UK Driving License

Does anyone know if the Photo ID credit card size UK driving license is compulsory?

Mine expires next month and I'm wondering if it's worth the trouble of renewing it. To renew it I have to go through the hassle of providing passport quality photos plus a 20 pound fee. My paper UK license expires in 2022.

I've done an internet search but been unable to come up with an answer.

Hi
Your paper uk license is valid to your 70th birthday providing you do not accumulate points and get a ban, loose it, or it is defaced and cannot be read.
You cannot get a replacement paper license only a photocard and paper counterpart.
Source; direct.gov.uk

Regards Bear and Lek

Hi Galee , I have done exactly that , I have both but the photo run out just before I came out to Thailand on the 1st Sept , as I have to work in the Uk I was forced to renew . Also when I got to Thailand I wanted to hire a car so I took both Thai tests ( bike and car , so I dont have to worry anymore for driving in Thailand .


The photo on the plastic card now runs until 2021, it has caught alot of people out here .


Cheers

Galee wrote:Does anyone know if the Photo ID credit card size UK driving license is compulsory?

Mine expires next month and I'm wondering if it's worth the trouble of renewing it. To renew it I have to go through the hassle of providing passport quality photos plus a 20 pound fee. My paper UK license expires in 2022.

I've done an internet search but been unable to come up with an answer.

You're gonna need to renew it. The credit card size plastic UK driving licence that is. The paper part you are talking about is a counterpart that goes together with the plastic one. OT's plastic runs out 2014 and my paper counterpart driving licence runs out 2035. The counterpart is the bit that shows people like insurance companies and UK car hire places how many points or bans you've achieved, its not a licence to drive as such. You must have replaced your original paper licence at some point or you wouldn't have a plastic one now.
I doubt if twenty quid and a couple of photos will be too mut hassle. OT goes to the Boss wedding shop just past mcdonalds and gets a dozen photos done at a time. Always handy.

OT...................

Hi,
Why not get a Thai Lic. Your U.K. Lic is only legal for 12 months, if you don't leave LOS. This verified by the Lic. people in Udon and Patts. If you leave LOS in this time, when you return your B.D.L. is valid for a further 12 months.
If you go to the main Udon Lic. center. On the A2 to K.K. on the north bound carriageway about 25K from Udon. Did this the other year. If you have a full U.K. D.L. then you do not have to take a test etc.. Just have a med. and fill the form out. You have to have a seperate Lic. for a car and a motor bike. No driving test or written test involved, if you have a U.K. Lic.. At a cost of about 100B. for med. cert. You have to have a doctor sign this, I was told. I went to Pablo Hospital and did this. Do not take photos with you for lic.. They will not accept them They have their own camera attached to the commputer that prints out the D.L.Your first Lic. is valid for 12 months, after this you get a five year full one.
People have said to me, I don't do this, just use my U.K. lic. This may be all right if you don't have a accident, in which case you might be driving illegally, when the police do a full check the s**t could then hit the fan. All for the sake of saving a few hundred B. But as they say in Thailand, up to you.
Cheers Doug.

Thanks for the replies.

Douglas, yes, I have a 5 year Thai license.

So to sum up. If I'm stopped by the police and show them my paper license I can be fined for not having a license.

Galee wrote:So to sum up. If I'm stopped by the police and show them my paper license I can be fined for not having a license.

Yep, cos the paper is a counterpart. The plastic is the licence.

If you get stopped by the police it will be for something other than showing your licence as they have all your details already. If it's expired the'll know.

OT...................

I think several of the above replies are not completely right. First, some people do have just paper licences - these do not expire until you are 70, unless you move, have points etc, in which case your new licence is the plastic one, with the paper counterpart. The plastic one does not expire in 2021 - it expires when your 70 (i just checked mine). Also, as for photos, if you have a British passport they just copy that (they do this automatically, you just tell them your passport number).
If you want a new photo licence anyway, it costs £20, but if you change address, it is free.

If you have to go back to the uk for 6 months or less, you can do it on a Thai licence, I did last May, even hired a car at M/cr Airport. I had with me a newly issued 3 yr licence. as mine had expired in the prev March when I was 70.
It was issued free,( online app.) and they used my passport photo.
They would not accept the UK one, as I have no proof of UK residency...my house is rented out and the tenant pays all bills.
They also said an International Licence was not required.
Done and dusted in 30 mins.
Also went through 2 speed cameras, by accident, they weren't there when I left in 2007, never heard a thing

Thanks Rick and Dave.

I'm not going to bother renewing my plastic one. In 40 plus years of driving I've not been asked once to show a driving license. I'm only in the UK for a few weeks of the year, driving infrequently. If they want it returned when I'm 70 I'll just tell them I lost it.

Galee,i have just re-newed my plastic licence in the UK,it was all done at a main post office(picture,paperwork,all the lot),it took 10 minutes and was returned in just over a week.If you already have a plastic licence then it runs out every 10 years as they require a recent photo,had the usual fine or imprisonment threat on the papers but it is up to the individual.I had mis-placed my paper that came with my licence but it was not a problem and they are all expiry dated,hope that helps,chok dee,johnty.