For EU expats established in England UK, the act of changing their driving license in to an English or British one, is often a mandatory step due to work requirements. Possession of a British UK driving license is also the first and easiest way to obtain proof of residence with a picture and address here in England UK. This is one of the few documents accepted by banks, real estate agencies or employers. The others are more difficult to obtain (bank card, local council bil / utility bill or British passport).
The procedure to change your driving license in England UK is fortunately very simple and relatively quick. All official information can be found on the British government website here. As it is clearly written on the website, the citizens of any EU state have no legal obligation to change their driving license and are allowed to drive with the European license until the age of 70. For those who have obtained their driving license in a country outside the European Union, the driving license must be changed to a British license within 12 months of arrival in England UK.

Basically speaking here’s what you have to do: first make a color copy of your EU driver’s license and then go to the post office and ask for the free D1 form. Fill in the form with consideration to below points:
- In section 1: “What are you applying for”, check the box “Exchange my non UK license for a GB license“, and below it, write the country in which the license was issued, and the country in which you had the driving license exam, that is, Romania in my case;
- In section 2: Be sure to put your first name exactly as it appears on your ID card or passport. If you have the 2 first names with a hyphen between them, write it exactly the same with that hyphen. The British state considers it a single first name consisting of 2 joined words;
- On page 2 the picture is placed face up, on page 1 the back of the picture must be visible; not sure if you have to sign it, I did it just to be sure;
- In section 5, you are asked for proof of identity. Check the “EU Settlement Scheme” box. In the past, in addition to the EU driving license, you had to send in the envelope an original ID card or passport as well. Now all you have to do is send the original driving license, and in section 5 in the long white box, 5 write the Immigration Status SHARE CODE which proves that you have presettled or settled status in the UK (proof of residence in the UK). That is, give the code generated by the government website proving that you are a legal resident in England UK.
- On the envelope to the recipient write “DVLA Swansea, SA99 1BN“

Go back to the post office with this completed form. And ask for a 43-pound postal order. The postal order (see in the picture above), is put in the envelope together with the completed D1 form and with the original EU driving license. Careful! The permit must not be suspended or expired at the time of referral to the DVLA.
I recommend sending the envelope by special delivery with a reference number that allows you to track the envelope. This envelope costs 6.85 pounds. Keep the receipts from the postal order and the envelope tracking number. These receipts together with a copy of your EU driving license will serve as proof that you have a driving license in the UK, and can be presented if you are stopped by the police.
If you have completed everything properly, you should receive your British driving license in about four weeks by post. I received it in five weeks. It is interesting that they also gave me the category A , allowing me to drive motorcycles by default. In Romania you have to take a separate exam for this category.

Check out other expat lifestyle articles:
- How is life in Hull? England – UK – Impressions after 3 years as Expat
- How is living in Romania compared to UK?
- How to find a house to rent in UK and make sure you get it! Full procedure explained
- The Romanians that left the UK for Romania – what do they say, is it better home or they will return to the UK?
- How much does a house cost in England? London & South vs the North
- How to change your EU driving license to an UK driving license
- How are taxes in Romania compared to West Europe, do we pay more?
- Immigration from EU to UK England after Brexit Work and Family paths – Who can do it and how?
- Is it better to live in Germany or UK on the long term? Why?
- How is cycling in UK? Is the bicycle a reliable transport option here?
- What is something that you can do in Romania that a person in the United Kingdom can not do?
- How shocking is the weather in UK England for foreigners like us?
- What are the most shocking facts about UK?
- UK Point Based Immigration System 2021 – How does it work?
- Memories from my first voyage on the Albatros school ship
- UK cost of living in England – What salary do you need for a decent living here?
- Which country is better to live in: UK England or France? – Why?
- UK- How much does food cost in UK? – Is it cheaper than East Europe – cost comparison UK vs Romania
- UK Residence – How to Apply for SETTLED or PRE SETTLED STATUS
- What do the Romanians in UK think about Brexit – their lives here and is it still worth coming to the UK?
- Expat Marriage in England UK – Procedure and Costs
- How to get your UK Provisional Learner License
- Professional conversion for Seafarers – What can you work ashore?
- UK NINO – How to get it and how long does it take?
- UK Immigration – how much does it costs to relocate to England?
- First 30 days in Hull UK as Expat
- Marseille – France one year impressions
- How to get PACS in France
- Expat beginner’s guide to moving to France
- First 48 days as expat in Marseille -France
- After six years at sea
Check out other trips:
- Two weeks in Hong Kong,
- London or Paris? Which is better to visit as a tourist? ,
- Las Palmas – Gran Canaria 2020 ,
- One week in Valletta – Malta ,
- Krakow – Poland surprisingly good vacation ,
- TOP 10 most Beautiful and Authentic cities to visit in EUROPE ,
- Lisbon – Portugal vacation,
- The London Week ,
- Saint Tropez – France ,
- First 48 days in Marseille France ,
- Romania road trip across the country in 7 days ,
- Budapest Hungary road trip ,
- Prague – dream vacation ,
- Excursion Dobrogea: Enisala, Ibida, Histria ,
- Vacation Madrid Spain,
- Two days in Jacksonville USA,
- Paralia – Greece road trip,
- Brasov 12.2014 ,
- Buzau quick stop ,
- Lepsa & Vrancea county ,
- Chisinau city break ,
- Nessebar Bulgaria ,
- Bucharest weekends 2014 ,
- Busan Korea ,
- 40 days in Cluj Napoca ,
- Hunedoara Castle ;
- Singapore 2013 ,
- Brasov 02.2014 ,
- Istanbul 01.2014 ,
- Cluj Napoca 08.2013 ,
- Sibiu 07.2013 ,
- San Pedro-Ivory Coast ,
- Bucharest 2013 ,
- Varna 2012 ,
- Los Angeles 2012 ,
- Budapest & Viena trip ,
- Salerno Italy ,
- Cluj Napoca 2012,
- Florence Italy ,
- Brasov 02.2012 ,
- Amsterdam ,
- Antofagasta-Chile,
- Valencia Spain ,
- Lima-Peru ,
- Bremen Germany ,
- Istanbul 2009 ,
- Valletta Malta ,
- San Juan-Puerto Rico ,
- Barcelona Spain ,
- Singapore 2010 ,
- Los Angeles 2010 ,
- Transilvania road trip ,
- La Spezia ,
- Bosphorus by ship ,
- Sydney Australia ,
- Melbourne Australia ,
- Auckland New Zealand ,
- San Francisco USA ,
- Tauranga NZ
Check out other articles from Romania:
- Tales of the past – Unique photos of Constanta Trams and Trolleybus in 1991 ,
- Why Romanians are still mourning the communist regime after 29 years ,
- Tales of the past – unique photos of Constanta park and miniature train line in 1991 ,
- Once upon a time – the lost train line from the park
Alternative tourism: Detroit , Georgia , Burning gate of Turkmenistan , North Korea , Pripyat & the alienation zone , Nouadhibou graveyard
How the other half lives : Karachi , Guayaquil , Lagos
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