Driver CPC - Foreign licence

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

I apologise if this is in the incorrect section. I did look for the search facility on here but cannot find it.

This is my first post so please don’t shoot me.

I wanted to impart my first hand knowledge of trying to get your Driver CPC card with a foreign licence. If anyone has any information or suggestions, please chip in.

I am English. I passed my C,CE licences in England in 1991 and drove in England for a few years and moved to live and work in Denmark 13 years ago. My new job was nothing to do with driving. I do not hold a UK licence. I hold a Danish licence but the licence number is the same as my UK licence used to be but with GB at the end. I now wish to return to driving and need to take my driver CPC.

Unfortunately, my Danish is not good enough to sit through a 5 day course in Danish and understand it. There are no places in Denmark which does the course in English.

The idea of sitting at the back of a classroom doing nothing for a week does not appeal to and nor would it be allowed in Denmark. The instructors guidelines states that there must be “Interaction and contact time with the instructor”. Over here they insist on it.

My next problem is that the Gov.UK site stipulates that the course must be taken in the country you live or work. However you can do part of the course in another country. BUT the last 7 hours must be done in the UK. I have asked in Denmark if I can flip that, but I can’t.

I spoke to a course provider in the UK who told me that my licence number is accepted by their registration system, but they do not know what information is held about my licence at the other end. IE: Moved to Denmark.

The other problem with my Danish licence is that we do not have our addresses on our licence and so there would be nowhere on the system to send my CPC card.

Now it gets a bit foggy.

I contacted DVSA who sent me an email telling me I needed to complete a form DSQ1 which will run alongside my Danish licence. To do that I need a UK address for them to send it to. I am using a family member but you could use the course centre.

Dear Stephen

Thank you for your email of 11th March.

The best option for you would be to complete a DQC1 form, enabling you to be issued with a UK Driver Qualification Card (DQC) while holding a Danish licence. You must use a UK address on the form for us to send the DQC to.

Your training provider may have a DQC1 form available for you, or you can request that we send one to you. Again, this must be to a UK address.

If you have any further queries relating to this matter, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Regards

gov.uk/driver-cpc-training/ … -countries

That sounds very simple but looking at the Gov UK it then goes on to explain about exchanging other countries licences for UK licences but I don’t know if the two are connected.

The final solution is to state I have moved back to the UK and change my licence back to a UK licence. Take the course and get my CPC card and change it all back to Danish. You can imagine all the faffing, time and expense.

Have we moved out of the EU already and nobody has told me?

So this is the situation as it stands. If anyone has any concrete things to add, NOT guesswork. I would be glad to hear it.

Sorry for the waffle but it is quite complicated.

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It seems that every country has it’s own way of doing this crap.I live in the far North of Sweden and have,over the last few months,done 4 of the modules[the last one is in May].I have an English passport,a Dutch license and a Swedish digicard.I will be changing my license later this year for a Swedish one,but for the dcpc there has been no problem whatesoever.Everything here seems to work on your ‘‘person number’’,[the Swedish number you get when you are registered for tax,work and living here].
Maybe you need to look around a bit for a more ‘‘relaxed’’ company to do the dcpc.
I have done it in Swedish,but as the course seems to consist of chatting about transport,drinking coffee,meal breaks,then going home early[12.30]because it’s good skiing and snowmobiling weather it doesn’t seem so serious.

3

Do the DCPC courses work the same as the UK where you simply have to attend them to get the hours ? - it yes then does it matter that you cannot understand them :question:

4

Every country is different, here in BG I had to take 144hrs.+ for initial CPC, some countries like UK have only 35 hours. You have to check if Denmark will accept UK CPC without mandatory additional classes of CPC. Should not but you wanna make sure of it.

P.S. Don’t want to sound rude but, 13 years in Denmark and you cant speak the language to a level of simple conversation.Not good mate, not good!

5

Hi steve.Just a PS on my previous post.As Rog says,if you only have to be present then it makes no difference.If,for some reason you have to interact with the teacher then tell them you are not fluent and ask them to be patient with you,the Danes should be ok with that as long as you are trying,also you will be with other drivers,many of whom will speak English so can translate for you.
You could Always get a copy of the book sent from Enland to study,ok things will be different but it will give you a basic idea.
Also if you live in DK and have a DK driving license then together with your social nr your address will be in the system.It is surely better to have both in Danish,that way they are valid throughout EU.

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Dolph:
Every country is different, here in BG I had to take 144hrs.+ for initial CPC, some countries like UK have only 35 hours. You have to check if Denmark will accept UK CPC without mandatory additional classes of CPC. Should not but you wanna make sure of it.

P.S. Don’t want to sound rude but, 13 years in Denmark and you cant speak the language to a level of simple conversation.Not good mate, not good!

brits abroad :grimacing: old beam :sunglasses:

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hutpik:
It seems that every country has it’s own way of doing this crap.I live in the far North of Sweden and have,over the last few months,done 4 of the modules[the last one is in May].I have an English passport,a Dutch license and a Swedish digicard.I will be changing my license later this year for a Swedish one,but for the dcpc there has been no problem whatesoever.Everything here seems to work on your ‘‘person number’’,[the Swedish number you get when you are registered for tax,work and living here].
Maybe you need to look around a bit for a more ‘‘relaxed’’ company to do the dcpc.
I have done it in Swedish,but as the course seems to consist of chatting about transport,drinking coffee,meal breaks,then going home early[12.30]because it’s good skiing and snowmobiling weather it doesn’t seem so serious.

now thats how to do it :grimacing: :grimacing:

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Dolph:
Every country is different, here in BG I had to take 144hrs.+ for initial CPC, some countries like UK have only 35 hours.!

That will be why the standard of Bulgarian drivers is so high then. :wink:

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Just curious - you’ve lived in Denmark for 13 yrs but wouldn’t understand course?? Surely your Danish is somewhere near!

If not ask instructor to explain in English? Least your interacting !

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Harry Monk:

Dolph:
Every country is different, here in BG I had to take 144hrs.+ for initial CPC, some countries like UK have only 35 hours.!

That will be why the standard of Bulgarian drivers is so high then. :wink:

ha ha ha very funny…

11

Dolph:
ha ha ha very funny…

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been to Bulgaria four times, I loved the place to the point that I have seriously looked into moving there, but it’s a bit futile to suggest that Bulgarians set the standard when it comes to driving trucks. :stuck_out_tongue:

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Harry Monk:

Dolph:
ha ha ha very funny…

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been to Bulgaria four times, I loved the place to the point that I have seriously looked into moving there, but it’s a bit futile to suggest that Bulgarians set the standard when it comes to driving trucks. :stuck_out_tongue:

And WHERE did I suggested that?
I simply said how many hours are required here and Steve should be careful if Denmark requires more then 35 hours, because different EU countries chose different CPC hours requirement. Because of this UK CPC might not be completely valid and additional hours might be needed in Danish language.

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The DVSA system now allows training providers to enter foreign licence details and pay the upload fee as normal.

The foreign driver then applies via form DQC1 And gets a DQC.

That’s how I understand it but I’m not fully up to date on the process because I avoid it at all costs.

I’m back in my office next week. I have the full instructions somewhere and can come back to you with more detailed advice. However I think this link explains.

https://www.jaupt.org.uk/news/2016/01/non-uk-licence-upload-process-made-simpler

Don’t let anyone upload against your uk licence number. It will all go wrong as your uk licence is no longer live if you changed it for your Danish licence.

14

dcgpx:
Just curious - you’ve lived in Denmark for 13 yrs but wouldn’t understand course?? Surely your Danish is somewhere near!

If not ask instructor to explain in English? Least your interacting !

To take the course in Denmark you need to speak fluent Danish. I dont and it doesnt bother me. I have still managed to work for the same Company for thirteen years. I own 2 houses a car and three motorbikes. Living in Denmark without speaking Danish is not usually a problem.

Speaking Danish was not a condition of my job and neither was speaking German, when I lived in Germany for 8 years.

But I will overcome this little hurdle.

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I think it’s written. If you hold a licence for? Country you need at least 1 course from that country. Unless you have had the licence from another Eu country and completed the dcpc then moved and exchanged your country of residence

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nick2008:
I think it’s written. If you hold a licence for? Country you need at least 1 course from that country. Unless you have had the licence from another Eu country and completed the dcpc then moved and exchanged your country of residence

You are correct Nick, I mentioned that in my OP.

The problem with that is that the Danes will not accept that. I am happy to come to the UK and take the whole course and then come back to Denmark and sit in a classroom for a day. That would be the best option for me.

Even though the CPC is EU wide, there is not one central body to control it. All member states are given guidelines but are allowed to interprate them as they wish. So whereas the Gov.UK site states I can do the training abroad but the last 7 hours must be done in the UK. It does not apply to Denmark. They are telling me all the training must be done here.

The Europe wide rules on the CPC course and licencing are so complex. Not even the big test centres know them all.

But thanks to Pete on here there may be a simple solution.

DVLA rules state once I get to the UK I can drive on my Danish licence for 1 year. The DVSA computer can recognise my Danish licence and course hours but I cannot log in and see it on the system like UK licence holders. Once the course is finished I complete a DQC1 form with a UK address and they send the card there with my Danish licence number on the card. My Danish licence number is the same as my old UK licence but with GB at the end.

That is how it works in theory, I think. But it has never been tested.

17

How long(and costly) will take you to exchange DK licence back to UK licence, take the CPC course in UK, get the card and exchange both UK DL and CPC to a Danish once. May be a month or so, but if you consider the hassle here and there on DK licence, UK CPC etc. it might not be e bad idea to go for the long run and get your doc’s in UK.
Because if the Danes demand you take some classes there because your licence is DK and you don’t know the language, its like dead end.
If I was you I’ll fly back to UK and get he cpc there, echange licence, then back to DK and exchange again licence and cpc.

18

Dolph:
Every country is different, here in BG I had to take 144hrs.+ for initial CPC, some countries like UK have only 35 hours. You have to check if Denmark will accept UK CPC without mandatory additional classes of CPC. Should not but you wanna make sure of it.

P.S. Don’t want to sound rude but, 13 years in Denmark and you cant speak the language to a level of simple conversation.Not good mate, not good!

Yes not good, but i’ve got an English mate that’s lived in Belgium (Vlaanderen) for nearly 30 years & still can’t speak Flemish :frowning: This thing does seem quite common amongst English speakers… :frowning:

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Geoffo:

Dolph:
Every country is different, here in BG I had to take 144hrs.+ for initial CPC, some countries like UK have only 35 hours. You have to check if Denmark will accept UK CPC without mandatory additional classes of CPC. Should not but you wanna make sure of it.

P.S. Don’t want to sound rude but, 13 years in Denmark and you cant speak the language to a level of simple conversation.Not good mate, not good!

Yes not good, but i’ve got an English mate that’s lived in Belgium (Vlaanderen) for nearly 30 years & still can’t speak Flemish :frowning: This thing does seem quite common amongst English speakers… :frowning:

I’ve an uncle that’s lived in Africa 47 years he still only speaks English :wink:

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All i found yet

Driver CPC training for qualified drivers
How much training you need to do
When to take training
Finding training courses
Taking a training course
Getting your Driver CPC card
If you miss your training deadline
Training in other EU countries
If you have a licence from other countries
8. If you have a licence from other countries
You can get a Driver Certificate of Professional (CPC) card from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) if you live or work in the UK and have a driving licence from any of these countries:

an EU country
Gibraltar
Guernsey
Iceland
Isle of Man
Jersey
Liechtenstein
Norway
Switzerland
At least the last 7 hours of your periodic training must have been done in the UK.

To apply, send an email to DVSA asking for form DQC1.

DVSA customer services
customer.services@dsa.gsi.gov.uk

From then on, after doing 35 hours of periodic training in the UK, you’ll get your Driver CPC qualification for 5 years.

Exchanging your driving licence for a UK licence
You can get a UK Driver CPC card if you exchange your non-UK country or EU member state driving licence for a UK licence.

Your Driver CPC qualification will still last until the date it was due to run out when you first got it.

When you exchange your licence, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will tell DVSA for you.

If you already have a Driver CPC card

You’ll need to send your Driver CPC card to DVSA if you already have one. You’ll need to include your driving licence number in a short letter.

Driver CPC
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency

PO Box 280

Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

NE99 1FP

DVSA will send you a new Driver CPC card with the same number as your UK driving licence.

From then on, after doing 35 hours of periodic training in the UK, you’ll get your Driver CPC qualification for 5 years.

If you don’t have a Driver CPC card

DVSA will automatically send you a Driver CPC card when you complete 35 hours of periodic training.

gov.uk/driver-cpc-training/ … -countries
google.co.uk/search?client= … 8AesxIKIDg