Hi All,

I am not sure this is the correct forum and this topic has probably been discussed at some point but I thought you might like to know.

I thought I would get around the USA driving license issue by applying for an International Driving Permit before I get to the USA. It costs $15.00 dollars here in Australia and all you need is your current drivers license to get one. It permits you to drive anywhere in the world and lasts 12mths and means you can drive legally in the USA taking the pressure off getting your US Drivers license quickly because you have to get an SSN first to apply for it.

So basically you can drive while all that paperwork is going through. Not sure how you get it in other countries.

Thank you very much for this information

You need to check the validity of an International Driving Permit in the state you will be living in. I saw at least one state which will only recognise it for 3 months while others will let you drive until it expires. Here in the UK you can ask to have your International Permit be valid from the date you plan to travel, useful if you want to get the maximun 12 months.

If your Driving License is in English you dont need an International Driving Permit... as all it does is translate your foreign license into English.... you will find it is only valid for the same length of time as your foreign license....


Kez

Not too sure but I think the international drivers licence is only good outside your home country. If you are immigrating to the States your IDL would most likely become invalid inyour newly adopted country and would necessitate getting an American licence. Bring an immigrant there may be moment of grace as is for everyone else.

this is from the NYS DMV site...

and this is from the CAlifornia DMV site...



other States might be similar to this... you have to check out the State's DMV site to find out if they accept the International Driving permit...

We were told by the misinformation desk at our local driver services dept that Joel needed to get an IDL. They were wrong. We called AAA (they issue IDL's) and we were told by them that it ISN'T a driver's license. It only states that the one you have is valid. That being said, my husband's Canadian license was only as good as the length of his I-94. We had to apply for and wait (as instructed by the DDS) for his EAD. With that we also had to prove his residency. We live in Georgia, so it might be different elsewhere.

I was able to use my UK license here in MA until I got my EAD then I had to take the witten and road test to get my State license....


Kez

Several states allow you to drive with your 'foreign' driver's license for 6 months, however many will not do much beyond that time either as the local cops do not know much about the rules governing the time etc. for using a foreign license. So one can take a chance if the EAD or greencard has not been received within 6 months - I know on one Colombian who drove for an additional 2 or 3 months before getting hergrencard and then the state license (she drove a little extra carefully in the period after 6 months.). Good Luck

It is NOT a driving license, it is just a legal translation of your license into other languages.

I used to be a police officer in the UK. If I stopped a person driving visiting from another country and they produced a driving license I couldn't understand they were also required to produce an International Driving Permit which in effect decoded their license for me. Your legal driving licence is your Australian one and how long you can drive here in the US on it depends on the reciprocal aggreement between the USA and Australia as to how long they will accept each others licenses. That time can be different for visitors and residents.

As an example the UK accept US licenses for one year and when I checked with Oregon DMV they told me my UK license was good for one year here.

I was very clear in the OP about it being a ONLY a PERMIT, buying time until your paper work to get a USA Drivers LICENSE through and also that Australia's rulings on the use of this PERMIT may differ from other countries.

Regards

girlfrmoz,

You thought wrong, an 'International Driving Permit' does not mean that you can legally drive in the USA. The motor vehicle laws of each individual state dictate what is required to drive legally in that state, not some outfit in Australia collecting $15 from you.

Your Australian driver's license will enable you to drive for some period of time here in the USA, the IDP is meaningless.

Yodrak

Maybe I have been misinformed but this is what the Oz AAA website says, and I quote....

"IDPs are a special permit for tourists, authorised by a United Nations Treaty for the purpose of allowing motorists to drive internationally without further tests or applications provided their domestic drivers licence is valid;

An IDP is proof that you hold a valid drivers licence in your home country at the date of issue of the IDP and should be carried with your domestic drivers licence;

A valid IDP permits you to drive in most foreign countries in case of an emergency under normal IDP conditions."

I think the point is that once you emigrate to the States, you're not a tourist...

The whole point was I thought it might help until one has all their paperwork processed.

when you move to the United States, you usually have a X amount of days before you need to get your US driver's license... the number of days depends on the State...

I really don't think a IDP will make any difference.. you will still need to follow the rules of the State or refrain from driving until you can get your US driving license.... just my opinion ....

girlfrmoz,

Notice that each paragraph in that write-up ties back to the person's home-country driver's license. That's what the US states look to and say that they will allow a person to drive in the US on the basis of - their home-country license.

As other posters have written, the value of an IDP is in providing the driver's license information in English when the license is issued in a non-English language. For an Austrailian, an IDP has no value. An Australian drivers license may look unusual to a US police officer, but they will be able to read it and understand what it is.

Yodrak