Before you start

Established UK residence
Your foreign licence, which is surrendered on exchange
A UK address for the DVLA
Proof of identity, usually your passport plus an eVisa share code

Step-by-step

1
Check whether your country is a designated country
The DVLA publishes the list of countries whose licences can be exchanged without a test. If yours is on it the process is a form and a fee; if not, decades of experience count for nothing and you take the full UK theory and practical tests. Check rather than assume.
OnlineWho: YouBefore the twelve-month window closes
2
Act within the windows
You may generally drive on a valid foreign licence for twelve months after becoming resident. A designated-country exchange must be made within five years of that date. Missing either costs you options rather than money.
OnlineWho: You
3
Apply to the DVLA and expect to be without your licence
Exchange applications go to Swansea with your original foreign licence, which is retained and not returned. Processing takes weeks, so do not post it before a trip home where you intend to drive.
OnlineWho: You
4
Check the parking zone before you sign for a flat, not after
Portsea Island is dense terraced housing with almost no off-street parking, and most of it is covered by residents' permit zones with waiting lists in the tightest streets. A permit does not guarantee a space on your own road. Ask which zone the address is in and whether permits are actually being issued for it before you commit — this is the single most common regret of people who move here with a car.
OnlineWho: YouBefore you move
5
Do not budget for a clean air charge on a car, because there is not one
Portsmouth's zone is class B: non-compliant taxis and private hire vehicles pay £10 a day and non-compliant HGVs, buses and coaches pay £50 a day, midnight to midnight. Private cars, vans and motorcycles are outside the charging classes entirely. If you drive a van for work, check its Euro standard on the GOV.UK vehicle checker rather than on a third-party site — several sites charging 'CAZ payment fees' are not official.
OnlineWho: You
6
Learn the crossings, then decide whether you need the car at all
Everything on and off the island funnels through a handful of roads, and the ferry port, the dockyard and the football all put surges through them. The city is flat, compact and about four miles end to end, the seafront and Eastern Road have decent cycle routes, and three railway stations sit on the island. A very large number of people here run one car per household rather than two, deliberately.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Foreign driving licence
Passport and eVisa share code
Proof of a Portsmouth address
The DVLA application form appropriate to your licence's country of issue

Things most newcomers don’t know

Portsmouth's clean air zone charges commercial vehicles and has never charged a car.

The zone launched on 29 November 2021 as class B — taxis, private hire, buses, coaches and HGVs only. Drivers arriving from Bristol or Birmingham assume every English CAZ works the same way and either budget a charge they will never pay or, worse, pay a scam site claiming to collect it. If you drive a van for work, check it; if you drive a car, ignore the whole subject.

Source: Cleaner Air Portsmouth — charges

Parking, not emissions, is what makes a car expensive on this island.

Portsmouth is the second most densely populated local authority outside London, its housing is Victorian terraces without driveways, and permit zones cover most of the island. A permit is a licence to look for a space, not a space. Ask about the zone before you take the flat — afterwards there is nothing to be done.

Source: Portsmouth City Council

The designated-country list is the entire question, and people guess instead of checking.

A designated-country licence is exchanged with a form, a fee and no test, within five years of becoming resident. Everything else means the full UK theory and practical tests regardless of experience, and practical test waiting lists are long. Ten minutes on the DVLA site decides whether this is an errand or a six-month project.

Source: GOV.UK — exchange a foreign driving licence

Twelve months on a foreign licence, and then it simply stops.

People drive for years on a home licence without realising it ceased to be valid after the first year of residence. Nothing flags it until an insurance claim after an accident, at which point the policy may not respond. Diary the date you became resident.

Source: GOV.UK — driving in Great Britain on a non-GB licence

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming Portsmouth charges cars in its clean air zone because Bristol and Birmingham do.
Paying a 'CAZ charge' on a site that is not the GOV.UK service.
Taking a flat without checking whether its permit zone is issuing permits.
Assuming your country is designated without checking the DVLA list.
Driving past the twelve-month window on a foreign licence and invalidating your insurance.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.