Can a person whose driver’s license has been revoked in the U.S. drive on an international driving permit in the States if he has legitimately obtained a license in a foreign country as a resident of that country? I’m not talking about the Internet scams that are selling fake permits for $150 and claim such nonsense as “The International Driving Permit cannot be assessed points, revoked or suspended!” I’m talking about a legitimate permit based on a legal driver’s license issued in a foreign country.
I’ve searched the web and haven’t come up with any useful information. Anyone who is in law enforcement or otherwise knows, please help!
Is the hypothetical person a citizen of the US or of the country where the permit was obtained? Where does he/she maintain residency? How long is the permit good for?
Where is the car registered, or do we assume a rental?
At least from the US perspective, citizens of most countries who hold valid driver’s licences/ operating permits can use them for up to thirty days (varies by locality). After that, it’s up to the local DMV.
Since we’re stipulating a suspended licence in the US, I don’t know if a permit from another country would work.
The person is a U.S. citizen (okay, it’s me), but a resident of Japan (5 years). The international driving permit is valid for one year. Assume that I want to visit my family in Illinois, where my license was revoked 16 years ago, and drive either my parent’s car or a rental. I have a valid Japanese driver’s licence and an international driving permit. I wouldn’t be able to petition for a reinstatement of my Illinois driver’s license since I am no longer a resident of the state. Does that put me in a state of driving limbo or would I be legally allowed to drive on my Japanese license with the international permit?
If you’re a Japanese resident with a US passport and you’re only going to be driving for a short time, I think you should be fine. The scenario I had in mind was more of having concurrent drining permits, which would screw things up more. IANAL and IANALEO (Law enforcement officer), but if the permit is valid, then you’ll be extended the same courtesy that anyone else holding that permit who comes to the US. Check with the local authorities beforehand, and be sure to tell any car rental place. They may have a waiver for you to sign.
From my understanding, the International driving permit isn’t a licence itself, but is just an aid to translation. Basically, it just says ‘this person’s real drivers licence is valid and has so-and-so restrictions’ in several different languages. It lets people know that the funny Japanese document you’re showing them is a real licence. I think the fact that your licence was suspended is irrelavent. I’m American and living in the UK. When my Texas licence expired I just use my UK licence when visiting the US. If you moved back you’d have to get a new licence within 30 days, but otherwise you’re just like any other foreign tourist.
I have been in a similar situation lately. I am an Australian resident and have an expired Australian license. I live in the UK and have a UK license AND an international drivers license for travelling about Europe (but it is not really needed in the EU). I have returned to Australia on a number of occasions and been driving on my International License but have never been checked so can’t tell you what the law is.
Mind you I also have a UK passport so am effectively a UK ‘citizen’ so the Australian expired license need not be mentioned if I get pulled up (I’ll just say I’m and Englishman!) Is it possible for you to apply for residencey or a Japanese passport?? This would cover your butt should you get pulled over in the US.
Teach, when looking for free legal advice you usually get what you pay for. The troubling part of your question is you ask about a driver with a revoked license. It is important to know whether you mean a license that has expired by time or a license that was suspended by a state for a particular reason. If you are in the second category, you need to ask a lawyer not a message board.
Otherwise, you might end up deciding to risk. Then you might find out that it is illegal for you to drive in Illinois without clearing up the reason for the suspension. That might get you arrested. Then, you might decide - what the heck, they’ll never find me in Japan. Fianlly, you’lll decide to visit you family again. You’ll check for good ticket prices and end up with a flight that connects through Seattle. During the flight, the weather will be bad and the kid in the sit behind you will manage the Herculean task of kicking your chair for the entire flight. In Seattle, you’ll be nearly delirious and seeing things. At Customs, the friendly uniformed giraffe will check your passport, then make nice small talk. Eventually, you will realize something isn’t right here - the customs giraffes never make small talk. At about this time, the two not-friendly uniformed Customs gorillas will pick up you and your luggage and put you in a cage. This too will seem odd.
After some time, you’ll think to ask why you’re there, and they’ll remind you of that little driving in Illinois with a suspended license.
YMMV
Good point, liebfels. I certainly wouldn’t want to risk driving without knowing for sure whether it was legal or not. At this point, however, I am just curious what others think about these circumstances.
To clear a few things up, I should point out that I’m talking about a revoked Illinois license, not a suspended license or an expired license. I don’t know about other states, but these are three distinct categories. Revoked means that driving privileges have been taken away indefinitely, usually for serious offenses like DUI. A person with a revoked license can apply for reinstatement after a certain period, but the state is not obligated to grant reinstatement. The problem in my case is that I can’t apply for reinstatement since I am not an Illinois resident.