Hy guy's bear with me whilst i explain this ,

!0 years ago 2008 i was back in the Uk for a quick business trip , while there i took the opportunity to renew my driving license, using my friends address , and passport as ID ,as the years have gone by ,i had to renew my passport ,at the time via Hongkong etc ,giving my Thai address , now time for renewal of license again ,it states if you are not resident in the Uk you can't renew your license , i have friends coming over and was going to give them the renewal to post in the UK ,on the form using my passport number as proof of ID , but there lie's the possible problem ,when DVLA check the passport i'm pretty sure it will flag up as residing overseas , the only way around this that i can see is to also submit a new photo and get someone to certify it by writing on the back that this is a true likeness etc ,address & phone number, the DVLA state they will check all certifiers , ( they must have and submit their Driving license number ) , Has anyone had experience or done this lately ,

I renewed my licence a few months ago. They will cross refer and collect a photograph from the Passport Office copy electronically. You do have to certify that you currently live in The UK, and the new licence is sent to that address. Luckily enough, my sister had bought my house, so that was not a problem for me. Cost was 14GBP received very quickly. I also renewed my Thai wifes licence more recently. She also has a UK passport.

Why bother if you are not in the UK? Presumably you have a Thai licence? Wait until you need to be in UK again.

is there a time limit that you have to renew in or as long as you have the old licence your ok ?

This from..
http://www.yourdrivinglicence.co.uk/wha ... pired.html
Timmy - so not the 'official' UK Government site - but that does not seem to address your question..

Renewing a driving licence that has been expired for some time
If more than two years has passed since your driving licence expired, you may be made to retake your driving test in order to get a new licence. This is especially the case if your licence has expired due to age (driving licences need to be renewed when you reach seventy years of age) or for medical reasons. For these, you may also have to pass a medical. In other cases, you can simply apply for a new licence without problem, although the DVLA will often want to know why your licence has been expired for so long.

To obtain a UK driving licence you need to be a UK resident. Part of the application form requires that you state your address(es) for the last 3 years.

You can legally drive in the UK for a year on a Thai driving licence - if you are not a UK resident...

UK Photo licences need to be renewed every 10 years. Quote from UK Gov website," Motorists must renew their photocard licence when it expires. If they fail to renew their licence and supply a photo that is a recent and true likeness, they will be breaking the law and may have to pay a fine of up to £1,000."

was there last year , my DL was lost ten years back when my wallet was stolen. no chance as I have to have proof of a british address for 3 years or wait in the uk for 3 years and get a new one

stereolab wrote: ↑

March 18, 2018, 10:49 am

I renewed my licence a few months ago. They will cross refer and collect a photograph from the Passport Office copy electronically. You do have to certify that you currently live in The UK, and the new licence is sent to that address. Luckily enough, my sister had bought my house, so that was not a problem for me. Cost was 14GBP received very quickly. I also renewed my Thai wifes licence more recently. She also has a UK passport.

By your writing 14GBP i presumed you applied online , so after looking at all my options i decided to apply online rather than involve someone Certifying a little white lie ,plus giving passport details the application uses Government Gateway (i'm very wary of such sites because of the info they hold ) then there's the declaration of resident in UK , the address is no problem as its the same as is on my license now , but never the less a white lie , The Payment comes from my UK bank account ,address of account same as above ,The Government gateway if it is to be believed only supplied the photo , TIME WILL TELL , if there are any problems i will post further , Cheers guys for all your replies , I have no intention of ever returning to the UK permanent ,but the UK Driving license is very useful in other countrys i visit for various reasons ,

,It would seem they only ( government gateway ) gave photo evidence from passport to DVLA , ,driving license arrived today at UK address ,

Bonanza wrote: ↑

March 19, 2018, 8:31 am

UK Photo licences need to be renewed every 10 years. Quote from UK Gov website," Motorists must renew their photocard licence when it expires. If they fail to renew their licence and supply a photo that is a recent and true likeness, they will be breaking the law and may have to pay a fine of up to £1,000."

As my UK license doesn't have photo, does that mean I don't have to pay "up to a thousand quid" for not renewing it when I reach 70

Statto, - I don't know. However, the paper licence is no longer valid (went out about 3/4 years ago), so if you don't have a 'photo licence' then maybe you don't actually have a licence. It may be worth checking out with the DVLA.

Bonanza wrote: ↑

March 24, 2018, 3:03 am

Statto, - I don't know. However, the paper licence is no longer valid (went out about 3/4 years ago), so if you don't have a 'photo licence' then maybe you don't actually have a licence. It may be worth checking out with the DVLA.

Sorry not correct to the best of my knowledge. Everything that I can find states that the green paper licence remain valid for its complete term. If you can find anything different I would be very interested

The problems arise if you need to use a Driving licence as ID or of you want to rent a car as you will need a DVLA code which you can't get with the Green Paper Licence

stattointhailand wrote: ↑

March 23, 2018, 5:48 pm

Bonanza wrote: ↑

March 19, 2018, 8:31 am

UK Photo licences need to be renewed every 10 years. Quote from UK Gov website," Motorists must renew their photocard licence when it expires. If they fail to renew their licence and supply a photo that is a recent and true likeness, they will be breaking the law and may have to pay a fine of up to £1,000."

As my UK license doesn't have photo, does that mean I don't have to pay "up to a thousand quid" for not renewing it when I reach 70

Only if you want to use it in the UK =D>

sometimewoodworker quote," Sorry not correct to the best of my knowledge. Everything that I can find states that the green paper licence remain valid for its complete term. If you can find anything different I would be very interested .

"The DVLA scrapped the paper counterpart to the photocard driving licence in June 2015, for anyone with a licence issued after 1998 – it now has no legal status and should be safely binned You used to need the paper part to detail any penalty points. Now, they're stored in an online system.

If you have a paper licence that was issued pre-1998, these generally don't expire until you're 70, so you don't need to do anything until then unless your address or personal details change. All licences must be in the photocard format by 2033.

If you want to upgrade, you can apply to change your paper licence for a photocard, though it'll cost £20 and you'll need to show extra ID (see Gov.uk).

I take this to mean you are OK with the green paper licence if it was issued before 1998. :