azulniew

We are moving to Wisconsin. Will I be able to get a Wisconsin drivers license without taking tests etc.?

Thank you for any help

BritishGuy36

No. You will need to take a written test (multiple choice on a computer) and "skills" test (driving test). Everyone on here says the skills test is a doddle though.

Go to your future state's DMV/BMV website and you should be able to download their equivalent of the "highway code" in PDF format.

azulniew

Thank You

Patrick Hasler

In Wisconsin the test is among the toughest ! ............ I think you have to drive more that half a mile and use the steering wheel

Patrick Hasler

I should point out that your British licence will be valid for the first 3 months

fatbrit

The greatest complication at MVD is usually your immigration status -- you dont mention what it is.

The tests are easy: for the written one there will be a booklet and you should give yourself at least 30 mins to read it before taking the test, and for the driving one you'll pass as long as you don't kill more than three children on your 2 mile drive.

mellybrown

Just a note - as we found out yesterday....

You cant buy a car (dont know about leasing...) without a state driving licence....and you cant get your state driving licence without your social security number (well here in GA anyway)

We have to give back our (work paid for) rental at the weekend, and hubbys SSN is nowhere in sight.....and I cant drive!!! i can see an expensive car rental coming on...

BritishGuy36

Did you mean you can'T buy a car? Cos you said CAN.

mellybrown

indeed - thanks, have changed it

chicagojlo

I live in IL and my driving test included hill parking, which is kind of hilarious if you have any idea how flat IL is! Be prepared to have this and possible encounters with things like school buses, both of which are not familiar to UK drivers but are really big parts of US driving. It is worth reading the local 'highway code' before attempting the written or even driven test. It's not necessarily the drive down the block people make it out to be.

md95065

One of the very few questions that I got wrong on the written test was "What do the red flashing lights on the back of a school bus mean?" - at the time I don't think that I had ever actually seen a school bus, but the very next day I saw one, along with the sign on the back, in letters about a foot high, that said "Stop when red lights flash" ...

(btw they don't test hill parking in San Francisco - probably because trying to find a parking space in San Francisco would make the test last too long ...)

penguinsix

There are few US-centric questions, such as the school bus, right on red (and left on red occasionally), and then some state by state stuff you will need to learn. In some states headlights have to be on whenever wipers are on, and in others you have to slow down 10mph and change lanes if possible when passing a police car doing a traffic stop, etc.

It's not a tough test--but worth reading through the little handout before you take it.

Manc

I think the only way of failing a US driving test is to turn up drunk.

and even then I think you've got a 50 / 50 shot.

SpoogleDrummer

I wasn't asked anything about my license when I bought mine. I only had a learners permit at the time but at no point was it requested, not even when I registered it at the court house. Maybe it varies from state to state.

meauxna

Like absolutely everything auto-law related, YES, it varies from state to state.