Passport during ride?

[RobW]

Apologies if already asked - quick search didn't throw up a definitive answer, but maybe I was too hasty

I know we need photo ID for registration, but is there any need to carry a passport on the actual ride? Didn't see anything in rules, and I don't typically carry it on me all the time when travelling. I know some hotels want them on check-in though, which I guess could be an issue en-route.

[marcusjb]

I will carry mine on the ride, for little other reason than there are things I don't mind leaving at a hotel for a few days but a passport isn't on that list.

[RobW]

I will carry mine on the ride, for little other reason than there are things I don't mind leaving at a hotel for a few days but a passport isn't on that list.

There is always that aspect. Good point, thanks!

[BlackSheep]

I will carry mine on the ride, for little other reason than there are things I don't mind leaving at a hotel for a few days but a passport isn't on that list.

And of course most importantly your EHIC 

[L.Lagopus]

I will carry mine on the ride, for little other reason than there are things I don't mind leaving at a hotel for a few days but a passport isn't on that list.

I am unsure if there is a greater probability of my passport disappearing from hotel storage, or me losing it somewhere along the ride in sleep deprived brain fog.  I think I will wait and decide after getting a feel for my comfort level with my chosen pre- and post-ride accommodations.

[The French Tandem]

Apologies if already asked - quick search didn't throw up a definitive answer, but maybe I was too hasty

It was already asked, and answered, but you are already forgiven 

The PBP rules probably do not say anything about that, but the local laws say that if you find yourself on a public road, the gendarmes may ask you for your ID at any time, even if you did not commit the slightest offence.

It happens to me at least once or twice a year while driving my car. It never happened to me while riding a bicycle, but the law opens up this possibility.

[rodgers73]

Wouldn't a UK driving licence do for ID purposes while out on the ride??

[rafletcher]

Wouldn't a UK driving licence do for ID purposes while out on the ride??

Nope, it's not an identity card. Our version is the passport.

[The French Tandem]

Every time I get arrested for a routine control, the gendarme asks for my driving licence and ID card, so I can guess that the driving licence is not considered as an ID card in itself.

[Salvatore]

Wouldn't a UK driving licence do for ID purposes while out on the ride??

Nope, it's not an identity card. Our version is the passport.

That's what I understood, but gov.uk seems to disagree.
 https://www.gov.uk/government/world-location-news/dont-let-a-lost-passport-spoil-your-christmas-warns-british-embassy-paris

For what it's worth,  I'll have mine with me.

[T42]

As I understand it you don't have to carry ID at all times here, but if asked by the police or a gendarme for it and you haven't got it with you, you must produce it at the local station for wherever you're stopped in the next 24 hours.  The easiest thing to do is carry your passport all the time.

If you're stopped when driving and asked for your licence, it's an offence not to have it. 

[mmmmartin]

don't get me started on the myriad advantages of the wonderful UK identity card I bought for £30 when they came out several years ago. A fraction of the price for a passport, lighter, more waterproof, valid all over Europe, much smaller, just ideal for travelling. If those bloody Lib Dems hadn't been in government this useful item would be available to us now.

mind you, i still use it for ID on French campsites and at hotels, etc. 

[redfalo]

I will carry my (German) ID card AND my passport on the bike. All this would be completely unnecessary if this very British Island was part of Schengen, but please don't get me started on that one...

[jsabine]

Every time I get arrested for a routine control, the gendarme asks for my driving licence and ID card, so I can guess that the driving licence is not considered as an ID card in itself.

Stopped and check might be better translations - arrested here definitely has connotations of being detained because the police believe you've committed an offence and want to investigate or to charge you.

I will carry my (German) ID card AND my passport on the bike. All this would be completely unnecessary if this very British Island was part of Schengen, but please don't get me started on that one...

You'd still need to be carrying an ID document, or be able to produce it within 24 hours, as T42 says - Schengen has nothing to do with that.

[The French Tandem]

Every time I get arrested for a routine control, the gendarme asks for my driving licence and ID card, so I can guess that the driving licence is not considered as an ID card in itself.

Stopped and check might be better translations - arrested here definitely has connotations of being detained because the police believe you've committed an offence and want to investigate or to charge you.

Thank you for the correct translation! I was, indeed, not detained, but just stopped for less than five minutes! May I add up, for all who are worried about that, that most of the times, the gendarmes are very polite and quick in doing their job, and that the whole thing is not as bad as it might sound.

[Redlight]

don't get me started on the myriad advantages of the wonderful UK identity card... If those bloody Lib Dems hadn't been in government this useful item would be available to us now.

Going off topic,  but I don't think it was only the LibDems. The Conservatives were opposed to the ID scheme too and I recall Damian Green, as Home Office minister responsible for passports, taking great delight in (literally) driving a JCB over the hardware on which the data was stored.

[zigzag]

i'll take my id card which replaces passport when traveling within eu/eea

[redfalo]

I will carry my (German) ID card AND my passport on the bike. All this would be completely unnecessary if this very British Island was part of Schengen, but please don't get me started on that one...

You'd still need to be carrying an ID document, or be able to produce it within 24 hours, as T42 says - Schengen has nothing to do with that.

Well. If you cannot produce an ID within 24 hours, you may get in trouble in the Schengen area. If I cannot produce an ID at UK border, I cannot get home. I'd call this a material difference.

In 2006, on a three week bike ride in from Germany to Sweden, my better half realized after about a week that she did not carry any ID. We got it posted, as we thought we may need it on the return ferry journey via Denmark. We did not.