How to Get Driving License in the UK?

If you are already reading this, let’s just take you directly to the reasons why it is important to get or have a UK driving license in the UK. Then we will also check on the stepwise guidance of how to get that dedicated UK driver license.

Significance/Benefits of Driving License in the UK

Easy Travelling

Well, having a valid UK driving license for your motorbike or car can take you anywhere around Europe and the UK with ease. You can surely use bus transportation, but then you have to follow their schedule and traveling route rather than what you could do with your personally hired conveyance.

Social Benefits

A UK driving license makes it way easier for you to visit your friend’s place whenever you feel like it. You won’t have to wait for public transport, as people who live in rural areas, like Lincolnshire, do, where the conveyance goes around only once a week or maximum once in the entire day.

Family Convenience

Shopping, going to the workplace, taking your children to the institutes and bringing them back, etc. becomes easier and quicker with a personal conveyance than what it takes through public transport. Plus, most importantly, if somebody in your family falls sick at 3 am in the morning, then it is more convenient to reach the doctor on your own than waiting for or trusting an online booked cab to arrive in no time.

Employment

If you have flexible job shifts, then a UK driver license might help you a lot in reaching your destination right on time, every time. Else, you will have to be limited to the timings of public transport you mostly depend on and then have to schedule your interview and job shift. Consequently, your scope of getting a job might significantly reduce to a handful of choices only. Well, although it is better to avail a cycle as it is both beneficial to your health as well as the environment, sometimes it is necessary to have a motorbike or car.

Identifying Yourself

A UK driver license is not less than an ID proof of oneself as it contains your name, age, address, and more. Moreover, it can help you get entry to nightclubs, or allow you to apply for new bank accounts.

Steps to Get Your Driving License in the UK

Step 1: Check If Your Legal Requirements Are Met

The first criteria to get a valid motorized UK driving license is that your age should be above 17 years of age. You should be capable of reading the license plate from a distance of 20 meters. To get a UK driving license, you must have to be a citizen of that country, otherwise, foreigners, they have to produce proof of their stay in the UK for at least 185 days within the past year.

Step 2: Provisional License Application

To apply for a provisional license, you have to visit the DVLA website. There you will be required to input your basic details and contact info along with your current address (where you are residing for the last 3 years). For ID verification, you have to provide your National Insurance Number (NIN).

For identity verification, if you don’t have a British biometric passport, you must send your genuine ID details to the DVLA office in Swansea, in person, followed by a passport-size photo and a return envelope. £34 would be payable via card transaction, at the end of the verification procedure. This is for the online application.

For offline application, fill the D1 form available on the DVLA website and some specific post office branches. Then post the form to the same address. You will also need to provide your genuine ID details, a passport-size photo along with a £43 check.

Step 3: Learn How to Drive

The driving rules differ from one country to another. The driving instructor has to be 21 years old or above must be qualified to drive the vehicle that you want to learn. For example, if you want to learn how to drive a manual car, then the supervisor must have the same along with a full driving license from the European Economic Area for above 3 years. Note that this won’t give you permission to drive on motorways.

Another alternative is to seek a driving instructor approved by DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency). These supervisors have permission to take you to the motorway provided that the car features dual controls. Remember that whichever car you practice with must have a proper driving license insured. So, make sure to check that with the car owner, prior to starting with your driving lessons.

Step 4: Take Driving Tests

When you are all set to attend the theory test, you have to visit the DVLA website again to book a session. You will be required to input your provisional license number, details, and pay £23 via debit or credit card. Then, DVLA will get in touch with you to provide the necessary instructions. Just make sure to carry your provisional license card during the day of the test.

The concluding step is to take the driving test. Once you are done booking a session via the DVLA website. You will be asked to provide your credentials along with your supervisor’s details, in case you want to check his availability. After selecting the date and exam center, you have to pay £62. All the necessary instructions that you have to follow will be sent by the DVLA to attend your driving test. Do not forget to bring your provisional license and the document/result of your successful theory test. Otherwise, you might be debarred from the driving test.