Comments | expats: US driver's licence

juliann in expats

US driver's licence

Jun 28, 2004 22:07

I don't drive here in the UK so I have never been required to surrender my US DL. However, I can't just renew on my next trip because my parents have moved states and to get my DL transferred to their state would cost beaucoup de bucks as they require proof of insurance. (Which there's no need for me to get, since I don't drive there, plus I am ( Read more... )

driving

Comments 15

duir_id June 28 2004, 14:20:44 UTC

OK what state will you have to get your new license in? I'm English have my UK lisence, had to pay $60 to get my NE license and $178 to get my OR one, but I never had to show proof of insurence....

Just a thought...

juliann June 28 2004, 14:27:51 UTC

New state would be North Carolina. You're required to show minimum liability coverage. I'm having trouble getting quotes online since I don't have a car that needs insuring, just myself!

duir_id June 28 2004, 14:29:36 UTC

I swear this bloody country is crazy when it comes to stuff like that. It should be the one license no matter where you live... Oh well

rjshook June 29 2004, 00:11:40 UTC

That's so strange a concept. Up until now I though it is always the car you insure and not the driver. Isn't it South Carolina where you get your driver's license from a cracker jack box?

Thread 5

catyak June 28 2004, 14:43:52 UTC

You don't have to surrender a US licence to get a UK one because you have to do a test in the UK. As such, you're not exchanging your licence, merely adding a new one to your collection. It's worth getting a UK one at some point, simply because it's valid until your 70th birthday.

D

far_gone June 28 2004, 14:49:32 UTC

I agree! Plus, technically, your US license is not valid if you've been living in the UK for more than a year.

Do you have a friend in your old state who would let you use their address for the license renewal? I've gotten my UK license (after three tries!!) but I also keep my US one up to date using my sister's address. I'll probably just let the US one lapse though now that I've got the UK one. It's easy to get a new one once you move back there, if that's the plan.

ps- I've heard that a few states actually have reciprocity with the UK -- maybe that's urban legend, but it might be worth a phone call?

juliann August 3 2004, 04:03:08 UTC

I suspect this is a result of the big LJ email glitch :) Anyway your US licence is not valid *in the UK* after you've been there one year, it's still valid anywhere else :)

I managed to get mine in the new state after all. And no, there are no US states with reciprocity; but some commonwealth countries have it.

juliann June 28 2004, 15:06:17 UTC

Yeah but it's a right PITA the new test with all of the car maintenance stuff etc :) And I am probably not eligible to get a license since many of the medications I am on for disability have the potential to decrease reaction times. (They don't do that to me, but unless I can talk my GP into signing me off, the law says I can't drive just because it is a potential side effect!)

Thread 5

choptliver June 28 2004, 16:44:21 UTC

I have no idea if this would work for you, but when my California license was about to expire, they sent a renewal letter to my friend's address, but said I had to renew in person. Not convenient from the UK. I ended up telephoning them and telling them I spent time in both countries, but wouldn't be back in the US in time to renew. They gave me another year over the phone and mailed me the little extension card, advising me to stop in and renew next time I was in the state. Then I had a baby and couldn't get back to the US for more than a year, so it's all gone away, but it worked for a while!

juliann June 28 2004, 16:58:32 UTC

I could probably get away with it, except I did the "student living abroad" line last time...I think they'd be on to me ;)

choptliver June 28 2004, 17:10:59 UTC

Probably, yes. :-) Then again, you're going to lose it if you don't try something soon. If they say no, you haven't lost anything you weren't going to lose anyway.

nellwyn June 29 2004, 00:44:27 UTC

Have you looked into forwarding your mail from that old address? That way you might be able to get the sticker either in the UK or to your parents' new address. Does your UK insurance cover you driving in the US (or could it for not too much money)?

International Driving Permit f_l_i_r_t June 29 2004, 02:32:21 UTC

Have a look at the AA's website: http://www.theaa.com/getaway/idp/
or
http://www.drivingpermit.co.uk/
or
http://www.idlicense.com/

The last link is interesting. Upon further reading, you have to have a valid drivers liscense from a country to get the permit, so this probably brings you back to stage one. *sigh*

Just food for thought on another way to deal with the liscense issue.