cosmicgirl

Since moving to the USA i have traded in my UK license for a Georgia one. When I go back to the UK and rent a car i have been told I need an internationla drivers permit.

Has anyone else got one of these?

robin1234

You will not need the International one. Just the Georgia license is sufficient to rent a car in the UK, if you have a Georgia home address.

Ray

Total nonsence ..even a Georgia licence is written in English...

International permits are for visiting counties where a different language is spoken ..

nadnad

"traded uk licence for georgia licence" - do i read that as you did not give your driving test in usa?

RoadWarriorFromLP

Technically, you should have one. The IDP isn't just a translation of your license, but is a requirement per an international treaty that relies upon it to validate that your license is legitimate.

In practice, you shouldn't need one in the UK. I've hired cars in the UK and have never been asked to present one. If one particular rental agency insists on one, you can always find another agency.

A lot of the offers online for "international licenses" are scams. The legitimate ones are sold at AAA. They cost $10, and are valid for one year. You will also need two passport photos. You don't need to be a member of AAA to get an IDP.

smurtaza

I want to trade my Australian driving license to get Virginia one.Do I need to give test again?

dbj1000

Yes! Give, give, give!

scrubbedexpat099

Why not just get a duplicate of your UK License.

You did not trade it, you just do not have it in your possesion.

Sometimes a US License is easier to use to rent a car in the UK, which is weird.

Manc

yes

Longy

Whether its actually legal to use your UK license when you are not a resident could be a problem. Would probably be OK, but I would not want to make an insurance claim.

robin1234

Surely that is simply because the car rental place (quite reasonably) strongly prefers a driving license with your current home address on it. So if you live in the USA, that is your US license...

scrubbedexpat099

Nope. they want the Counterpart if you show a UK License.

And moving to the US does not invalidate your UK License.

robin1234

Agreed, obviously your UK licence is still valid. My point was, surely it is much preferable to rent a car using the license that shows your current address. I know when I rent a car at Heathrow, I always use my New York license. The rental agent always asks whether the address shown is my current address. I'm assuming that if I replied that it was not, then the agent would ask for some additional ID...

lapin_windstar

Not always. Sometimes "domestic rates" going through the UK website are cheaper than the rate you'd get going through the US website. Also, you can't use holidayautos.co.uk (which is often cheapest) with a US credit card.

RoadWarriorFromLP

Another advantage is that any moving violations in the UK won't accrue points to your record. If you get popped by a speed camera, you'll have to pay the fine, but your driving record won't be the worse for it.

The US and UK do not exchange driving information with each other. Some Canadian provinces do exchange information with US states, however, so don't assume that going north provides an automatic get out of jail free card.