Twelve Months on Your Own Licence, and a List of Exchangeable Countries Last Published Under a Repealed Act
Two different twelve-month rules govern driving here and they are in different instruments for different people. A visitor - a person resident outside the United Kingdom and temporarily in Great Britain - may drive on a Convention driving permit or a domestic driving permit issued abroad for twelve months from the date of their last entry, under article 2 of the Motor Vehicles (International Circulation) Order 1975. Someone who becomes resident gets a different and narrower allowance: regulation 80 of the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999 treats the holder of a relevant permit as licensed for one year after becoming resident, but only for small vehicles, motor bicycles and mopeds. After that year a Great Britain licence is needed, and whether it comes by exchange or by taking the test turns on whether the foreign licence is an exchangeable licence as section 108 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 defines it - which means issued in Gibraltar, or in a country the Secretary of State has designated by order. The designation order read for this record is from 1984, designates nine places, and does it under section 110 of the Road Traffic Act 1972, an Act that has since been replaced. legislation.gov.uk serves that order only as it was made and says so on the page. The current list of exchangeable countries is therefore not reconstructable from the instruments read here.
At a glance
- How long a visitor may drive on a foreign permit
- Twelve months from the date of his last entry into the United Kingdom
Article 2 of the Motor Vehicles (International Circulation) Order 1975. The clock runs from the last entry, not from a first arrival, so a trip abroad restarts it.
- Who that allowance is for
- A person resident outside the United Kingdom who is temporarily in Great Britain
Article 2(1) and 2(2) of the Motor Vehicles (International Circulation) Order 1975. Becoming resident takes a person outside it and into regulation 80 instead.
- How long a new resident may drive on a foreign permit
- One year after becoming resident in Great Britain
Regulation 80(1) of the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999.
- What a new resident may drive in that year
- All classes of small vehicle, motor bicycle or moped which the permit authorises, and nothing else
Regulation 80(1) of the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999. Goods and passenger-carrying vehicles are covered only for a holder of a licence from the Isle of Man, Jersey or Guernsey, under regulation 80(2) and 80(3).
- When a foreign licence can be exchanged rather than retested
- Where it is an exchangeable licence: issued in Gibraltar, or in a country or territory designated by order under section 108(2) of the Road Traffic Act 1988
Section 108(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988, definition of "exchangeable licence".
- Countries designated by the 1984 Order
- Australia, Kenya, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, and the territory of Hong Kong
Article 2 of the Driving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Order 1984. The Order designates them under section 110 of the Road Traffic Act 1972, which the Road Traffic Act 1988 replaced, and later designation orders have not been read.
- Test the Secretary of State applies before designating a country
- That satisfactory provision is made by that country's law for the granting of licences to drive motor vehicles
Section 108(2)(a) of the Road Traffic Act 1988. Paragraph (b) allows a restricted designation covering only licences of a specified description.
- What happens to the old licence on exchange
- It must be surrendered: section 97(1)(c)(iii) requires surrender of any British external licence, British Forces licence or exchangeable licence held
Section 97(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988.
- Residence requirement for a Great Britain licence
- The applicant must meet the relevant residence requirement in section 97A of the Road Traffic Act 1988
Section 97(1). Section 97A has not been read for this record.
Requirements
- While visiting: a Convention driving permit or a domestic driving permit issued outside the United Kingdom
- After becoming resident: a relevant permit covers you for one year, and only for small vehicles, motor bicycles and mopeds
- Before that year ends: a Great Britain licence, by exchange if your licence is an exchangeable licence, by test if it is not
- On being granted a Great Britain licence: surrender of the previous licence, including an exchangeable licence
In detail
The two twelve-month rules are not the same rule
A reader will hear that you can drive on a foreign licence for twelve months and will not be told which twelve months. The 1975 Order's period belongs to a visitor and runs from the date of last entry into the United Kingdom, so it can be restarted by leaving and coming back. Regulation 80's period belongs to a person who has become resident and runs from the date they became resident, which no amount of travel resets. The second is also narrower in what it permits: all classes of small vehicle, motor bicycle or moped, where the visitor's permission covers a motor vehicle of any class apart from goods and passenger-carrying vehicles. Someone who arrives as a visitor and later settles does not get twelve months and then another twelve.
The exchangeable list is the hole in the published law
Whether a licence can be exchanged is the question that matters most, and the instruments read here cannot answer it. Section 108 defines an exchangeable licence by reference to designation orders. The designation order in the store is the 1984 one, which names nine places under a 1972 Act, and legislation.gov.uk carries it only as it was made, with a notice saying the text came from Westlaw's transcription of the print copy. Later designation orders exist - the modern list visibly includes countries not in the 1984 Order - and none of them has been read for this record. A reader must take the exchangeable list from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's published list and understand that it rests on orders this record has not traced.
Great Britain is not the United Kingdom here
Both the 1975 Order and regulation 80 are drafted for Great Britain, and regulation 80 carries the extent marker E+W+S. Northern Ireland runs its own driver licensing, and a Northern Ireland licence is treated in the Road Traffic Act 1988 as a separate category to be surrendered on the grant of a Great Britain licence, not as a domestic one. Nothing in this record describes the position in Northern Ireland.
Exceptions by origin
No exceptions recorded
Nothing we have read treats any nationality differently for this topic. The rule above applies to everyone.
What the law says
«(2)Subject to the provisions of this Article, it shall be lawful for a person resident outside the United Kingdom who is temporarily in Great Britain and holds—\ \ (a)a Convention driving permit, or\ \ (b)a domestic driving permit issued in a country outside the United Kingdom,\ \ during a period of twelve months from the date of his last entry into the United Kingdom to drive, or for any person to cause or permit such a person to drive, in Great Britain—\ \ (i)in the case of any such person who is resident in an EEA State, the Isle of Man, Jersey or Guernsey, a medium-sized goods vehicle, a large goods vehicle, a privately-operated passenger vehicle or a passenger-carrying vehicle; and\ \ (ii)in the case of any other such person, a medium-sized goods vehicle, a large goods vehicle, a privately-operated passenger vehicle or a passenger-carrying vehicle brought temporarily into Great Britain,»The visitor's allowance, and it is drafted as a permission to drive rather than as a recognition of the foreign licence. The backslashes are the published page's line-break markup and are left as printed. Article 2(1) makes the same provision for ordinary vehicles.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official statute book of the United Kingdom, run by The National Archives. It serves every Act of Parliament and every UK statutory instrument, and for most of them it serves a revised text maintained by an editorial team rather than the text as enacted. One provision at a time is addressable: legislation.gov.uk/<type>/<year>/<number>/<section|regulation|schedule|article>/<n>, with /part/<n> under a schedule and /made for the original of a statutory instrument. That shape is what makes a statute book this size readable - section 3 of the Immigration Act 1971 is 61,000 characters where the Act entire is unusable. Every provision page prints a status box stating the date to which it is up to date, a Changes to Legislation disclaimer, and, where there are any, a list of effects the editorial team has not yet applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidation date is not an editorial date but the date of the request, so two provisions of the same Act read a day apart carry different cut-offs, and the cut-off must be taken from each page rather than from the Act. It carries no Immigration Rules: the Rules are laid before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and published by the Home Office, and nothing in them is on this site. Some instruments are served only as made, with no revised text at all, and the site says so on the page - the Driving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Order 1984 is one, and its electronic text was contributed by Westlaw from the printed copy. Where a page lists outstanding effects, the text shown is known to be behind its own amendments, and where an amending provision was never commenced the page lists an effect that will never arrive: section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981 carries effects from a 2009 Act whose amending provisions are themselves prospectively repealed. It is not a source for what a department does, for fees set administratively, or for any external document an instrument incorporates by reference.
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«80.—(1) A person who becomes resident in Great Britain who is— (a)the holder of a relevant permit, and (b)not disqualified for holding or obtaining a licence in Great Britain shall, during the period of one year after he becomes so resident, be treated for the purposes of section 87 of the Traffic Act as the holder of a licence authorising him to drive all classes of small vehicle, motor bicycle or moped which he is authorised to drive by that permit.»The resident's allowance. The limitation to small vehicles, motor bicycles and mopeds is the part most often missed: a person who drove a van at home may not drive one here on the strength of this regulation.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official statute book of the United Kingdom, run by The National Archives. It serves every Act of Parliament and every UK statutory instrument, and for most of them it serves a revised text maintained by an editorial team rather than the text as enacted. One provision at a time is addressable: legislation.gov.uk/<type>/<year>/<number>/<section|regulation|schedule|article>/<n>, with /part/<n> under a schedule and /made for the original of a statutory instrument. That shape is what makes a statute book this size readable - section 3 of the Immigration Act 1971 is 61,000 characters where the Act entire is unusable. Every provision page prints a status box stating the date to which it is up to date, a Changes to Legislation disclaimer, and, where there are any, a list of effects the editorial team has not yet applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidation date is not an editorial date but the date of the request, so two provisions of the same Act read a day apart carry different cut-offs, and the cut-off must be taken from each page rather than from the Act. It carries no Immigration Rules: the Rules are laid before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and published by the Home Office, and nothing in them is on this site. Some instruments are served only as made, with no revised text at all, and the site says so on the page - the Driving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Order 1984 is one, and its electronic text was contributed by Westlaw from the printed copy. Where a page lists outstanding effects, the text shown is known to be behind its own amendments, and where an amending provision was never commenced the page lists an effect that will never arrive: section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981 carries effects from a 2009 Act whose amending provisions are themselves prospectively repealed. It is not a source for what a department does, for fees set administratively, or for any external document an instrument incorporates by reference.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«“exchangeable licence” means a document authorising a person to drive a motor vehicle (not being a document mentioned in paragraph (b) of the definition of “Community licence”)—»The definition opens here; its three limbs are Gibraltar, a country designated without restriction, and a country designated by a restricted order. The note on the page spells "designed" where it means designated, and that typo is the publisher's.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official statute book of the United Kingdom, run by The National Archives. It serves every Act of Parliament and every UK statutory instrument, and for most of them it serves a revised text maintained by an editorial team rather than the text as enacted. One provision at a time is addressable: legislation.gov.uk/<type>/<year>/<number>/<section|regulation|schedule|article>/<n>, with /part/<n> under a schedule and /made for the original of a statutory instrument. That shape is what makes a statute book this size readable - section 3 of the Immigration Act 1971 is 61,000 characters where the Act entire is unusable. Every provision page prints a status box stating the date to which it is up to date, a Changes to Legislation disclaimer, and, where there are any, a list of effects the editorial team has not yet applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidation date is not an editorial date but the date of the request, so two provisions of the same Act read a day apart carry different cut-offs, and the cut-off must be taken from each page rather than from the Act. It carries no Immigration Rules: the Rules are laid before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and published by the Home Office, and nothing in them is on this site. Some instruments are served only as made, with no revised text at all, and the site says so on the page - the Driving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Order 1984 is one, and its electronic text was contributed by Westlaw from the printed copy. Where a page lists outstanding effects, the text shown is known to be behind its own amendments, and where an amending provision was never commenced the page lists an effect that will never arrive: section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981 carries effects from a 2009 Act whose amending provisions are themselves prospectively repealed. It is not a source for what a department does, for fees set administratively, or for any external document an instrument incorporates by reference.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«(2)The Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument designate a country or territory which neither is nor forms part of an EEA State for the purposes of the definition of “exchangeable licence” in subsection (1) above)—\ \ (a)as respects all licences authorising the driving of motor vehicles granted under the law of that country or territory, where the Secretary of State is satisfied that satisfactory provision is made by that law for the granting of licences to drive motor vehicles;\ \ (b)as respects only licences authorising the driving of motor vehicles granted under the law of that country or territory of a description specified in the order, where the Secretary of State is satisfied that satisfactory provision is made by that law for the granting of licences of that description.»The power, and the standard it is exercised against. The country must neither be nor form part of an EEA State, which is a drafting survival from the period when EEA licences were recognised automatically.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official statute book of the United Kingdom, run by The National Archives. It serves every Act of Parliament and every UK statutory instrument, and for most of them it serves a revised text maintained by an editorial team rather than the text as enacted. One provision at a time is addressable: legislation.gov.uk/<type>/<year>/<number>/<section|regulation|schedule|article>/<n>, with /part/<n> under a schedule and /made for the original of a statutory instrument. That shape is what makes a statute book this size readable - section 3 of the Immigration Act 1971 is 61,000 characters where the Act entire is unusable. Every provision page prints a status box stating the date to which it is up to date, a Changes to Legislation disclaimer, and, where there are any, a list of effects the editorial team has not yet applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidation date is not an editorial date but the date of the request, so two provisions of the same Act read a day apart carry different cut-offs, and the cut-off must be taken from each page rather than from the Act. It carries no Immigration Rules: the Rules are laid before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and published by the Home Office, and nothing in them is on this site. Some instruments are served only as made, with no revised text at all, and the site says so on the page - the Driving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Order 1984 is one, and its electronic text was contributed by Westlaw from the printed copy. Where a page lists outstanding effects, the text shown is known to be behind its own amendments, and where an amending provision was never commenced the page lists an effect that will never arrive: section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981 carries effects from a 2009 Act whose amending provisions are themselves prospectively repealed. It is not a source for what a department does, for fees set administratively, or for any external document an instrument incorporates by reference.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«2. The following countries, namely Australia, Kenya, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, and the territory of Hong Kong, are hereby designated within paragraph (b) of the definition of “exchangeable licence” in subsection (1) of section 110 of the Road Traffic Act 1972.»Nine places, named in 1984, under an Act that no longer exists. Section 110 of the Road Traffic Act 1972 was replaced by section 108 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, so this Order now operates only through the general saving for instruments made under repealed provisions.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official statute book of the United Kingdom, run by The National Archives. It serves every Act of Parliament and every UK statutory instrument, and for most of them it serves a revised text maintained by an editorial team rather than the text as enacted. One provision at a time is addressable: legislation.gov.uk/<type>/<year>/<number>/<section|regulation|schedule|article>/<n>, with /part/<n> under a schedule and /made for the original of a statutory instrument. That shape is what makes a statute book this size readable - section 3 of the Immigration Act 1971 is 61,000 characters where the Act entire is unusable. Every provision page prints a status box stating the date to which it is up to date, a Changes to Legislation disclaimer, and, where there are any, a list of effects the editorial team has not yet applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidation date is not an editorial date but the date of the request, so two provisions of the same Act read a day apart carry different cut-offs, and the cut-off must be taken from each page rather than from the Act. It carries no Immigration Rules: the Rules are laid before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and published by the Home Office, and nothing in them is on this site. Some instruments are served only as made, with no revised text at all, and the site says so on the page - the Driving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Order 1984 is one, and its electronic text was contributed by Westlaw from the printed copy. Where a page lists outstanding effects, the text shown is known to be behind its own amendments, and where an amending provision was never commenced the page lists an effect that will never arrive: section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981 carries effects from a 2009 Act whose amending provisions are themselves prospectively repealed. It is not a source for what a department does, for fees set administratively, or for any external document an instrument incorporates by reference.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«This is the original version (as it was originally made). This item of legislation is currently only available in its original format. The electronic version of this UK Statutory Instrument has been contributed by Westlaw and is taken from the printed publication.»The publisher saying, in terms, that it has no consolidated text of this instrument and that the text it does have came from a commercial publisher's transcription of the printed copy. An amendment to this Order would not show here.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official statute book of the United Kingdom, run by The National Archives. It serves every Act of Parliament and every UK statutory instrument, and for most of them it serves a revised text maintained by an editorial team rather than the text as enacted. One provision at a time is addressable: legislation.gov.uk/<type>/<year>/<number>/<section|regulation|schedule|article>/<n>, with /part/<n> under a schedule and /made for the original of a statutory instrument. That shape is what makes a statute book this size readable - section 3 of the Immigration Act 1971 is 61,000 characters where the Act entire is unusable. Every provision page prints a status box stating the date to which it is up to date, a Changes to Legislation disclaimer, and, where there are any, a list of effects the editorial team has not yet applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidation date is not an editorial date but the date of the request, so two provisions of the same Act read a day apart carry different cut-offs, and the cut-off must be taken from each page rather than from the Act. It carries no Immigration Rules: the Rules are laid before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and published by the Home Office, and nothing in them is on this site. Some instruments are served only as made, with no revised text at all, and the site says so on the page - the Driving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Order 1984 is one, and its electronic text was contributed by Westlaw from the printed copy. Where a page lists outstanding effects, the text shown is known to be behind its own amendments, and where an amending provision was never commenced the page lists an effect that will never arrive: section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981 carries effects from a 2009 Act whose amending provisions are themselves prospectively repealed. It is not a source for what a department does, for fees set administratively, or for any external document an instrument incorporates by reference.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«the Secretary of State must [F3](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/97#commentary-c13982521 "View the commentary text for this item"). . . grant a licence to a person who \[ [F4](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/97#commentary-key-4dbf4acbb1302bafdab54010adfbcbb8 "View the commentary text for this item") meets the relevant residence requirement (see section 97A) and\] — (a)makes an application for it in such manner and containing such particulars as the Secretary of State may specify \[ [F5](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/97#commentary-c13982841 "View the commentary text for this item") and pays the fee (if any) which is prescribed\], (b)provides the Secretary of State with such evidence or further evidence in support of the application as the Secretary of State may require, \[ [F6](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/97#commentary-c13982851 "View the commentary text for this item")(c)surrenders to the Secretary of State—»The grant of a Great Britain licence is a duty rather than a discretion once the conditions are met, and the residence requirement sits in a separate section, 97A, which has not been read here.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official statute book of the United Kingdom, run by The National Archives. It serves every Act of Parliament and every UK statutory instrument, and for most of them it serves a revised text maintained by an editorial team rather than the text as enacted. One provision at a time is addressable: legislation.gov.uk/<type>/<year>/<number>/<section|regulation|schedule|article>/<n>, with /part/<n> under a schedule and /made for the original of a statutory instrument. That shape is what makes a statute book this size readable - section 3 of the Immigration Act 1971 is 61,000 characters where the Act entire is unusable. Every provision page prints a status box stating the date to which it is up to date, a Changes to Legislation disclaimer, and, where there are any, a list of effects the editorial team has not yet applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidation date is not an editorial date but the date of the request, so two provisions of the same Act read a day apart carry different cut-offs, and the cut-off must be taken from each page rather than from the Act. It carries no Immigration Rules: the Rules are laid before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and published by the Home Office, and nothing in them is on this site. Some instruments are served only as made, with no revised text at all, and the site says so on the page - the Driving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Order 1984 is one, and its electronic text was contributed by Westlaw from the printed copy. Where a page lists outstanding effects, the text shown is known to be behind its own amendments, and where an amending provision was never commenced the page lists an effect that will never arrive: section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981 carries effects from a 2009 Act whose amending provisions are themselves prospectively repealed. It is not a source for what a department does, for fees set administratively, or for any external document an instrument incorporates by reference.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
Practical notes
The current list of countries whose licences may be exchanged is not established by this record. The only designation order read is the 1984 one and it is the original text; the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency publishes the operative list and that page has not been read.
Section 97A of the Road Traffic Act 1988, which carries the residence requirement for a Great Britain licence, has not been read.
No fee is stated here. Licence fees are prescribed by regulations under section 97(1)(a) which have not been read, and a figure from an agency page without the instrument behind it is not published here.
Sections 97 and 108 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and regulation 80 of the 1999 Regulations were read on legislation.gov.uk on 10 and 11 October 2026 and each page stated the date to which it was up to date. The 1984 Order has no such date because it is served only as made.
- consolidatesMotor Vehicles (International Circulation) Order 1975, article 2
The National Archives, legislation.gov.uk · consolidated to 2026-10-10
About this source
The official statute book of the United Kingdom, run by The National Archives. It serves every Act of Parliament and every UK statutory instrument, and for most of them it serves a revised text maintained by an editorial team rather than the text as enacted. One provision at a time is addressable: legislation.gov.uk/<type>/<year>/<number>/<section|regulation|schedule|article>/<n>, with /part/<n> under a schedule and /made for the original of a statutory instrument. That shape is what makes a statute book this size readable - section 3 of the Immigration Act 1971 is 61,000 characters where the Act entire is unusable. Every provision page prints a status box stating the date to which it is up to date, a Changes to Legislation disclaimer, and, where there are any, a list of effects the editorial team has not yet applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidation date is not an editorial date but the date of the request, so two provisions of the same Act read a day apart carry different cut-offs, and the cut-off must be taken from each page rather than from the Act. It carries no Immigration Rules: the Rules are laid before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and published by the Home Office, and nothing in them is on this site. Some instruments are served only as made, with no revised text at all, and the site says so on the page - the Driving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Order 1984 is one, and its electronic text was contributed by Westlaw from the printed copy. Where a page lists outstanding effects, the text shown is known to be behind its own amendments, and where an amending provision was never commenced the page lists an effect that will never arrive: section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981 carries effects from a 2009 Act whose amending provisions are themselves prospectively repealed. It is not a source for what a department does, for fees set administratively, or for any external document an instrument incorporates by reference.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
- consolidatesMotor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999, regulation 80
The National Archives, legislation.gov.uk · consolidated to 2026-10-11
About this source
The official statute book of the United Kingdom, run by The National Archives. It serves every Act of Parliament and every UK statutory instrument, and for most of them it serves a revised text maintained by an editorial team rather than the text as enacted. One provision at a time is addressable: legislation.gov.uk/<type>/<year>/<number>/<section|regulation|schedule|article>/<n>, with /part/<n> under a schedule and /made for the original of a statutory instrument. That shape is what makes a statute book this size readable - section 3 of the Immigration Act 1971 is 61,000 characters where the Act entire is unusable. Every provision page prints a status box stating the date to which it is up to date, a Changes to Legislation disclaimer, and, where there are any, a list of effects the editorial team has not yet applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidation date is not an editorial date but the date of the request, so two provisions of the same Act read a day apart carry different cut-offs, and the cut-off must be taken from each page rather than from the Act. It carries no Immigration Rules: the Rules are laid before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and published by the Home Office, and nothing in them is on this site. Some instruments are served only as made, with no revised text at all, and the site says so on the page - the Driving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Order 1984 is one, and its electronic text was contributed by Westlaw from the printed copy. Where a page lists outstanding effects, the text shown is known to be behind its own amendments, and where an amending provision was never commenced the page lists an effect that will never arrive: section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981 carries effects from a 2009 Act whose amending provisions are themselves prospectively repealed. It is not a source for what a department does, for fees set administratively, or for any external document an instrument incorporates by reference.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
- consolidatesRoad Traffic Act 1988, section 97
The National Archives, legislation.gov.uk · consolidated to 2026-10-10
About this source
The official statute book of the United Kingdom, run by The National Archives. It serves every Act of Parliament and every UK statutory instrument, and for most of them it serves a revised text maintained by an editorial team rather than the text as enacted. One provision at a time is addressable: legislation.gov.uk/<type>/<year>/<number>/<section|regulation|schedule|article>/<n>, with /part/<n> under a schedule and /made for the original of a statutory instrument. That shape is what makes a statute book this size readable - section 3 of the Immigration Act 1971 is 61,000 characters where the Act entire is unusable. Every provision page prints a status box stating the date to which it is up to date, a Changes to Legislation disclaimer, and, where there are any, a list of effects the editorial team has not yet applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidation date is not an editorial date but the date of the request, so two provisions of the same Act read a day apart carry different cut-offs, and the cut-off must be taken from each page rather than from the Act. It carries no Immigration Rules: the Rules are laid before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and published by the Home Office, and nothing in them is on this site. Some instruments are served only as made, with no revised text at all, and the site says so on the page - the Driving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Order 1984 is one, and its electronic text was contributed by Westlaw from the printed copy. Where a page lists outstanding effects, the text shown is known to be behind its own amendments, and where an amending provision was never commenced the page lists an effect that will never arrive: section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981 carries effects from a 2009 Act whose amending provisions are themselves prospectively repealed. It is not a source for what a department does, for fees set administratively, or for any external document an instrument incorporates by reference.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
- consolidatesRoad Traffic Act 1988, section 108
The National Archives, legislation.gov.uk · consolidated to 2026-10-10
About this source
The official statute book of the United Kingdom, run by The National Archives. It serves every Act of Parliament and every UK statutory instrument, and for most of them it serves a revised text maintained by an editorial team rather than the text as enacted. One provision at a time is addressable: legislation.gov.uk/<type>/<year>/<number>/<section|regulation|schedule|article>/<n>, with /part/<n> under a schedule and /made for the original of a statutory instrument. That shape is what makes a statute book this size readable - section 3 of the Immigration Act 1971 is 61,000 characters where the Act entire is unusable. Every provision page prints a status box stating the date to which it is up to date, a Changes to Legislation disclaimer, and, where there are any, a list of effects the editorial team has not yet applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidation date is not an editorial date but the date of the request, so two provisions of the same Act read a day apart carry different cut-offs, and the cut-off must be taken from each page rather than from the Act. It carries no Immigration Rules: the Rules are laid before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and published by the Home Office, and nothing in them is on this site. Some instruments are served only as made, with no revised text at all, and the site says so on the page - the Driving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Order 1984 is one, and its electronic text was contributed by Westlaw from the printed copy. Where a page lists outstanding effects, the text shown is known to be behind its own amendments, and where an amending provision was never commenced the page lists an effect that will never arrive: section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981 carries effects from a 2009 Act whose amending provisions are themselves prospectively repealed. It is not a source for what a department does, for fees set administratively, or for any external document an instrument incorporates by reference.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
- consolidatesDriving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Order 1984, article 2 (as made)
The National Archives, legislation.gov.uk
About this source
The official statute book of the United Kingdom, run by The National Archives. It serves every Act of Parliament and every UK statutory instrument, and for most of them it serves a revised text maintained by an editorial team rather than the text as enacted. One provision at a time is addressable: legislation.gov.uk/<type>/<year>/<number>/<section|regulation|schedule|article>/<n>, with /part/<n> under a schedule and /made for the original of a statutory instrument. That shape is what makes a statute book this size readable - section 3 of the Immigration Act 1971 is 61,000 characters where the Act entire is unusable. Every provision page prints a status box stating the date to which it is up to date, a Changes to Legislation disclaimer, and, where there are any, a list of effects the editorial team has not yet applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidation date is not an editorial date but the date of the request, so two provisions of the same Act read a day apart carry different cut-offs, and the cut-off must be taken from each page rather than from the Act. It carries no Immigration Rules: the Rules are laid before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and published by the Home Office, and nothing in them is on this site. Some instruments are served only as made, with no revised text at all, and the site says so on the page - the Driving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Order 1984 is one, and its electronic text was contributed by Westlaw from the printed copy. Where a page lists outstanding effects, the text shown is known to be behind its own amendments, and where an amending provision was never commenced the page lists an effect that will never arrive: section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981 carries effects from a 2009 Act whose amending provisions are themselves prospectively repealed. It is not a source for what a department does, for fees set administratively, or for any external document an instrument incorporates by reference.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source