I’m really bugged by the UK driver’s license. Its a two part license with a small plastic card with a photo and some personal details. The other half is a plastic wallet with major details - organ donation, endorsements and what vehicles I’m licensed to drive.
What sort of licenses do other nationalities have? I’ve seen Americans have a small credit card type affair that slips in ones wallet, is there something about the UK license thats advantageous over this?
My New South Wales, Australia licence is a credit card sized piece of paper encased in clear plastic. It’s got my name and address, licence number, class (car, truck, etc), expiry date, donor information, signature, and photograph. There is also an anti-forgery embossed image in the paper. This is an old licence I received five years ago, and which has nearly expired. The new ones are printed directly onto the same plastic credit cards use. Up until the late 1980s, licences were large paper affairs with no photograph. The authorities didn’t like them because banned drivers could borrow their friends’ licences, and drivers didn’t like them because they fell apart after many months sitting in a wallet.
I think being credit card sized is an advantage. Apart from that, I think it doesn’t matter.
A friend of mine continued to use his French driver’s license even though he has dual citizenship with the U.S. and the U.K., apparently because the French one didn’t have a photo. [Keep in mind this guy was a crypto specialist and was super careful about not leaving trails in general.]
– Baglady, popping in after a oh… six-month hiatus??
<hi!>
TheLoadedDog: Have a look at the hologram of the NSW shield. In the top right and bottom left of the shield. Notice anything strange? 
The Northwest Territories, Canada, drivers license has your photo, date of birth, driver’s license number, height, weight, what class of license, and signature, along with endorsements. It is credit-card sized, and laminated. There is the logo of the Government of the NWT in the background, which is a polar bear in a blue circle.
The Alberta, Canada drivers license is similar to a credit card. It has a background picture of the rocky mountains, your picture, date of birth, dl#, endorsements, height, weight, eye colour. This format was introduced in about 1991 or 1992. Prior to that it was a card with your photo and date of birth, license number, signature; along with this was a paper for the organ donation information etc, both went into a little plastic wallet.
I’m an insurance broker and see different drivers licenses every day, from across Canada, US and even international arrivals that come to work in the mountains. Canada for the most part has the credit-card style.
I personally like the new style Alberta license best, but that’s because I’m a mountain junkie.
Ginger
The driver’s licence of Ontario provice, Canada, is credit-card sized, with a photograph, name, number, address, height (cm), no weight, licence class, and restrictions printed on the front, over a bluish background of a trillium flower. The back has a magnetic stripe, a barcode, and validity dates. The signature is also on the back; it is scanned whan you apply, then printed on with the other information. The licence is bilingual English/French.
Florida driver’s licenses (each state has their own) is just as you described, looks like a credit card. It does not have the donor information, etc. It has address, DOB, height, restrictions, a photo and a little green picture of the state. Mine has SAFE DRIVER on it. Oh, yeah, and this: “Operation of a motor vehicle constitutes consent to any sobriety test required by law” plus the state nickname “The Sunshine State” and that’s about it. Very convenient to carry, actually. Don’t think I’d like the UK version. Sounds bulky.
Oh, and baglady? Welcome back. We miss you 'round here.
My Illinois DL has my name, address, birthdate, social secutiy number, sex, height, weight, eye color, a letter indicating what, if any, restrictions I may have, and a letter indicating what class of vehicles I’m allowed to drive.
It also has a DL number, an issue date, an expiration date, a photo of me, a photocopy of my signature, and the seal of the state of Illinois in the background. And if you hold it just so, a holographic image of the words “A safer state with .08” appears.
Here’s a Dutch (and for that matter, EU) drivers license. The left panel has all the personal info and a picture, the middle panel tells whichever licenses the driver has (car, bike, truck, bus, etc.), and the right panel has the validity periods for the licenses.
It folds down to 1/3 the size and fits neatly into a billfold wallet. They do tend to wear a little bit, but they’re renewed every ten years. Mine looks a little aged after 8.5 years, but I’m getting a new one anyway in a few months, when I get my motorbike license.
My Texas DL is similar to a credit card in look. It has class (type of vehicle you are allowed to drive); DOB; exp. date; restrictions; endorsements; Height; eye color; sex; name; address; sig; DL #; and color pic. Those of us under 21 get a profil pic, over 21 is front view. On my card that I got before I turned 21, but didn’t expire until after I was 21 it said “Under 21 Until 7/14/98” and had a front view, not the profile.
On the back it has a barcode, magnetic strip, and a handy dandy Texas Roadside Assistance toll free number.
I have Australian, US, and British PILOTS licences. The first two are nearly identical plastic credit-card type things. The British one is a bloody BOOK ! Its about eight times the size of the others, made of paper in a big plastic wallet, and truly deeply ugly. Just thought I’d share that with you.
IIRC, the DL for Ontario Canada used to be just like the one Pushkin describes. The idea was that the photo half was only renewed every 5/10 years while the paper DL part had to be renewed every year or two.
More ten-year-old information: according to my cousin, in England one does not have to carry their license while driving. But if stopped, the driver must present their DL to a police station within 3 days. Is this still true?
I’ve also heard that in some countries, many DLs are accompanied with a large bank note (equivalent to $50-$100), I’m not quite sure why… 
If I may correct you - those who wish to be organ donors are so designated by the words “ORGAN DONOR” in red immediately beneath the signature. If you want to be a donor, you might want to get your license redone.
I was going to write a separate thread on this, but I may as well ask it here:
How are licenses administered in the UK? Here in the United States there’s no single “United States” driver’s license; the laws on who may drive and what test to take are all state-by-state.
Is it nationalized/centralized in the UK, or are there English/Scottish/Welsh/N. Irish licenses? Or is it by county?
The Virginia license I had from '88-89 was in two parts but just a little wider than today’s licenses. Being just under 21 at the time, my picture was in profile, and took up most of one side of the license, along with my name, signature, and some other stuff. The other part was a card with my address, organ donor info, and some other stuff.
The current licenses are pretty much like all the rest, credit-card sized with a hologram in the center and a second photo in the background and to the right of the main photo.
Oops, should have said “thicker” instead of “wider”.
Counties have little real power and in no way equate to a state within the US. Power is much more centralised.
As for the driving license, I know for sure that the English and Welsh have the same license, as do the Scottish AFAIK, although I’m not sure about N Ireland. Our license is a little credit card thing, with a bloody EU flag on it (but no Union Flag of course). I’d normally be quick to blame the EU for foisting that crap on us, but I fear it may have been our own government which decided this.
Bit of a hijack, sorry:)
So Andy, does the EU flag on your license indicate that your licenses are recognized in every member country?
I know the counties aren’t really like States, but the UK is populous enough that I’d think some sort of local administration of drivers’ licensing would make sense.
Sorry all for beginning/continuing the hijack.
EU drivers licenses have interchangable validity, as far as I know. Renting a car with one anywhere in the EU is a breeze (i.e.: no international license required), and if I move to Greece, there’s no need for me to get a license there.
[revived hijack]
Sorry to be so long getting back to you on this one, Ell. As I said, mine’s one of the old style licences, but I just checked my g/f’s one, and yeah, the coat of arms in the hologram has gone all screwy. Emu’s AWOL; some bloody British looking lion there. It’s a conspiracy I tell you!
[/revived hijack]