celticgrid

Do you need an International Drinving Permit? It depends.

Technically for many things you don't. But get one anyway because some places / people will insist that you DO need it, and it is far less hassle to get one and flash it than try battling against their opinions.

FYI....I did what you are doing last year, though not in IL. Off the plane, bought a car with cash. No need for a SS number, just a valid license. That is, what the garage deemed was a valid license in the state. They took a UK license with the International permit.

Then wait a few days for a SS number, drive to DMV and get a learner's permit. Get used to the car, then take test in it.

Insurance? Used Allstate, who were happy to accept a letter I brought from UK showing driving history etc. to drive down the premium. Also, that Allstate office required the International permit. As far as they were concerned I had a valid license, even if it wasn't a US one. (Timing as to how long that works is state specific)

So, job done. International permit might not have been needed but it came in handy and for a few quid it removed an awful lot of potential hassle.

NiceOneDelBoy

I don't think I said it was a pre-requisite, but rather in my experience at an agency most were only accepted with an international license.... I believe most insurance companies domiciled in the US, have affiliations in Canada, Mexico etc. I knew a couple who had a french license and to the insurance underwriters it was processed and reviewed as an international license. I guess international license can have a number of variations in the insurance industries eyes.

Most insurance agencies have a tiered rating based on driving history, age and a lot of time credit. If you go into an Insurance Agency and have a non US (and some surrounding areas i.e. Canada, Virgin Islands etc.) It is likely that you will be placed in the lowest tier (and therefore highest price) until you obtain a US license.

(I guess I should put a disclaimer that this is just in my experience and also there are many considerations and discounts available i.e. documentation of driving history)

Bob

Or if it is the old style paper one without the photo...then it can be worth getting.

geordieland

It has been a dozen years since I did this, but back then there was a difference on how long you could drive on your English license depending on whether you were visiting or moving to Illinois - it was a year if visiting and 90 days if moving. You could take a driving test as soon as you could meet the documentation requirements the most difficult thing for me to do was proving residency because we were in a company appartment. Providing you pass the driving test, they will issue you with a temporary licence which you can take with you to the social security office to help with the ss# application. Then you have to go back and get the full license!! Also before you take the driving part of the test they do a quick check of your car which includes registration and insurance docs - so I doubt you could do this in a rental.
You'll want to double check this (see if you can get a copy of the Illinois Rules of the Road from somewhere - I dont know if its available online) as, like I said this was a dozen years ago and I know that some of the ss# rules have changed in that time. My advice would be to rent for a few weeks/months, if you can afford it, you"ll have enough going without trying to figure that out too. We were fortunate and my husbands company let us 'rent' a car from them to buy us time to get organized - if you could negotiate something like this it'll definately take the pressure off.
As for housing - make sure you get advice on neighborhoods, if you can, work with a realtor. We live in the burbs but could help with some general advice if you need it.
Oh, and dont forget winter lasts until April in Chicago - dont forget your woollies !!

fatbrit

You normally need permission from the rental company to take the test in their car.

fatbrit

They're here: http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/pu...oad/rrtoc.html

Hint: don't ignore the parts about teenage drivers. They might not apply to you but they WILL be in the test.

BritishGuy36

Correct - however this fact does seem to be lost on some insurance companies, as it sometimes does make a difference (going by responses on here), even though it shouldn't.

BritishGuy36

In most states you can take the test in a rental, as long as you can prove it's insured. Which leads me to.....

A lot of rental companies quote prices without insurance, even though it's the law that you must have insurance to drive it off their property. Some credit cards cover you if you buy the rental with the card, and some US insurers insure you for driving a rental car. So some renters don't even ask if you want the insurance. They may ask if you want a damage waiver of some kind - this is not insurance.

When I moved over I rented a car for 18 days, got the insurance, got an itemised bill to prove it was insured. The registration is somewhere in the car, so I had both registration and insurance documentation to produce at the driving test.

Bob

Another thing, check the insurance is valid for the purpose of taking a test with, as sometimes it might not be, especially if it's the standard one you've gotten from the rental.

dave2702

And make sure you learn the part on where to position you wheels when parking on a hill (in Illinois ) everyone I know has been asked that question

Illinois DMV will let you take the test in a rental but make sure the VIN matches with the insurance documents

JT1

Add me to the list - and yes, I got it wrong! I wanted to ask the damn computer, "well it depends on which way I'm facing doesn't it?" - I did some chunnering at the screen after that one!

Me and my husband are currently in negotiations as to who is taking our daughter for her permit and I'm currently losing - I hate it - I always get Mr Newbie who thinks I'm a terrorist in rural PA, looks over the paperwork as if it's written in another language, goes for his supervisor etc etc. Give me the dentist any day.

Chicago Dean

Thanks for all the great advice all. really helpful.