Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to Article 2 of Directive 2006/126/EC10, what assessment the Government has made of the effect on EU recognition of UK driving licences of the UK leaving the EU.

While the UK is still a member of the EU, the same rules apply and UK licences continue to be recognised by all Member States.

We will be seeking to negotiate a comprehensive agreement with the EU to cover the continued recognition and exchange of UK licences after exit so that UK licence holders are not required to carry additional documentation. In the absence of this we will be seeking bilateral agreements with individual member states.

If there is no deal with the EU, the contingency is that both private and professional drivers may need an International Driving Permit (IDP), as well as their UK driving licence to drive in the EU following exit. IDPs would be issued under either the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, which is already in force for the UK or the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic which will come into force for the UK on 28^th March 2019.