fulham

I live in London and haven't had a car or driven in 3 years. I will be relocating soon to the US, but am still unclear exactly where I will be living. During my job search in the US I will likely need to drive a car at some point. Any advice on getting a temporary license of some type in the US? Which state(s) could this work in? Any thoughts are welcome. Thanks.

TruBrit

if you haven't driven in 3 yrs then i'm guessing you have a uk drivers licence? if your uk licence is current then you will be able to drive on it for a while but will eventually have to take your test in whatever state you live in.

another bloody yank

So you're moving "soon" but don't have a job lined up and don't know where you'll be living? You can't do anything until you know where you'll be living.

fulham

Fair enough - a little more info on the most likely scenario. Moving to the Washington DC area in a year. I am currently not licensed in the UK. Will I be stuck hitching rides around the DC area for a month or so until I have a permanent address?

TruBrit

then you're gonna have to take a test over here before you can drive unaccompanied...check out http://www.dmv.org/washington-dc/practice-tests.php

denzil75

Not sure if this is the same in all states, but I had a friend who moved from Sweden and had never held a license, she learned to drive over here in NJ. She was able to take her written test, then had to do 10 hours driving with an instructor before she could take her pratical test, which had to be taken 3 months (I think) after her written one. Just something you might want to check out before arriving. Although if you are in Washington DC they have a good Metro system.

chicagojlo

I had never driven before moving here to IL. I just had to take the written test to get my learners permit, which I needed to be out on the roads, and then my driving test within a year of the learners permit being issued. I did take professional lessons although there was no minimum required, my husband was in the same position and took lessons with a friend.

Washington DC is not a great place to own a car, their Metro and bus systems are excellent. Parking is a nightmare and the roads are constantly chock-a-block during any kind of peak hours.

md95065

Any reason why you couldn't just take a driving test in the UK and get a UK license before you go the the US?

hobbes79

I'm guessing here, but he says he hasn't had a car or driven for 3-years. It's not as though they take away your license if you don't use it...

No judgement at all, but I assume his license was revoked after an altercation with the law...

snowbunny

Huge amounts of money?

Longy

What would be the point? it is going to be a lot harder to pass in the UK then in the US.

Its a shame though as I believe DC is one of the places that you don't need to take a test and can exchange your license.

Longy

When you say the DC area do you actually mean in DC? The rules are different in Virginia and Maryland.

chicagojlo

They said they haven't driven. Doesn't mean they don't have a licence.
But someone who doesn't know they can rent cars with their UK licence probably also doesn't know you can't just walk up to the immigration desk at JFK (or would that be Dulles) and say you are here to look for a job...

Longy

Check post 4

chicagojlo

Doh! So yes the bobbies might have something to do with it...and I'm guessing that the kind of incident which involves losing your licence for 3 years may come up in any immigration process.