- Latest available (Revised)
- Point in Time (18/07/2008)
- Original (As adopted by EU)
When the UK left the EU, legislation.gov.uk published EU legislation that had been published by the EU up to IP completion day (31 December 2020 11.00 p.m.). On legislation.gov.uk, these items of legislation are kept up-to-date with any amendments made by the UK since then.
Legislation.gov.uk publishes the UK version. EUR-Lex publishes the EU version. The EU Exit Web Archive holds a snapshot of EUR-Lex’s version from IP completion day (31 December 2020 11.00 p.m.).
Version Superseded: 19/01/2013
EU Directives are published on this site to aid cross referencing from UK legislation. Since IP completion day (31 December 2020 11.00 p.m.) no amendments have been applied to this version.
page 1 shall contain:
the distinguishing sign of the Member State issuing the licence;
mention of the name of the Member State issuing the licence (optional);
[F1the distinguishing sign of the Member State issuing the licence, whose signs shall be as follows:
:
Belgium
:
Bulgaria
:
The Czech Republic
:
Denmark
:
Germany
:
Estonia
:
Greece
:
Spain
:
France
:
Ireland
:
Italy
:
Cyprus
:
Latvia
:
Lithuania
:
Luxembourg
:
Hungary
:
Malta
:
The Netherlands
:
Austria
:
Poland
:
Portugal
:
Romania
:
Slovenia
:
Slovakia
:
Finland
:
Sweden
:
The United Kingdom]
the words ‘Driving licence’, printed in large type in the language or languages of the Member State issuing the licence; they shall appear, after a suitable space, in small type in the other languages of the European Communities;
the words ‘European Communities model’, printed in the language or languages of the Member States issuing the licence;
page 2 shall contain:
the surname of the holder;
the other names of the holder;
the date and place of birth of the holder;
the name of the competent authority issuing the licence (including the place and date of issue and the stamp of the authority);
the number of the licence;
a photograph of the holder;
the signature of the holder;
the permanent place of residence, or postal address (optional);
pages 3 and 4 shall contain:
the (sub)categories of vehicle, the date of issue of the licence for the (sub)category, its period of validity, the stamp of the authority, any additional information or restrictions in code form for each (sub)category concerned.
Subcategories not provided for in the national legislation of a Member State may be omitted from driving licences issued by that Member State.
The codes used on page 4 shall be as follows:
:
harmonised Community codes
Glasses
Contact lense(s)
Protective glass
Opaque lense
Eye cover
Glasses or contact lenses
Hearing aid for one ear
Hearing aid for two ears
Upper limb prosthesis/orthosis
Lower limb prosthesis/orthosis
Limited to day time journeys (for example: one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset)
Limited to journeys within a radius of … km from holder's place of residence or only inside city/region …
Driving without passengers
Limited to journeys with a speed not greater than … km/h
Driving authorised solely when accompanied by a holder of a driving licence
Without trailer
No driving on motorways
No alcohol
Manual transmission
Vehicles without a clutch pedal (or lever operated manually for categories A or A1)]
Electronically operated transmission
Adjusted gear-shift lever
Without secondary gearbox
Adjusted clutch pedal
Manual clutch
Automatic clutch
Partitioning in front of/fold away/detached clutch pedal
Adjusted brake pedal
Enlarged brake pedal
Brake pedal suitable for use by left foot
Brake pedal by sole
Tilted brake pedal
Manual (adapted) service brake
Maximum use of reinforced service brake
Maximum use of emergency brake integrated in the service brake
Adjusted parking brake
Electrically operated parking brake
(Adjusted) foot operated parking brake
Partitioning in front of/fold away/detached brake pedal
Brake operated by knee
Electrically operated service brake
Adjusted accelerator pedal
Accelerator pedal by sole
Tilted accelerator pedal
Manual accelerator
Accelerator at knee
Servo accelerator (electronic, pneumatic, etc.)
Accelerator pedal on the left of brake pedal
Accelerator pedal on the left
Partitioning in front of/fold away/detached accelerator pedal
Parallel pedals
Pedals at (or almost at) the same level
Accelerator and brake with sliding
Accelerator and brake with sliding and orthesis
Fold away/detached accelerator and brake pedals
Raised floor
Partitioning on the side of the brake pedal
Partitioning for prosthesis on the side of the brake pedal
Partitioning in front of the accelerator and brake pedals
Heel/leg support
Electrically operated accelerator and brake
(Lights switches, windscreen wiper/washer, horn, direction indicators, etc.)
Control devices operable without negative influence on the steering and handling
Control devices operable without releasing the steering wheel and accessories (knob, fork, etc.)
Control devices operable without releasing the steering wheel and accessories (knob, fork, etc.) with the left hand
Control devices operable without releasing the steering wheel and accessories (knob, fork, etc.) with the right hand
Control devices operable without releasing the steering wheel and accessories (knob, fork, etc.) and the combined accelerator and braking mechanisms
Standard assisted steering
Reinforced assisted steering
Steering with backup system
Lengthened steering column
Adjusted steering wheel (Larger and/or thicker steering wheel section, reduced diameter steering wheel, etc.)
Tilted steering wheel
Vertical steering wheel
Horizontal steering wheel
Foot operated driving
Alternative adjusted steering (joy-stick, etc.)
Knob on the steering wheel
Hand orthesis on the steering wheel
With orthesis tenodese
External (left or) right-side rear-view mirror
External rear-view mirror set on the wing
Additional inside rear-view mirror permitting view of traffic
Panoramic inside rear-view mirror
Blind spot rear-view mirror
Electrically operated outside rear-view mirror(s)
Driver seat at a good viewing height and in normal distance from the steering wheel and the pedal
Driver seat adjusted to body shape
Driver seat with lateral support for good sitting stability
Driver seat with armrest
Lengthening of sliding driver's seat
Seat-belt adjustment
Harness-type seat-belt
Single operated brake
(Adjusted) hand operated brake (front wheel)
(Adjusted) foot operated brake (back wheel)
(Adjusted) accelerator handle
(Adjusted) manual transmission and manual clutch
(Adjusted) rear-view mirror(s)
(Adjusted) commands (direction indicators, braking light, …)
Seat height allowing the driver, in sitting position, to have two feet on the road at the same time
to the left
to the right
left
right
hand
foot
usable
Textual Amendments
F4 Inserted by Directive 2003/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2003 on the initial qualification and periodic training of drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods or passengers, amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85 and Council Directive 91/439/EEC and repealing Council Directive 76/914/EEC.
:
national codes valid only for driving in the territory of the State which issued the licence.
The date of first issue of the licence for each category must be transferred to page 3 in the event of subsequent replacement or exchange;
page 5 may contain information such as:
any periods during which the driving licence has been suspended,
serious offences committed in the territory of the State of normal residence and taken into account in the procedure for monitoring drivers which obtains in that State;
page 6 shall contain:
validations restricted to the territory of the State which granted them on grounds of equivalents or for categories of vehicles not covered by this Directive (including dates of issue and periods of validity),
spaces reserved for (optional) entry of changes in the holder's normal residence.
Textual Amendments
F1 Substituted by Council Directive 2006/103/EC of 20 November 2006 adapting certain Directives in the field of transport policy, by reason of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania.
F2 Substituted by Commission Directive 2000/56/EC of 14 September 2000 amending Council Directive 91/439/EEC on driving licences (Text with EEA relevance).
F3 Substituted by Commission Directive 2008/65/EC of 27 June 2008 amending Directive 91/439/EEC on driving licences.
F4 Inserted by Directive 2003/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2003 on the initial qualification and periodic training of drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods or passengers, amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85 and Council Directive 91/439/EEC and repealing Council Directive 76/914/EEC.
The Whole Directive you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As adopted by EU): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was first adopted in the EU. No changes have been applied to the text.
Point in Time: This becomes available after navigating to view revised legislation as it stood at a certain point in time via Advanced Features > Show Timeline of Changes or via a point in time advanced search.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
This timeline shows the different versions taken from EUR-Lex before exit day and during the implementation period as well as any subsequent versions created after the implementation period as a result of changes made by UK legislation.
The dates for the EU versions are taken from the document dates on EUR-Lex and may not always coincide with when the changes came into force for the document.
For any versions created after the implementation period as a result of changes made by UK legislation the date will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. For further information see our guide to revised legislation on Understanding Legislation.
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including: