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Getting my UK Driving License - UoN Sutton Bonington

Hi; I have a handful of related questions. I am from the USA and will be studying veterinary medicine at the University of Nottingham's Sutton Bonington campus. It looks to be that I will have to travel a decent distance to do my shopping while living there.
Is it it recommended to get my UK driving license my first year? Will the process be more difficult if I wait until later years? Where should I research the process of getting my license?
Anything helps. Thank you!
Reply 1
im not familiar with the area, but do you really need a car? the vast majority of university students in the uk do not have or take their cars to campus, and most travel is done on foot, bike or bus - all of which are usually very accessible/convenient on university campuses here

i'd have thought most people in the uk either get their license before or after university, rather than during, but you can certainly make time for it

do you have an american license?
Original post by HoldThisL
im not familiar with the area, but do you really need a car? the vast majority of university students in the uk do not have or take their cars to campus, and most travel is done on foot, bike or bus - all of which are usually very accessible/convenient on university campuses here
i'd have thought most people in the uk either get their license before or after university, rather than during, but you can certainly make time for it
do you have an american license?

A car on SB is definitely beneficial! The campus is basically in a field between a few small villages so shopping can be hard
(edited 8 months ago)
Original post by leo_g
Hi; I have a handful of related questions. I am from the USA and will be studying veterinary medicine at the University of Nottingham's Sutton Bonington campus. It looks to be that I will have to travel a decent distance to do my shopping while living there.
Is it it recommended to get my UK driving license my first year? Will the process be more difficult if I wait until later years? Where should I research the process of getting my license?
Anything helps. Thank you!

Hi, Im a current student (4th year april vet med). You can survive without a car in first year. Supermarkets deliver to campus and its highly likely that one of your housemates will have a car and you can carpool to the shops!

I wouldn't say the process is more difficult but you may have less time. Id say the years you have the most time to learn is 1st year and 3rd year. The one thing i would say is if you want to be able to drive a bit further to complete placements (these have to be completed in your holiday/breaks) a car is beneficial. For rotations in 5th year a car/license (can share uni vehicles) is recommended.

To research the process go onto the DVLA website
Reply 4
Original post by leo_g
Hi; I have a handful of related questions. I am from the USA and will be studying veterinary medicine at the University of Nottingham's Sutton Bonington campus. It looks to be that I will have to travel a decent distance to do my shopping while living there.
Is it it recommended to get my UK driving license my first year? Will the process be more difficult if I wait until later years? Where should I research the process of getting my license?
Anything helps. Thank you!

If you have a US drivers license then you can use that for the first 12 months in the UK.

You won't be able to apply for a GB provisional licence until you've been in the UK for 6 months.

More information here: https://www.gov.uk/driving-nongb-licence/y/a-foreign-student-studying-in-great-britain/non-european-union

If you get a car then you'll need to get insurance to drive it. Insurance for young drivers is already expensive, and being a young driver driving on a foreign licence may well make the cost of insurance prohibitive.

If you don't have a US license and get a GB provisional, you'll need to be supervised while driving by an appropriate person -- see https://www.gov.uk/driving-lessons-learning-to-drive/practising-with-family-or-friends -- or get driving lessons from a driving instructor.

You would need to check what happens if you're driving on a US license, and take and fail a GB test. Failing the test might result in you no longer being able to drive unsupervised in that first 12-month period on your US license.

(Note that I'm using 'GB' rather than 'UK' because driving licences in the UK are issued either in Great Britain (by DVLA) or by Northern Ireland (by DVA).)
Reply 5
Original post by flamingolover
Hi, Im a current student (4th year april vet med). You can survive without a car in first year. Supermarkets deliver to campus and its highly likely that one of your housemates will have a car and you can carpool to the shops!
I wouldn't say the process is more difficult but you may have less time. Id say the years you have the most time to learn is 1st year and 3rd year. The one thing i would say is if you want to be able to drive a bit further to complete placements (these have to be completed in your holiday/breaks) a car is beneficial. For rotations in 5th year a car/license (can share uni vehicles) is recommended.
To research the process go onto the DVLA website


Fantastic, thank you!
Reply 6
Original post by martin7
If you have a US drivers license then you can use that for the first 12 months in the UK.
You won't be able to apply for a GB provisional licence until you've been in the UK for 6 months.
More information here: https://www.gov.uk/driving-nongb-licence/y/a-foreign-student-studying-in-great-britain/non-european-union
If you get a car then you'll need to get insurance to drive it. Insurance for young drivers is already expensive, and being a young driver driving on a foreign licence may well make the cost of insurance prohibitive.
If you don't have a US license and get a GB provisional, you'll need to be supervised while driving by an appropriate person -- see https://www.gov.uk/driving-lessons-learning-to-drive/practising-with-family-or-friends -- or get driving lessons from a driving instructor.
You would need to check what happens if you're driving on a US license, and take and fail a GB test. Failing the test might result in you no longer being able to drive unsupervised in that first 12-month period on your US license.
(Note that I'm using 'GB' rather than 'UK' because driving licences in the UK are issued either in Great Britain (by DVLA) or by Northern Ireland (by DVA).)


Thanks so much! This is all very helpful :smile:

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