hTTi

Does anyone know if the new B197 licence can be exchanged for a full UK one?

For those who haven't met it, it's an automatic licence whose holder has had at least 10 hours of gear-box instruction and passed a 15 minute test with an official instructor to prove they can in fact drive a car with gears. Here in Germany and in the EU it is equal to a full licence for car driving but not for additional things like trailer/lkw etc, you would then be restricted to automatic or have to take a proper B test.

Utterly bizarre in my mind, but that's what kid#2 is about to do and I would like to know if in the fullness of time, he returns to the UK, he will be able to switch it for a full UK one. My investigations thus far have been inconclusive.

At https://www.passmefast.co.uk/resources/ ... ng-licence it says that unless you passed your driving test in a manual, you will not get a manual UK license unless you take an additional test. Since the B197 requires the additional test already, I guess it would be valid.

Good find, Leon.

Thank you - that's a logical conclusion and cause for hope

This manual stipulation is weird since Canadians can swap their licenses in the UK with no other tests, and maybe 12 Canadians (a tehnth of the population) can drive a manual car.