# UK drivers...a question about drivers licenses **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 16, 2011, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-drivers-a-question-about-drivers-licenses/567830 "2011-01-16T16:37:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-drivers-a-question-about-drivers-licenses/567830/21 "2011-01-16T23:48:20Z")
The question about the UK having been answered, I will note that the situation in Ireland recently changed from being like the UK (produce your licence at a garda station within a set time period) to being like the US (you must carry your licence with you while driving). I don’t know the reason for the change. It took me a while to get used to it, and after the new law came in I frequently forgot to carry my licence with me, until it occurred to me I could put it in my wallet and be guaranteed to have it with me at all times. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-drivers-a-question-about-drivers-licenses/567830/22 "2011-01-16T23:59:08Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > …after the new law came in I frequently forgot to carry my licence with me, until it occurred to me I could put it in my wallet and be guaranteed to have it with me at all times. Are your licences convenient wallet-size cards? I’m imagining a situation where the old style of licence is more like a diploma you hang on the wall. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-drivers-a-question-about-drivers-licenses/567830/23 "2011-01-17T00:59:13Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Are your licences convenient wallet-size cards? I’m imagining a situation where the old style of licence is more like a diploma you hang on the wall. No, that’s the problem. If the licence were in a credit-card format, the wallet would have been an obvious place to keep it all along. Similarly, if I only ever drove one car, I could just keep it in the car. However, because it’s not in a convenient (or durable) format, and it was previously not required to carry it in the car, it lived in the filing cabinet. It was only when I tried putting it in my wallet that I discovered I could fit it in one of the banknote sections of the wallet. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-drivers-a-question-about-drivers-licenses/567830/24 "2011-01-17T07:58:30Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Are your licences convenient wallet-size cards? I’m imagining a situation where the old style of licence is more like a diploma you hang on the wall. In the UK, the licence was for years a big piece of paper with no photograph on it. The date of birth was optional too. I still have mine issued in 1985 as a souvenir. However, we now have wallet-sized EU-compatible photo-ID cards, but this being the UK we also have to add a highly inconvenient paper supplement into the mix, which records points/infractions on it. When you rent a car or get issued with a producer, you need both. And I can never find mine. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-drivers-a-question-about-drivers-licenses/567830/25 "2011-01-17T10:33:57Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > In the UK, the licence was for years a big piece of paper with no photograph on it. The date of birth was optional too. I still have mine issued in 1985 as a souvenir. > > However, we now have wallet-sized EU-compatible photo-ID cards, but this being the UK we also have to add a highly inconvenient paper supplement into the mix, which records points/infractions on it. When you rent a car or get issued with a producer, you need both. And I can never find mine. If you have the Id card one, you need both. If you only have the paper one that suffices for all legal and rental obligations. It makes the card version rather useless really. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-drivers-a-question-about-drivers-licenses/567830/26 "2011-01-17T11:15:16Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > If you have the Id card one, you need both. > If you only have the paper one that suffices for all legal and rental obligations. It makes the card version rather useless really. It is handy for places that require a photo ID or will accept a photo ID instead of three separate ones, one with signature, one with address and whatnot. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-drivers-a-question-about-drivers-licenses/567830/27 "2011-01-17T11:23:24Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > It is handy for places that require a photo ID or will accept a photo ID instead of three separate ones, one with signature, one with address and whatnot. OK, I can see the benefit of that. Do you know if internal UK flights allow it as a suitable from of ID? That might prompt me to get off my fat arse and get one. ---
**Author:** ![Martiju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@Martiju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martiju)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-drivers-a-question-about-drivers-licenses/567830/28 "2011-01-17T12:03:48Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > OK, I can see the benefit of that. Do you know if internal UK flights allow it as a suitable from of ID? That might prompt me to get off my fat arse and get one. Depends on the airline - but most will. You always have to check before you book though. ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-drivers-a-question-about-drivers-licenses/567830/29 "2011-01-17T19:57:42Z")
I am contractually obliged to say this: it’s Licence with a C not License with an S (cue Ms Minelli). ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-drivers-a-question-about-drivers-licenses/567830/30 "2011-01-17T23:15:06Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > The question about the UK having been answered, I will note that the situation in Ireland recently changed from being like the UK (produce your licence at a garda station within a set time period) to being like the US (you must carry your licence with you while driving) Does that apply to us Northerners/Easterners if you’re in Donegal? I couldn’t find anything other than a mention that [you’ll need to take your NI license to other EEA countries](http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/index/information-and-services/motoring/driver-licensing/driving-in-ni-on-a-foreign-licence/driving-in-other-countries-on-a-ni-licence.htm) on the DVA NI site. > [@jjimm](#): > > In the UK, the licence was for years a big piece of paper with no photograph on it. The date of birth was optional too. I still have mine issued in 1985 as a souvenir IIRC Northern Ireland, which insists on issuing it’s own, used to have a pretty dinky license. A book, a little larger than a credit card, that opened out. Not wallet friendly but could fit in your pocket handily enough. I’m not sure why the paper counterpart for the new license, (half card, half paper slip) is necessary really. Sure I can sign the slip that says the NHS may harvest my organs after death, but other than list my endorsements, which would surely be available on a police computer, it doesn’t nothing other than list information for my purposes only. It’s like the MOT disc we’re all supposed to sport on our windscreens now. The police were able to tell me my car was due an MOT before they’d even seen the front of the car, just from seeing the rear number plate, so again I’m not sure why it’s necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2011, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-drivers-a-question-about-drivers-licenses/567830/31 "2011-01-18T00:09:07Z")
> [@seosamh](#): > > I am contractually obliged to say this: it’s Licence with a C not License with an S (cue Ms Minelli). Well, if we’re getting all picky, in the UK it’s a driving licence, not a driver’s licence. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2011, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-drivers-a-question-about-drivers-licenses/567830/32 "2011-01-18T00:10:05Z")
> [@Pushkin](#): > > Does that apply to us Northerners/Easterners if you’re in Donegal? I don’t know for certain, but it stands to reason the law would apply to anyone driving on the road. I googled a bit, and discovered that the new rule came into force on Jan 1, 2003. I also found out that there will be new EU licences in a standard format from 2012, and the existing licences issued by member states will be phased out by 2032. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2011, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-drivers-a-question-about-drivers-licenses/567830/33 "2011-01-18T02:16:20Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > I googled a bit, and discovered that the new rule came into force on Jan 1, 2003. I also found out that there will be new EU licences in a standard format from 2012, and the existing licences issued by member states will be phased out by 2032. WAG: Is that the latest date at which people who got British old-style paper licences, which never changed address or name, will finally be eligible for the ‘doctor, sign here to tell them I can still see’ test? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-drivers-a-question-about-drivers-licenses/567830.md?page=1)