The Driving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Order 2025
Source: legislation.gov.uk (2025-07-30)

This Order designates the Republic of Moldova, under section 108(2)(b) of the Road Traffic Act 1988, as making satisfactory provision in law for the grant of a specified description of driving licence. This enables a person holding one of these licences to exchange it for a corresponding British licence.

Statutory Instruments

2025 No. 811

ROAD TRAFFIC

The Driving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Order 2025

Made

7th July 2025

Coming into force

31st July 2025

The Secretary of State makes this Order in exercise of the powers conferred by section 108(2)(b), (2A) and (2B) of the Road Traffic Act 1988(1 (\"#f00001\")).

The Secretary of State is satisfied that satisfactory provision is made by the laws of the Republic of Moldova for the granting of licences authorising the driving of motor vehicles of a description specified in this Order.

The Secretary of State has consulted with representative organisations in accordance with section 108(3) of the Road Traffic Act 1988.

Citation, commencement and extent

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Driving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Order 2025.

(2) This Order comes into force on 31st July 2025.

(3) This Order extends to England and Wales and Scotland.

Designation of the Republic of Moldova

2.—(1) Subject to paragraph (3), the Republic of Moldova is designated under section 108(2)(b) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 as respects licences of the description specified in paragraph (2).

(2) The licences specified for the purposes of paragraph (1) are licences which—

(a)authorise the driving of the class of vehicle included in licensing category B, and

(b)have been granted by the licensing authority in the Republic of Moldova—

(i)to a person who has passed a driving test in the Republic of Moldova in respect of the class of vehicle included in licensing category B, or

(ii)in exchange for a licence granted in—

(aa)the United Kingdom to a person who has passed a driving test in the United Kingdom in respect of the class of vehicle included in licensing category B, or

(bb)an EEA State or a country or territory named in the Schedule to a person who has passed a driving test in such a State, country or territory, as the case may be, in respect of the class of vehicle included in licensing category B.

(3) A licence of a description specified in paragraph (2) shall be exchangeable only in so far as it authorises the driving of vehicles with automatic transmission if it was granted to a person who passed a driving test, whether in the Republic of Moldova or in a State, country or territory named in paragraph (2)(b)(ii), in a vehicle with automatic transmission, notwithstanding that the licence authorises the driving in the Republic of Moldova of vehicles with manual transmission.

(4) In this article—

“driving test” means a test corresponding to the practical test of driving skills and behaviour prescribed under section 89(3)(2 (\"#f00002\")) and (4)(3 (\"#f00003\")) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 as part of the test of competence to drive;

“licensing category B” means the licensing category identified as category B, in Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999(4 (\"#f00004\"));

“vehicle with automatic transmission” means a vehicle in which the person driving the vehicle is either—

(a)

not provided with any means whereby that person may vary the gear ratio between the engine and the road wheels independently of the accelerator and the brakes, or

(b)

provided with such means but they do not include a clutch pedal or lever which they may operate manually.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Transport

Lilian Greenwood

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Department for Transport

7th July 2025

Article 2

ScheduleOther Countries and Territories from which a licence may have been exchanged

Andorra

Australia

Barbados

British Virgin Islands

The provinces and territories of Canada

The Cayman Islands

The Falkland Islands

The Faroe Islands

Gibraltar

Guernsey

Hong Kong

Isle of Man

Japan

Jersey

Republic of Korea

Republic of North Macedonia

The principality of Monaco

New Zealand

Singapore

South Africa

Switzerland

Taiwan

Ukraine

United Arab Emirates

Zimbabwe

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order designates the Republic of Moldova, under section 108(2)(b) of the Road Traffic Act 1988, as making satisfactory provision in law for the grant of a specified description of driving licence. This enables a person holding one of these licences to exchange it for a corresponding British licence.

The licences specified are those authorising the driving of cars.

The Order also provides that if a driving test was taken in a vehicle with automatic transmission, the licence will be exchangeable only so far as it authorises the driving of vehicles with automatic transmission.

An impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument because it does not directly impose or amend requirements for business and is, therefore, exempt from the provisions contained in the Better Regulation Framework.

An Explanatory Memorandum is available alongside this instrument on www.legislation.gov.uk (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk\").

(1)

1988 c. 52 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ukpga/1988/52\"); section 108(2) to (2B) was substituted by S.I. 1998/1917 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/1998/1917\").

(2)

Section 89(3) was amended by the Road Traffic Act 1991 (c. 40) (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ukpga/1991/40\"), Schedule 4, paragraph 63 and the Road Safety Act 2006 (c. 49) (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ukpga/2006/49\"), section 36(1) and (2)(a), (b) and (c).

(3)

Section 89(4) was amended by the Road Safety Act 2006 (c. 49) (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ukpga/2006/49\"), section 36(1) and (3)(a), (b), (c) and (d), the Immigration Act 2014 (c. 22) (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ukpga/2014/22\"), Schedule 9, paragraph 63(c), and S.I. 1996/1974 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/1996/1974\").

(4)

S.I. 1999/2864 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/1999/2864\"); Schedule 2 was amended by S.I. 2012/977 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/2012/977\"), S.I. 2014/613 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/2014/613\"), S.I. 2020/663 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/2020/663\") and S.I. 2021/1450 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/2021/1450\"). There are other amending instruments but none is relevant.