchange your licence.

Denmark

You can exchange your licence without having to take a test. The DfT advises doing this as soon as possible.

Estonia

Most drivers can exchange their licence without having to take a test. Consider doing this as soon as possible. If you hold a licence issued by the Isle of Man, you will need to take a test to exchange your licence.

Finland

You can exchange your licence without having to take a test for licence categories A1, A2, A or B. Consider doing this as soon as possible.

France

You can continue to use your licence until 1 January 2022. From 1 January 2022, you may need to take a test to exchange your licence. If you hold a licence from Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man, you may need to take a test.

Germany

You can continue to use your licence until 1 July 2021. After this, it may be necessary to take a test to exchange your licence. If you hold a licence from Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man, you may need to take a test anyway.

Greece

Licences can be exchanged without having to take a test from 1 February 2021. However a medical – physical and eye – examination will be required.

Hungary

Most drivers can exchange their licence without having to take a test. Consider doing this as soon as possible. If you hold a licence issued by the Isle of Man, you will need to take a test to exchange your licence.

Iceland

You can exchange your licence without having to take a test. The DfT suggests doing this as soon as possible.

Ireland

UK and Northern Ireland licence holders’ resident in the Republic of Ireland must exchange their driving licence for an Irish licence. Visits excepted, UK and Northern Ireland licences aren’t legal for driving in Ireland. However, they can be exchanged without the need to take a driving or theory test.

Italy

You may need to take a test to exchange your licence.

Latvia

You can exchange your licence without having to take a test. Consider doing this as soon as possible.

Liechtenstein

Most drivers can exchange their licence without having to take a test. Consider doing this as soon as possible. If you hold a licence issued by the Isle of Man, you will need to take a test to exchange your licence.

Lithuania

You can exchange your licence without having to take a test if you obtained the licence before 1 January 2021. Consider doing this as soon as possible.

Luxembourg

Most drivers can exchange their licence without having to take a test. Consider doing this as soon as possible. You may need to take a test to exchange Category C and D licences in 2021.

Malta

You can continue to use a UK licence until 1 July 2021. From 1 July 2021, you will need to take a test to exchange your licence. The DfT advises exchanging your licence as soon as possible. If you hold a licence from Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man you may need to take a test.

The Netherlands

You can exchange your licence without having to take a test. Consider doing this as soon as possible.

Norway

You can exchange your licence without having to take a test. Consider doing this as soon as possible. If you hold a licence from Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man you may need to take a test.

Poland

You can exchange your licence without having to take a test. Consider doing this as soon as possible.

Portugal

You can exchange your licence without having to take a test. Consider doing this as soon as possible.

Romania

Most drivers can exchange their licence without having to take a test. Consider doing this as soon as possible. If you hold a licence issued by the Isle of Man, you will need to take a test to exchange your licence.

Slovakia

You can exchange your licence without having to take a test. If you have been resident for over 185 days starting from 1 January 2021, you must exchange your UK licence for a Slovak one within 60 days of completing the 185 days, and before 2 September 2021.

Slovenia

You can exchange your licence without having to take a test. Consider doing this as soon as possible.

Spain (including the Balearic and Canary Isles)

You can continue to use your licence until 1 July 2021. From 1 July 2021, you may need to take a test to exchange your licence. If you hold a licence from Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man, you may need to take a test.

Sweden

If you are resident in Sweden you should exchange your licence. If your licence is valid in the UK, it will be recognised in Sweden.

Switzerland

You can exchange your licence without having to take a test. Consider doing this as soon as possible. If you hold a licence from Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man, you may need to take a test.

Links to further information concerning driving licence exchanges for those living in Europe:

UK Government advice on exchanging driving licences in EU countries can be found here: Deadlines and rules

Specific country-related UK government pages on driving licence rules, covering 31 European countries (and much more concerning living in the EU after Brexit) are accessible from here: Living in Europe guidance.

Amongst a wide range of information on living in Europe, the Your Europe website offers much helpful advice on driving licence validity in the EU, with links to national authority websites for further detailed information on a country by country basis.

Start here: Driving licence exchange/recognition

Save Post as PDF

Categories: News & Views Tags: Living and driving in the EU

Tip: For improved search accuracy, enclose search terms for multiple words in quotation marks. For example:
"Land Rover".

Advertise with us
A-ZPlease visit the A-Z page for listings by make, model, year etc. and an advanced search form.

Recent Posts

Latest Citroën C3 – Road Test

Aston Martin’s St Athan plant will be vital in the company’s future

Bargain Basement Bimmer – Part One of a three part series about enjoying a modern classic Z3

Classic Clubs Series – No. 4 – The MG Owners Club

Ford Focus mild hybrid – Road Test

Fiat 500X Sport SUV – Road Test

New Suzuki Swace – Road Test

Motor Ombudsman poll reveals car buying at showrooms remains firmly in the driving seat

Contributors

contributors

Our well-respected contributors live and breathe motor cars; aren’t we lucky?

Contributors to the site include talented, highly-respected people (so they tell me) on the hallowed membership list of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and from the similarly well thought-of Western Group of Motoring Writers. In addition there are valued contributions from other knowledgeable and capable motoring writers who have something useful to say about all aspects of driving and running vehicles in the 21st Century. All of our team are passionate about motor cars!


Read about our contributors  ››

Popular Tags

4x4 4x4 SUV Audi Austin Beaulieu BMW Book review British Motor Museum City car Compact SUV Convertible Coupé crossover Electric Electric Cars electric vehicle estate Estate car five door estate five door hatchback Ford four door saloon hatchback Honda hot hatchback Hybrid Hybrid SUV Kia large SUV luxury SUV Mazda MG mid-size SUV Mini Mitsubishi MPV news News round-up Nissan People carrier PHEV Pick-up plug-in hybrid Porsche saloon seven seater MPV Seven seater SUV Skoda sports sports car Sports saloon sporty hatchback Supermini SUV Suzuki The Motor Ombudsman three door hatchback Tyres Volkswagen VW
All Tags ››

Wheels Alive Social

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Like us on Facebook

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

My Tweets

Contact us

We welcome your questions, comments and feedback. Please click here to contact us.

Advertising Opportunities

Please contact us if you would like to discuss advertising opportunities on Wheels Alive.

Please share our website

Copyright © 2021 Kim Henson, Wheels Alive