5 hours ago, Upnotover said:

It's not "illegally", it's illegally. As has been said the chances it would cause an issue are small, certainly for minor driving issues, but the potential for trouble remains the day you run someone over and kill them and the insurance company starts digging. Meanwhile you can happily and legally drive on your Thai licence in the UK, seems better all round.

The insurance companies were reigned in years ago , the consumer insurance act of 2012 stopped a lot of digging , they are not allowed to let irrelevant unconnected facts like an incorrect address affect claims if they have no affect on risk

But whilst he may well be driving legally on a Thai licence ,I doubt he will be very happy with the resultant insurance premium Thai licence and no "no claims" ouch

Hire car would be one solution

10 hours ago, Upnotover said:

If he doesn't have a Thai license then none at all. UK licenses are only valid for permanent residents, not visiting expats. Using friends and family addresses to maintain UK licenses is also illegal.

Wrong , they can only be renewed or applied for by residents (of 185 days per year) so using a relatives address for that would be illegal

But a UK licence remains valid until its expiry date and as long as it shows your "current Address" is perfectly legal

6 hours ago, hotandsticky said:

I just renewed my UK licence........"illegally", using my daughter's address.

I have lived in Thailand for almost 20 years and, as @ NanLaew said, that makes me an expat - not a UK resident.

naughty boy I'll have to report you , its only illegal to renew or apply for new, as an expat it is perfectly legal to drive on a valid UK licence when visiting the UK as long as the details are correct ie the address on it is the address where you are staying, during your visit, it would not even have to be your daughters address

7 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

This needs sorting out , I know its off topic but lets at least have it right, incorrect information does not help anybody.

Best ask the DVLA rather than AI. They don't do "technically", only legally.

7 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

Hire car would be one solution

Regardless of where you live, renting a car in the UK using your UK driving license also requires additional proof of UK residence such as utility bill, a council tax receipt or a bank or credit card statement. Some companies require a second credit card, all the additional proof with an address matching that on the UK driving license. They also need the renter to apply for a one-time PIN online from the DVLA that the car rental agent needs to check your UK license validity and status (points or suspended) with the DVLA.

Using a 5-year Thai driving license only requires your passport, a single payment method and the license with no address checks.

For those bereft of a Thai DL, there's always public transport, taxis and Uber

13 hours ago, Upnotover said:

It's not "illegally", it's illegally. As has been said the chances it would cause an issue are small, certainly for minor driving issues, but the potential for trouble remains the day you run someone over and kill them and the insurance company starts digging. Meanwhile you can happily and legally drive on your Thai licence in the UK, seems better all round.

I think that the link below sets out the position regarding UK driving licences, as explained on here by you and @NanLaew, pretty clearly, albeit that the author appears to be an insurance broker touting for business.

As I see things, the only legal use to which @hotandsticky and other expats living in LOS can put their UK driving licences these days is in opening new bank accounts with Kasikorn - although I understand from another thread that he already has one of those!

https://www.keithmichaels.co.uk/news/renew-your-uk-driving-licence-as-an-expat/

On 2/17/2026 at 8:57 AM, NanLaew said:

Best ask the DVLA rather than AI. They don't do "technically", only legally.

That's exactly what I did , and I have received a reply today , would you like me to post both my question , and the reply I received on here? Or should I send it to you via a private message to avoid any further embarrassment for you ?

You were wrong, and you have been posting incorrect information.

On 2/17/2026 at 9:52 AM, OJAS said:

I think that the link below sets out the position regarding UK driving licences, as explained on here by you and @NanLaew, pretty clearly, albeit that the author appears to be an insurance broker touting for business.

As I see things, the only legal use to which @hotandsticky and other expats living in LOS can put their UK driving licences these days is in opening new bank accounts with Kasikorn - although I understand from another thread that he already has one of those!

https://www.keithmichaels.co.uk/news/renew-your-uk-driving-licence-as-an-expat/

incorrect , as long as the licence is valid , it can be used in the UK. don't believe all you read on this forum. I emailed the DVLA for confirmation and received a reply today, unsurprisingly I was correct, as that is where my info came from in the first place, although as i originally asked them about this years ago , I thought it wise to check again. I would not want to be accused of providing misinformation, others seem not to care

Taking the word of an insurance company for advice in such matters is not advisable , and neither is believing all you hear on this forum . Always best to hear it from the horses mouth.

37 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

incorrect , as long as the licence is valid , it can be used in the UK. don't believe all you read on this forum. I emailed the DVLA for confirmation and received a reply today, unsurprisingly I was correct, as that is where my info came from in the first place, although as i originally asked them about this years ago , I thought it wise to check again. I would not want to be accused of providing misinformation, others seem not to care

Taking the word of an insurance company for advice in such matters is not advisable , and neither is believing all you hear on this forum . Always best to hear it from the horses mouth.

So....you being a forum member - or the horses mouth? 🙂

43 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

That's exactly what I did , and I have received a reply today , would you like me to post both my question , and the reply I received on here? Or should I send it to you via a private message to avoid any further embarrassment for you ?

You were wrong, and you have been posting incorrect information.

Did you post the reply?

I would hate to embarrass myself by being wrong.....................although my UK DL has been accepted everywhere for car rentals over the last 20 years that I have lived in LoS.

25 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

So....you being a forum member - or the horses mouth?

I am indeed a forum member , but I am not the "horses mouth" that position belongs to the DVLA of course, and that is who I asked, I may be many things , but I am not a liar I will post the reply I received shortly along with a copy of the question I asked them.

It is not possible to actually email them directly from ones email account, one needs to access the .Gov.uk website , head to the driving licence section, and there you will find an online form for such enquiries, They claim to provide an answer within 3 days ,and they were as good as their word.

It is not my intention to embarrass anybody or to appear as a "smart-arse" I just wanted to put the correct information out there as it may help others

47 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

I am indeed a forum member , but I am not the "horses mouth" that position belongs to the DVLA of course, and that is who I asked, I may be many things , but I am not a liar I will post the reply I received shortly along with a copy of the question I asked them.

It is not possible to actually email them directly from ones email account, one needs to access the .Gov.uk website , head to the driving licence section, and there you will find an online form for such enquiries, They claim to provide an answer within 3 days ,and they were as good as their word.

It is not my intention to embarrass anybody or to appear as a "smart-arse" I just wanted to put the correct information out there as it may help others

Thank you..... I look forward to the horse's mouth reply........not to confirm your credibility, but to silence any doubting Thomases.

35 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

Thank you..... I look forward to the horse's mouth reply........not to confirm your credibility, but to silence any doubting Thomases.

Not a problem pal

ok first off here is the link to the dvla https://www.gov.uk/contact-the-dvla

As i said before , you don't actually send them an email, I tried that via another link and got a "bounce back" you have to fill out an online form and provide some details for them. I should have took a screen shot of the online form complete with the question I asked but I didn't , but as I only copied and pasted the email i wrote initially , here is a copy of that

Not sure if this is the correct place to ask this question but thought I would give it a try.

I have a friend  who has lived in Thailand for approximately  3 or 4  years,  who intends to visit the UK.  

When he lived in the UK previously he resided at a relatives house.  when he visits next year he will stay at the same address, 

He still has a full valid uk driving licence which does not expire for approximately 5  more years,  the address listed on his licence is the address of the  relatives house were he used to live, and is the address  where he will be staying during his intended visit.  

Can he legally drive a car in the UK. during his visit using his current UK licence, or , as he is now classed as resident of Thailand  does he need to use his Thai licence to drive in the UK. ?

I have advised him that I believe he will be perfectly legal using his valid UK licence  to drive during his visit , but would like some confirmation from the DVLA  for his peace of mind, 

                                                                                Thanks in advance ..xxxxxxxx

and here is their reply (complete with spelling mistake)

Any other GB driving licence enquiry not listed

Inbox

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/default-user=s40-p

[email protected]	1:54 AM (10 hours ago)
to me https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gif

Dear Mr xxxxx xxxxxx

 

Thank you for your enquiry on 17/02/2026

 

I appreciate you taking the time to contact us in this matter.

They can legally drive using there Great British licence as long as it remains valid.

I hope this information is of assistance.

 

Do not reply to this email. If you wish to contact us again about this response, then please use the link below:

https://contact.dvla.gov.uk/response?response_type=general&email_case_id=H_MCa5wBQ0A4crxPJ1wA

 

Best regards

Jordan

___

https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/meips/ADKq_NbmBAn0gDPUN4LUEC3RFAVfJpI3ZhD5UaCHJmBzKz5clmAHNu5wKEWpbtBvPAtF72j4j5z53Ji9lJscE74_EU6QrVb9qfGAUQ26S1kMf9_E-u9kf5NB2Ck53l0YFvesP1mGC1HyrwWl9NwGSgE9nmDgpbx24QP-9667kChhLpsO_gpjAgPmDKPB6YgRXbU8fjE=s0-d-e1-ft#https://polly-fileuploads-public-org-dokh7hbgts2mwemda.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/files/TXj9Kp4mHNfbpkbLm-puLxjnroLyB6y3pKf

You can now choose to receive vehicle tax reminders by text or email. Go to: www.gov.uk/driver-vehicles-account

Gallwch ddewis derbyn nodiadau atgoffa treth cerbyd drwy negeseuon testun neu e-byst. Eich i: www.gov.uk/cyfrif-gyrwyr-cerbydau

X: @dvlagovuk | Facebook: @dvlagovuk | YouTube: @dvlagov

I hope this clarifies matters for all

It appears that "Jordan" at the DVLA also uses AI.

2 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

It appears that "Jordan" at the DVLA also uses AI.

555, he can't spell either..."there". "Great British licence", seriously?

1 hour ago, NanLaew said:

It appears that "Jordan" at the DVLA also uses AI.

I hope you are not doubting the genuineness of the email......

1 hour ago, Upnotover said:

555, he can't spell either..."there". "Great British licence", seriously?

I hope you don't think he is any less grammatically capable than other person working, at that level, in the Civil Service etc.