She was commissioned into service on 18 October 1940, and after working up, was assigned to the 16th Destroyer Flotilla at Scapa Flow.

In January Exmoor was part of the escort for the battleship Queen Elizabeth as she sailed from Portsmouth to Rosyth.

Exmoor then sailed to Harwich to begin escorting coastal convoys through the North Sea with the 16th Destroyer Flotilla.

During a 2008-2011 marine biology survey of the area in which she was sunk, the RV Cefas Endeavour discovered the wreck.

[2] A later Hunt-class destroyer, previously planned as HMS Burton, was renamed and launched as Exmoor.