• There's a lot to know before you can drive on a public thoroughfare in the United Kingdom.Car key image by Corneliu C from Fotolia.com
  
  To get behind the wheel of a vehicle and on a public road in the United Kingdom (U.K.), you have to have a valid driver's license. There is a lot to know about when and how you can obtain your driver's license, as well as your obligations as a U.K. driver's license holder.
  
  

Requirements

• To obtain a legal driver's license in the U.K. you must be at least 17 years of age and have passed your driver's license test.
  
  

Testing

• You must pass a written exam before you may get your drivers license.taking test image by Petro Feketa from Fotolia.com
  
  Before you can learn to drive a vehicle, you must apply for, and receive, your provisional driving license. You may apply for your license three months before your seventeenth birthday, though the license will not become valid until your birthday. Once the license is valid, you may begin practicing driving skills, and theory test for your full license at any time. After you have taken and passed your theory test, you may then apply to take the practical driving test. After your driving ability and road knowledge is tested during the practical test, the examiner will decide whether or not you are fit to receive your full driver's license.
  
  

Age Restrictions

• You may begin driving small vehicles at age 17 in the U.K..mini_1 image by maxuser from Fotolia.com
  
  All though 17 is the minimum age to obtain a drivers license in the United Kingdom, there are age specific restrictions on what vehicles can be driven. Age 17 is when you may begin driving four-wheeled vehicles and tractors and at 18-years-old you may begin driving medium sized vehicles weighing more 3,500 kg (about 7,700 pounds). At age 21 restrictions are lifted.
  
  

Obligations

• You must pass an eye exam before you can drive in the U.K..eye test chart image by Keith Frith from Fotolia.com
  
  As a driver's license holder in the United Kingdom, you have certain obligations. These include making sure that the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is up-to-date on all of your personal information, you obtain the proper insurance and registration for your vehicle, and that you meet the legal eyesight requirements before you get behind the wheel.
  
  

Disqualifications

• You may be disqualified from holding a United Kingdom driver's license if you are convicted of a motoring- or alcohol-related offense.