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Being accompanied by a license holder to go to the DMV - California

sophiebianchi

Hi all,
My husband and I are in the process of obtaining our driving licenses here in California. We both have foreign licenses already (British and French), and my husband has an IDP.
We have passed our written test and got it, we now have appointments in July for the practice test. We were told by DMV staff that we need to be accompanied to the practice test by an adult who holds a California drivers license. Is this really the case, for two adults who already have a foreign license? This would be tricky as we dont know anyone here yet!
Keen to hear about other people's experiences please!
Thanks
Sophie

See also

Marriage in the United StatesTraveling to the USACustoms in the USAUK driving license and US driving licenseGreen Card
Ciambella

It's true that CA requires applicants to arrive at the DMV with an 18 years or older licensed driver (taxi, Uber, and Lyft drivers are qualified.) 

For your case:

The state of CA doesn't recognise IDP.  However, it allows foreigners to drive for up to one year with a valid license issued by the country where they're residents.  So, it's OK for you to drive on the streets of CA, as long as you have your valid British or French DL with you.  Just don't show your IDP to the police if they happen to pull you over.

twostep

Ciambella wrote:

It's true that CA requires applicants to arrive at the DMV with an 18 years or older licensed driver (taxi, Uber, and Lyft drivers are qualified.) 

For your case:

The state of CA doesn't recognise IDP.  However, it allows foreigners to drive for up to one year with a valid license issued by the country where they're residents.  So, it's OK for you to drive on the streets of CA, as long as you have your valid British or French DL with you.  Just don't show your IDP to the police if they happen to pull you over.


Please give a US state which recognizes an IDP as driver's license? It is basically a translation.

Ciambella

twostep wrote:

Please give a US state which recognizes an IDP as driver's license? It is basically a translation.


Washington, Idaho, Montana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Virginia, Connecticut, and Vermont recognise IDP.

Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, South Carolina, New Jersey, and Rhode Island accept IDP only if the foreign DL is not in English.

twostep

Ciambella wrote:
twostep wrote:

Please give a US state which recognizes an IDP as driver's license? It is basically a translation.


Washington, Idaho, Montana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Virginia, Connecticut, and Vermont recognise IDP.

Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, South Carolina, New Jersey, and Rhode Island accept IDP only if the foreign DL is not in English.


Please double check and set a link to the respective DMV.

Ciambella

twostep wrote:

Please double check and set a link to the respective DMV.


Please clarify on which of the information I posted is incorrect.  Also, DMV websites for all 50 states are available on the Internet.

twostep

Give me a US state which accepts an international driver's license as driver's license. It is a translation.

Ciambella

twostep wrote:

Give me a US state which accepts an international driver's license as driver's license. It is a translation.


All the states I mentioned in the first paragraph of post #4 accept IDP when presented together with the DL issued from the visitor's country.  No country in the world, AFAIK, accepts IDP alone.

All the states that were not mentioned allow visitors to drive with their own DL for a period of time, but they do not recognise IDP.

SimCityAT

Can we get things right, there is not a thing called an International Driving License. It is called an International Driving Permit (IDP).

An International Driving Permit is a translation of your national driving license. The IDP allows motorists to drive vehicles in foreign countries. You must always have your IDP along with your national license at all times.

OceanBeach92107

SimCityAT wrote:

Can we get things right, there is not a thing called an International Driving License. It is called an International Driving Permit (IDP).

An International Driving Permit is a translation of your national driving license. The IDP allows motorists to drive vehicles in foreign countries. You must always have your IDP along with your national license at all times.


Hmmm...

I definitely passed the test for and was issued an international driver's license in (then) West Germany (Nürnberg) in 1979.

Are you saying that those have been discontinued?

Brewpub56

This could help. But you might need to find a site like this from your country of origin.