dolega

Picked this up from the Sarasota British website:

If you’re new to Florida, State law requires that, within 30 days of establishing permanent residence or enrolling a child in school, you must apply for a Florida Driver’s License. (The fine for not doing so is quite steep, by the way).

Is this true???

Ray

Yes of course... its not a very difficult process ..
I have seen untrained animals pass the test

caleyjag

Could well be. In California it's 10 days. The argument on here recently concerned how the authorities define 'establishing permanent residence'.

Prob safest to get it out the way as soon as you can.

sime303

http://www.flhsmv.gov/index.html

http://www.flhsmv.gov/ddl/faqkeys.html

dolega

Interesting.. anything less than the the 3 years it took me to get my GB driving licence will do me just fine.

Caleyjag.. interesting point about how the authorities could define 'permanent residence' in the state. What was the upshot of the recent argument?

Bill_S

Pretty much the same in every state. If you live in Florida, get a Florida DL asap. Trying to split hairs with the coppers over whether you're somehow immune on a technicality won't get you very far.

Ray

Be fair Bill ..there was that case in 1956 where a Florida Sheriff admitted he was wrong...They replaced his coffee anyway ...

meauxna

You can't even squeeze off on a technicality; your past post says you are coming on an immigrant visa; you become a Permanent Resident (under immigration law) the day you arrive. Your stated and implied intention at that point is to permanently live in the US, so you're a resident two ways from Sunday.

The driving test is probably NOT what you think it is.

Kar98

Why is everybody so afraid of the process of getting a license? A haribo(r) gummi bear could get one in the US, and especially in Florida.

Englishtart

Thought they came free in 'lucky bags'

chartreuse

I think that I may hold the BE record for repeatedly failing a US driving test.

WARPed

No they come in packs of Cornflakes.

The driving test is EASY! Like super easy! They don't even make you drive on a public road! Spend a day reading the driving manual and you will pass without breaking a sweat.

In answer to you question of how soon you need to get a license...The Florida Drivers handbook states in full:

# If you move to Florida and have a valid license from another state, you must get a Florida license within 30 days of becoming a resident. You are considered a resident of Florida if you:

* Enroll your children in public school, or
* Register to vote, or
* File for a homestead exemption, or
* Accept employment, or
* Reside in Florida for more than six consecutive months.

This would imply you have 6 months + 30 days to get a FL license.

However...that isn't to say that your UK license will be considered valid for that long by the authorities. I can't seem to find any info on that.

Jaxbar

I knew a cop here who took great delight in telling me that he gave a Brit a 200.00 fine on Christmas day because he wasnt driving on an international licence. so not really worth the hassle.

As others have said it is not comparable with getting licence in the UK. I only went in to do the written test but the DMV convinced me to just get on with it. Other than getting told off for using my handbrake... it was ridiculously easy.

dolega

Hey ho.. I ought to hone up on driving an automatic, I'm a manual car kinda guy!

mamasue

Automatic is simple.... just shove it in Drive and sit on your left foot!!!