In the United Kingdom, a driving licence is the official document which authorises its holder to operate motor vehicles on highways and other public roads. It is administered in England, Scotland and Wales by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and in Northern Ireland by the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA). A driving licence is required in England, Scotland, and Wales for any person (except the sovereign) driving a vehicle on any highway or other "road", as defined in s.192 Road Traffic Act 1988, irrespective of the ownership of the land over which the road passes. Similar requirements apply in Northern Ireland under the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981.
Prior to the UK leaving the European Union on 31 January 2020 and during the transition period which ended on 31 December 2020, a UK driving licence was a European driving licence, adhering to Directive 2006/126/EC and valid throughout the European Economic Area. A new updated design has been issued from January 2021, now simply reading "UK" in larger blue letters, where the EU flag with the circle of stars surrounding the "UK" code was.
Since July 2015, all UK driving licence photo-cards issued by the DVLA have displayed the Union Flag, and since December 2021 also the Royal Coat of Arms on the front of the driving licence. This does not apply to driving licences issued by the DVA in Northern Ireland.
Individuals with a GB address cannot apply for a Northern Ireland (DVA) issued driving licence and individuals with a Northern Ireland address cannot apply for a GB (DVLA) issued driving licence. Both forms of the licence are considered as a full UK driving licence and have equal status.
In Northern Ireland, the paper counterpart is still issued and must be produced when a licence is requested by the PSNI or when taking a practical driving test. If this counterpart is lost, stolen or damaged, a replacement licence must be ordered. This will replace both the photo-card and counterpart.
There is no UK identity card; a photographic driving licence can serve as proof of identity in non-driving contexts, such as proof of identity (e.g. when opening a bank account) or of age (e.g. when buying age-restricted goods such as alcohol or tobacco).
Regulations
Non-professional drivers are not required to carry a driving licence while driving, but section 164 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and earlier legislation allows a police officer to require a driver to produce a driving licence within seven days at a police station chosen by the driver. The form which was once issued in such circumstances, the HO/RT 1, was known colloquially as "a producer".
Provisional licences and learner drivers
Applications for a provisional driving licence can be made in Great Britain from the age of 15 years and 9 months and in Northern Ireland from 16 years and 10 months. Once a United Kingdom driving test has been passed, the driving licence is valid for driving a moped or light quad bike from age 16, and a car from age 17, or 16 for those who receive, or have applied for, the higher or enhanced rate of the mobility component of PIP or DLA. A driving test consists of three sections: theory, hazard perception and a driving examination. Until this test has been passed, a driver may hold only a provisional licence and is subject to certain conditions. The conditions attached to provisional licences for a particular category of vehicle are:
L-plates or D-plates (in Wales only) (, "learner") must be conspicuously displayed on the front and rear of the vehicle. Learner drivers of a particular category and transmission type of vehicle must be accompanied by somebody aged 21 or above who has held a full driving licence for that category and transmission type for at least three years, except in the case of solo motorcycles and vehicles of certain categories designed solely for one person. No trailer may be towed, except when driving a tractor or where a full licence gives provisional entitlement to drive a car with trailer, large goods vehicle with trailer or passenger carrying vehicle with trailer. Motorcycle riders must not carry any pillion passengers. Coach or bus drivers must not carry any passenger except a person giving or receiving instruction. Motorways must not be used by holders of car and motorcycle provisional licences,Motorways Traffic (England and Wales) Regulations 1982 reg. 11 excluding category B (car) licence holders who are learner drivers for the purposes of the trailer category BE, or unless supervised by an Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) in a car fitted with dual controls. In Northern Ireland, learner drivers are limited to a speed of 45mph (72km/h) and are not permitted on motorways regardless of whether or not they are under instruction by an ADI, and drivers who have passed their test within the previous year must display R plates (restricted) and are also limited to a maximum speed of 45mph (72km/h) until the expiry of the restricted period. R plates are similar in style to L-plates, with a thick-set dark orange R displayed on a white background and most L plates have the orange R on the reverse side.
After passing a driving test, the provisional licence may be surrendered within two years in exchange for a full UK licence for the relevant kind of vehicle. Full car licences allow use of mopeds and motorcycles provided a CBT (Compulsory Basic Training) course is completed (the requirement to have a CBT in Northern Ireland was introduced on 21 February 2011).
Newly qualified drivers
There are currently no restrictions on newly qualified drivers in England, Wales or Scotland. However, if a newly qualified driver receives six penalty points within two years of passing, the licence is automatically revoked, and the driver must pass the full test again; this also applies in Northern Ireland. These six points remain on the new licence until their designated expiry time.
In Great Britain, some new drivers may display green "P" plates ("probationary") on their vehicle to alert other drivers that they have recently passed their driving test. This is optional and not a legal requirement and may be displayed for as long as desired. P plates are not commonly used in Northern Ireland.
In Northern Ireland, new drivers must display orange "R" plates for 1 year after passing the test, and are limited to a maximum speed of . This is a legal requirement and failure to display R plates results in 2 penalty points and a fine. These drivers are known as restricted drivers.
In the Isle of Man (a UK Crown dependency), new drivers must display "R" plates similar to those in Northern Ireland, but red, for 1 year after passing the test, and are limited to a maximum speed of .
Towing restrictions The rules on what a driver can tow are different depending on when they passed their driving test. If they passed their car driving test on or after 1 January 1997, they may drive a car or van up to maximum authorised mass (MAM) towing a trailer of up to MAM, and they may tow a trailer over MAM as long as the combined MAM of the trailer and towing vehicle is no more than MAM when loaded. They must pass the car and trailer driving test to tow anything heavier. If a driver passed their car test before 1 January 1997, they are usually allowed to drive a vehicle and trailer combination up to MAM. They are also allowed to drive a minibus with a trailer over MAM. This content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.
On 16 September 2021, the Secretary of State for Transport laid a statutory instrument to retrospectively grant the BE (car and trailer) entitlement to all GB category B licence holders. From 15 November 2021, all GB standard car licence holders have been permitted to tow a trailer with a MAM of up to . An additional legislative change from 16 December 2021 means that drivers with B (car) entitlement also automatically receive BE (car with trailer) entitlement without the need to take a BE test. This allows them to tow vehicles up to 3,500kg maximum authorised mass (MAM).
Other regulations Motor car licences issued in the United Kingdom distinguish between automatic and manual transmission vehicles, depending on whether or not a driving test was passed in a vehicle with manual transmission (unless a vehicle test was taken in the UK before such distinction was made). While a manual transmission vehicle licence permits the holder to drive a vehicle of either kind, an automatic transmission vehicle licence is solely for vehicles with automatic transmission. The licence also shows whether a driver requires glasses or contact lenses to meet the legal driving requirements, if known.
Drivers who obtained rights to drive category D1 minibuses before 1997 (by passing a test for the obsolete class A) must not drive such vehicles for hire or reward, nor accept any form of payment in money, goods or kind from any passengers carried.
Category B licences automatically cover both groups C1 (lorries not exceeding 7.5 tonnes MAM) and D1 but as the holder approaches 45, they must renew their licence. They must provide a doctor's medical report plus an optometrist's report (if the doctor cannot certify the eyesight requirement). Anyone who has C1 and D1 rights on an older paper licence (before the photocard licence) retains the right to drive C1 and D1 without medical evidence until age 70 (so-called grandfather rights), though, like any responsible driver, should have regular eye checks.
There is no maximum age for driving or holding a driving licence, but holders must renew their licences at age 70 and every three years thereafter, at which times they must provide evidence of a medical exam and separate eyesight test if the right to drive C1 and D1 vehicles is to be retained.
History Driver registration was introduced in 1903 with the Motor Car Act. Holders of the sulphur-yellow coloured document were entitled to "drive a motor car or motor cycle". The wording was changed in 1930 after which holders were allowed to "drive or steer a motor car or to drive a motor cycle". Shortly afterwards, the document cover was changed to a dark red colour. Holders were for a period entitled to drive a vehicle of "any class or description". Subsequent changes saw the document list precisely those vehicle types for which holders were licensed.
Competency tests were introduced by the Motor Vehicles Regulations 1935 applicable to all drivers who started driving after 1 April 1934. Competency tests were suspended in 1939 for seven years due to the Second World War and in 1956 for one year due to the Suez Crisis. The only person in the United Kingdom who is not required to have a driving licence in order to drive, or display a number plate on a vehicle, is the reigning monarch.
Until 1974, driving licences (and tax discs) were issued by local authorities and had to be renewed every three years. In 1968, the decision was taken to computerise the licensing system to enable it to be linked to the Police National Computer and to extend the life of the licence up to the driver's 70th birthday, extendable at intervals thereafter provided the driver can prove fitness.