What I want to know is, is a UK driving license valid in the USA and if it is is there any limitations to anything I can do? Cheers.
You should have no problems for a holiday, but if you’re moving here you’ll need to get a new license from the state you’re moving to. Typically, you have 30 days from the date of move to do this. I recently moved from GA to NC and had to get a new license myself.
I had to deal with this while working in Texas a few years back. My understanding was that I needed an international drvers permit which would be valid for one year, anywhere in the world. Can’t remember where I got it, but it couldn’t hurt to call the DMV and ask. The Post office should also be a good place to start.
You can use a UK license for temporary car rental anywhere in the States.
To live there, you need to get a state driving license. What this requires differs from state to state.
so tempting…
My wife, here on a tourist visa, had no limitations on her liscense. She did have to take the test twice though. Study the manual for the state you will be driving in.
Also, unless you have done a lot of driving in Europe, you might want to practice driving on the right really late at night.
When we went over last year, we needed an International Driving Permit - obtainable from the AA or larger Post Offices.
Grim
Yes, you won’t be able to see any of the other drivers use their turn signals. At least that’s how it seemed to me.
I have never used an IDP and I have driven all over. Let me tell you the true story of an Australian I know rather well. The story is 40 years old and things may have changed since then.
Said Australian spent a year at Tulane. The US consulate advised him to get an IDP and he did. When he was stopped (that was a rather frequent occurrence with him–still is), he showed the cop the IDP who looked askance and obviously had no idea. When my friend explained about treaties and such (I think he is rather pompous about asserting formal rights without much sense of how to act appropriately) the cop opined that yes, he had heard of the US government (remember, this was in Louisiana at the height of civil rights agitation) but didn’t consider himself bound by anything it did. Finally, my friend showed his Australian permit and that was a different story. That he accepted with no problem. My guess is that any licence in English will be perfectly acceptable. Although mine is in French only come to think of it. I have been stopped only once in the US and there was no problem. What I would do is ask the rental agency what they will accept and be guided by that. It is a pretty safe bet that they won’t rent to someone with insufficient documentation to be acceptable locally.
You don’t need an international divers permit. They are used for two different reasons. One is that there is typically a couple of different languages on it so who ever looks at the permit can see what you are registered to drive. The second is in some places they will take your license so that you can keep your real license. I have driven in Ireland, England and Russia and have never been asked for anything but my normal license.
You can skip the IDP, its sole purpose is to act as a translation tool.
I second that. There is an international convention of a bunch of countries that honor one another’s driver’s licenses, but if you get pulled over in Egypt and the cop doesn’t speak English (likely) or read it (even more likely) then he won’t even be able to tell what you have, so an IDP is handy. You definintely don’t need one to travel among English-speaking countries.
I am from the UK and was once stopped in the USA.
In the very early hours of the morning I was stopped at a traffic light that was flashing amber. They don’t do that in the UK so I hesitated. In my rear view mirror, I saw a police car that had just passed me going the other way, do a U-turn. He followed me for a few miles and then pulled me over.
I was going just over the speed limit, but I suspect he was more interested in my sobriety. My companion from Australia was absolutely plastered, but I hadn’t touched a drop.
Asked for my driving licence I pulled out my flimsy pink, pictureless, UK drivers licence. “What’s this?”. I explained and offered my passport. The cop did not seem at all sure what to do, but seemed satisfied with my explanation and my fitness to drive.
The policeman returned to his car and pulled away. I found myself following him. Ahead was another police car; he pulled over. I suspect that he wanted to check the correct procedure with a colleague.
It is true that UK licences now have picture cards issued with them, but I’d advice keeping your passport with you when you drive.
Sorry but I would advise the opposite. Late at night is dark, road signs, markings, obstructions, are much harder to see. If you are worried, maybe start driving on a Sunday, no one in America seems to drive very well on a Sunday, so you will fot right in. Seriously though, as long as you have a left hand drive car to use, the side of the road will not be a problem.
I am working in CA in a company with many UK ex-pats and none have found the side of the road driven on to be a problem. Several road rules can be confusing though, so get the state driving manual for the states that you visit. Also all the ex-pats came here with UK driving licenses, and I am aware of no one having any problem with them. After you have a resident’s visa, you need to get a state drivers license here. The CA driving test is rediculously easy compared to the UK test.
Cheers, Bippy
Been through this, as Fierra had to get her Kansas license after coming over from the UK.
In Kansas, you have 90 days from entry to get a Kansas driving license.
You don’t even need a full UK license. I came to California (Palo Alto) with a Provisional License and they exchanged it for a temporary license (for a year) without even having to pass a test. In the US, ‘Provisional License’ means that you have passed your test but are still under a certain age. In the UK, ‘Provisional License’ means that you can take lessons and drive with someone who has a full license (and is over the age of 25) - it does not mean you have passed your test.
I also agree that you don’t need an IDP. I had no problem using a UK licence to rent cars on the many US trips I did. After moving to the US (Georgia), I had to get a GA license within 30 days. When I didn’t get round to it, my insurance company cancelled me.
When I finally did get my GA license, the GA authorities insisted that I had to surrender my UK licence. Not being too keen on this (how dare they take away my right to drive in a another country?), I checked with the British Consulate. They told me that I did indeed have to surrender my UK licence, but not to worry - GA send them to the British Consulate who happily mail them back to their rightful owners.