TINBUM

Hi. I just moved over here and have had problems figuring out about my driving licence. However after lenghty discussions I have discovered the following:

Brits have to complete a written test at the DMV, complete a 3hr theory course with a driving school, then apply for a test date (apparently you are given a ref number when you pass the 3hr theory) and then take your test. At the end of the test you should surrender your UK driving licence and give them a letter requesting that they do not destroy it.

I am going to all of the above except give them my UK licence...I can't see why I should if I have to take exactly the same tests as an American citizen. I will just tell them I don't have one.

Anyone else have any problems?

Ciao

NC Penguin

Have you looked at the New York state DMV website? This would be the gospel and more reliable than what any DMV staff may say to you.

What you describe does not surprise me. In the UK we do drive on the other side of the road so it kind of makes sense.

I think you are correct in wanting to keep hold of your UK license. I don't know if what you propose to do is "kosher" but those living in NY state may have a better idea.

I wish you luck.



NC Penguin (I don't live in NY but I've gone through the rigmarole of getting a Drivers License in NC)

Pulaski

I took my test in New York when I moved to the US at then end of 2001.

Your analysis is pretty accurate, except that the classroom education is five hours (and is concluded withing another test similar to the separate test that you have to take), and I wasn't even asked for my licence. If the examiner had insisted I would have just told the DVLC that I'd lost it and paid for a new one, and no this isn't kosher, so if you keep your British licence make sure that a traffic cop never gets to see it when you offer him your NY licence.

A tip on taking the test: the earliest date I was offered where I was living (in Westchester County, immediately north of NYC) was for more than three months away. If you can't get a test date for when you want look further north and west. In the end I got a test date for the very next week in Herkimer, about three hours drive away in upstate New York. The added benefit is that the test was taken on very quiet roads, but it lasted less than seven minutes and apart from keeping to the speed limit, watching for STOP signs and traffic lights, the only things of consequence were a three point turn and a parallel parking manoeuver. There is no emergency stop, and no reversing around a corner to worry about.

suebo

Wow that sounds like a marathon. In Maryland, you take the "written test" - on computer, then drive around the DMV parking lot, reverse, parallel park and that is it. Glad I didn't move to NYC. You may want to check out if you have a licence in another US State, whether you have to go through all that.

JulianB

It has been mentioned somewhere else, but your UK license remains the property of the DVLA. Therefore, it isn't yours to
give away, technically. When I took my theory test in Ca, the DMV just wanted to look at it, and gave me a temporary US license on the spot. The theory test you can walk in off the street and do, and repeat as many times as it takes to pass. In fact, the lady who marked it said since I got 4 wrong (you're allowed 6), would I like to do it again and get a better score. LOL. Needless to say, I politely declined. I took my driving test a week later, piece of cake. Took about 13 weeks for my US license to come in the post though.

Pulaski

I have no doubt that is correct under UK law, however .... when you are in another country their laws apply, not the British ones, so if it is the law that you have to hand over (and in any case you can, in New York, at least request that it be retained and returned to you) then you are required to do so. ..... However I wasn't even asked for mine!