Your drivers' license

[anna7602]

Do you have a local drivers' license?

We have driven exactly zero times in the 360 or so days we have been living abroad. After the 1 year mark, we are no longer allowed to drive here with our US license and must have a French permit. We're trying to decide if it's worth the hassle of getting the French permit or not.

I have a hard time envisioning a scenario in which we absolutely must drive somewhere. Would any other country outside of France even care where we technically have residency?

[Dorothy Zbornak]

I did the German license in 2007. It was super expensive and I failed the driving test the first time. Embarrassing as hell. I am glad I went through the whole German shebang, though. I was afraid of stickshift before, and I was very afraid of driving in Frankfurt and on the Autobahn.

How long are you going to stay in France? If you're in it for the long haul, then I'd do a French license. Also, if you do drive and get stopped, won't they ask to see your residence permits? Also, I realized that I had no idea what a lot of the symbols on signs meant here.

Sent from Dick Clark.

[anna7602]

Jan 2, 2013 6:00:47 GMT -5 Dorothy Zbornak said:

Also, if you do drive and get stopped, won't they ask to see your residence permits? Also, I realized that I had no idea what a lot of the symbols on signs meant here.

Sent from Dick Clark.

I meant if I drove in another country besides France, like Spain or other places where we've rented cars with just a US DL in the past.

I wouldn't drive here in France without the appropriate permit. It's just a matter of whether it's worth the hassle. Even in the US, my DL mainly served as a piece of ID, not something I used often to get behind the wheel.

ETA: Thanks for your perspective!

[echo]

Anna,I have lived in several European countries that do not recognize American licenses *at all* according to their laws,but that being said,they have never given me grief for driving on mine.
I would think that you would be a ok for renting cars outside of France.But that is just my two cents,not any kind of opinion based on law....

[Dorothy Zbornak]

What do you have to do to get a French license? I had to take hours of classes in Germany, do several hours of driving and take a written and practical test. Like I said, it was super expensive (like €2,000 all together), but this was back when I had no kids and apparently time and cash to do something like that.

I think you would be fine renting cars elsewhere with your American license, but I think Echo makes a good point.

[Cioccolato]

I have a Swiss license, it required nothing more than having a US license for 5 years.

[Cheesecake]

Outside of France you'll be fine renting with your US license. They ask you to have a valid license. According to the country that issued your license (the US), your license is valid, right? The only country that doesn't recognize the validity is France.

Unless you're planning to stay in France past the point where you need to renew your US license, I'd see no reason to get a French one. And even if you would stay past that time, I'd probably not do it. You're only staying 'til the summer, right?

[anna7602]

Jan 2, 2013 7:21:14 GMT -5 @publius said:

We were told we can't get local licenses here, so I'm still driving on my Swiss one. Is it just a matter of switching over your NY license for a French one? I know in CH you have a certain amount of time to switch over a US license (I think it's a year) during which you're allowed to drive. BUT if you wait until the deadline has lapsed you can't just switch over your license anymore and you have to take driving classes and the test. If FR operates the same way if switch it over. You might be there a while and you don't want to put in a situation where you've suddenly got to take a driving test because you need to be able to drive somewhere.

France only has reciprocity with 15 different states in the US and NY isn't one of them. So, we can't just turn in our NY licenses for French ones (we thought we could until this morning). We would have to take the exam and probably do all the prep work for it.

As of today, it is unclear how long we will be here. Typing that just made me anxious, so maybe I need to revisit my pros and cons list later today.

[echo]

Anna,if your plans are up in the air,and your licenses to not automatically turn into French ones,than I wouldn't worry about it.If you stay,you are going to have to do whatever equivalency they ask for,and if you leave,you saved yourself some extra time/money.Either way,enjoy the time you have left,it will work out.Don't stress!

[echo]

I realize that laws vary from State to State,but is it weird only to me that France would reciprocate with certain States and not others?

[centralperk]

My US license isn't valid here. For a while I didn't feel like I needed a license, but then we ended up getting a car, and then I felt like it was really stupid to have a car that I couldn't drive!! So I ended up getting a Swedish license. It was a huuuuge PITA, mostly because I had to learn how to drive a stick. I'm glad I did it now, but geez it was not fun. It's worth it for me because we have our own car.

[crimsonandclover]

Jan 2, 2013 6:39:45 GMT -5 Dorothy Zbornak said:

What do you have to do to get a French license? I had to take hours of classes in Germany, do several hours of driving and take a written and practical test. Like I said, it was super expensive (like €2,000 all together), but this was back when I had no kids and apparently time and cash to do something like that.

I think you would be fine renting cars elsewhere with your American license, but I think Echo makes a good point.

This completely depends on where your US license is from, though. Some US states have complete agreements with Germany, for some you have to take only the written, some only the driving test, and for some you have to do both. My US license is from IL and we (thankfully) have a complete reciprocity agreement with Germany. All I had to do was go to the appropriate office, fill out a little paperwork, turn in my IL license, and get a German one. I think it cost 28€.

However, anna, it might be worth looking into the laws a little more closely. In Germany you can drive on a US license for 6 months and then technically have to get a German one. However, if you can prove that your stay is definite (I think a max of 2 years???), then it's still ok to only use your US DL.

[mrsukyankee]

I don't have a US license any longer, just a UK one. It was a pain to get, but I knew as a potential lifer, I'd need one (I drive for sports, dog stuff, etc).

[mrsukyankee]

p.s. I had to take the written test (which is on a computer & includes a hazard perception thing which is almost like a driving game) as well as the driving test itself which has a typical pass rate of under 50%.

[cupcakes]

I don't have a UK license and I've lived here 5 years. When we eventually get a car I'll get a licence.

I can rent a car in Europe from what I understand. My ILs have a car in Spain and I can drive there.

[GilliC]

We had a year in Norway to do the swap, which involved a few hundred dollars and a driving test. If we went past the year, it would have been thousands of dollars and multiple classes and tests (winter driving, first aid, you name it). An American friend just went through the whole thing and it was an ordeal. So we decided to try to swa
While we could, just in case we ever needed to.

Honestly, I didn't think I was going to pass the test, so when I did it was a total shock and I wasn't ready to have my picture taken. It's awful. And you keep the same photo until your license expires! When you turn 100!

I've had to drive once just because I was one of the few expats who can legally drive now.

[Deleted]

Good reminder to get on this...

Been here 20 months and haven't bothered because we don't own a car. But we really should get local licenses before our old ones expire. Occasionally we rent cars on vacation and I would hate to get stuck without a valid license somewhere.

We're in a UK territory and Canada has an agreement with them. Only have to pay a small registration fee and I can get a local license to drive automatic. If I want to drive stick though I would have to get tested here.

[elenetxu]

Jan 2, 2013 13:49:50 GMT -5 cupcakes said:

I don't have a UK license and I've lived here 5 years. When we eventually get a car I'll get a licence.

I can rent a car in Europe from what I understand. My ILs have a car in Spain and I can drive there.

If they own it and have Spanish insurance, make sure they check with the insurance company to see if you're covered. My parents aren't covered to drive our car here.

[clogged]

Some states' licenses are only valid for residents (check your dmv). Which means the second you live abroad, even under temp contract, your license is invalid. No one will know by looking at it, and most car rental places will assume you are a tourist anyway- as well as the local authorities should you be stopped. BUT the insurance companies are not so nice. They will dig around and once they find you were driving on an invalid license, they will not pay up. Just something you want to consider before fudging it.

As for me- I am a lifer so I got my license. I had to pay nearly €2000 for "lessons" and the actual exams. I drove for over 20 years, the last 2 in a stick shift, before I moved here. Lessons were not necessary, but the law requires licensed instructors to "teach" me They only thing they would do in my favor was fast track me. From start to finish it took 5 weeks.

Ironically, if I go to my home state I would have to drive on my foreign license.

[crimsonandclover]

Jan 2, 2013 19:05:22 GMT -5 @publius said:

Jan 2, 2013 15:46:02 GMT -5 GilliC said:

Honestly, I didn't think I was going to pass the test, so when I did it was a total shock and I wasn't ready to have my picture taken. It's awful. And you keep the same photo until your license expires! When you turn 100!

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one with this problem. Swiss licenses never expire and my picture on my DL is horrible.

This. On my German one the tint is all green for some reason. DH's pic from when he was 18 is pretty amusing, though :-)

[anna7602]

Jan 2, 2013 16:41:19 GMT -5 clogged said:

Some states' licenses are only valid for residents (check your dmv). Which means the second you live abroad, even under temp contract, your license is invalid. No one will know by looking at it, and most car rental places will assume you are a tourist anyway- as well as the local authorities should you be stopped. BUT the insurance companies are not so nice. They will dig around and once they find you were driving on an invalid license, they will not pay up. Just something you want to consider before fudging it.

Haven't had to "fudge it" yet since we haven't driven a car at all since arriving here last January. In any event, DH looked into all of this last night and got us applications for an international driver's permit. Seems easy enough to do so that we're covered if we want to drive anywhere but France. They just want copies of our valid DL, a small fee, and some new passport pictures.

In the meantime, we'll be figuring out how long this French life will last for us and whether/when we would get a license here.

[clogged]

International licenses issued in the USA are not valid in the NL. But only if you live here. I am pretty sure vacationing on one is fine. I think a few other countries are also ignoring internatioal licenses.

Ugh. This whole thing is a scam anyway. I have seen Europen drivers. Like hell they have ever had a single lesson or taken an exam on driving laws.

[lolo]

FYI Some car rental companies I've used in Europe have required an international driving license and would not accept the US one. I know others have had different experiences, though, so obviously confirm with any individual company. But I think the IDL would be useful for that reason.

[clogged]

^^ do you get the feeling they just make it up as they go along. Just to toy with us?

[bail229]

I have an Aussie license. It was no problem to get. Just went in and showed my NY license and my visa and they gave me a full license. I just had to pay the same amount anyone else would pay who was getting a license.

[lolo]

Jan 3, 2013 15:54:30 GMT -5 clogged said:

^^ do you get the feeling they just make it up as they go along. Just to toy with us?

I totally do. It's the fun of 'the system.'

[blushing]

DH and I just swapped our SA drivers license for the British one's. No tests, no lessons, nothing. It was strange now when we were in SA and went through a road block, DH had to show his British license, but the traffc officer never even blinked an eye.