Losing a British driver's license in Germany

Right then,

I have been an irritable bastard for 4 days because I thought I had lost my license. 21 years of clean driving and the ancient paper license. It has been like I was on a period.

I lookeed bloody everywhere, and even emailed DVLA Swansea. Here is what they wrote back:


This evening at 7pm I found the bloody thing in a hideous wardrobe. I am now a. happy b. back on TT and c getting pissed. Mega fucking hassle avoided.

There you go.

I've been here for 5 years, and still have my old paper GB Licence.

I was planning to report it stolen to the DVLC, and request a replacement new one with the photo...

Two questions:

1. Will this work? I only have a registered address in the UK with my parents.
2. On the new photo license, is the home address on it?

1. It should work, although there is a fee I believe.
2. Yes

So you guys use German insurance with a GB licence ?

I have my old paper licence and need to apply for the new photo one. There is a fee and you need to send a copy of your birth certificate / passport or the like, as well as a passport photo signed by a witness.

Use your parents' address - that will be fine

Piece of cake

yep, this does work, even if it is not strictly "legal". I have my licence on my dad's address and I have never ever actually lived there.

Having a British licence here has it's advantages (like avoiding points for speeding
) but it is also a pain in the arse if you want to hire a car in the UK (if you have the new credit card sized ones) since you also have to take along the accompanying paper part otherwise they charge you for calling the DVLA and checking for points/driving bans. If you arrive outside office hours then tough shit, you don't get a car!

i've looked into this too. the dvla won't issue a new license with a foreign address, so they told me it's fine to keep the license with your last address in the uk. as crawlie and og say, if you want a new one, just use your folks' address.

If you apply for a replacement license in the UK there is a (new) question on the form asking if you to confirm you are a permanent UK resident, if you ever lived abroad, and if so, when you returned to the UK, and from where. Of course you can lie, but to answer knowingly false can cost you up to £2000 fine and risk you not getting a license. In these days of authorities (e.g. the taxman) exchanging international details, it might be a risk you can avoid...

If you have a UK license on the "European Model" (not necessarilly a picture license) it's perfectly valid here, and doesn't need to be changed. If you lose it, however, then you have to apply for a new one in your country of residence. "Residence" to the Germans means formally registered at your address, to the UK it means having lived in one place for more than 90 days... The problem here, of course is that they want your old license as evidence of what you can drive, otherise you may have to take a test. Catch 22...

YL6

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr why didnt i put in the glove department of my car like i was always told to!
i was just about to do just that and cant find the dam thing anywhere
Its the old style license the big green one with my parents uk address on it..

I dont like driving here without it and if i cant come across it soon,, does anyone know how much it costs for a new one?.(uk side)..ill be saying im resident in uk and still use my parents address

hopefully its i cant see it for looking but I cant think of anywhere i havent looked...

Maybe you've already put your driver's license in the glove compartment
You probably did it a few days ago and totally forgot. I've been in that situation before. I plan to do something but lose an important item to do it with only to find out I've already done what I was planning but at an earlier time (if you catch my drift). It's called Alzheimer's.

Go out and check in the car, you might surprise yourself.

Ok - so here is my question. Is there any benefit to have a German photo license over the UK one? I need to get a photo drivers license if not for ID as I hate having my passport on me all the time. So I went to get a German photo license (I have an old style UK one) and they were happy to do it - but they want my UK license in exchange (as they apparently send this back to the DVLA).

Will getting a German photo license mean I lose my UK one? or should I just get a new UK photo one?

Cheers

If you are a permanent resident here (i.e. you've been living here more than 3 months) and you want to exchange your license for any reason then you are required to change it for a German license. There's no need to change from your UK license, but if you do change then you'll lose it. Of course, if you ever go back to UK to live permanently you can always change it back. Legally, at least, while you live here you can't replace it with a new UK one either as you would be required to assure them you permanently live in UK (and they do sometimes check, so simply giving an accommodation address is not sufficient)

Great - at last some answers! I have been scanning these forums most of this evening to get an answer! Thank you so much!

I searched and searched the whole wohnung last night grr nothing then searched the same places id already looked in it was driving me mad
treble checked glove department nothing...

My mum is a great believer in st anthony the "finder of misplaced/lost things, i aint religious but strange but true if ever i ve asked st anthony where something is a few minutes later my lost things suddenly turn up

The last place to look was the celler...but before going down there I sits down lights up and askd st anthony if he knows where it is can he please tell me ... at that moment something makes me look at those drawers where the tv sits on the cabinet,,,,,,,,,,id already checked in the drawers but not behind them. I tried pulling one drawer out but for some reason those drawers dont come out?--I shine a light underneath and using a ruler see something but turns out to be telekom rechnung. Then tried other drawer using same device light and measuring stick and ...out ...pops ...my ...Driving Licence!
which thanks to St Anthony is now in glove department of my car...i think i will get it photo copied cos always afraid of it getting stolen in there

Its crazy how some people need a saint just to make themselves think clearly for a second..

Yes, no problem.
MT

Gosh, seems so complicated dealing with driving licences here...
Having a bit of a problem myself actually. I've been in England at college for a year and did my driving licence after my exams. I passed, got my licence, everything's fine. But now time has come and i'm about to go back to Germany with my new licence. I intended to keep my British licence, because first of it's quite fancy to say "that's my british licence" and second the german authorities can't take it from me. Maybe im gonna exchange in a few years time, don't know yet. The catch is, if i loose the British licence in Germany now, the DVLA won't issue me a new one at all, as i'm not living in Britain anymore. So i would end up having no licence and going through that horror of passing tests again.
Has anyone had any experience about that? Is there really NO way at all to get a licence if you have lost the British one? I mean DVLA knows I have passed the test, they should have it in some kind of record...
Thanks in advance!!

how old are you ?

besides:

A German drivers license is valid for your lifetime ... as opposed to a UK license

i know, sounds a bit silly, wasnt too serious about it... (i'm 18)

and yes, my plan was to get the uk licence changed into a german licence before it expires in 2017...
just for the reason its only valid for 10 years, i cant keep it! would i have to go back to the uk for 185 days again to get a new licence?

just remember, if youre transfering from an old paper driving licence to a plastic one, you need to especially apply for all the stuff you have on your old one, otherwise youll only be allowed to drive B-class cars (up to 3.5 tonnes)

most people who have their licence more than 10 years would be allowed (if not able) to drive trucks up to 10 tonne if you get it converted corectly. just make sure you are allowed to drive what you could drive before. otherwise itll cost you a fortune.

bx

Even worse is loosing your British passport when living in Germany. Happened to a guy from UK living in Germany (used to be in same school class as I) - got his passport etc stolen in Spain. At consulate/embassy you get an emergency passport - good for one trip to BRITAIN - tough luck if you don't live there. He risked trying to get on the Ryanair flight back to Hahn & as no-one checked any papers on boarding he was OK & got back home - Germany not the UK...
Back home in Germany he was able to apply for a replacement passport without being under time-pressure.