Can I get an American Licence with my Irish driving licence?

Yitzhak Rabin

Does anyone know what the procedure is for getting a US driving licence?

I'll be here for a year at least. I have a full Irish licence for 5 years. Will I need to do the test when I'm here, or can I just convert my Irish one?

If it matters depending on the state, I'm in Minnesota right now.

MonaghanPenguin

Check this out
http://www.rsa.ie/en/RSA/Licensed-Drivers/Driving-licence/Driving-abroad---where-do-I-need-an-international-license/

gizajob

If you find a triple A (AAA) branch over there its the American equivalant of the AA. you can get an international licence from them to drive for a year. fairly straight forward from what I remember years ago tho

To get a full american licence you need first to get a driving permit in the states if you already have access to a car and insurance and then the test is fairly easy to pass after that.

lil_lisa

I would look at Minnesota DVS. That page goes through what you need for a drivers license. You shouldn't have too much difficulty getting one if you are over 18 and have access to a car.

Gandhi

Like a fool, I drove for about a year on my Irish license before I did the test in Pennsylvania. My insurance dropped in half when I got the American license. It was actually tough to find an insurance company that would accept an Irish license so they knew they had you.

The Pennsylvania test was very easy compared to the Irish test. Though the best was my friend who did the test in Alabama while we were down there on a J1. The instructor asked him to stop on a hill to do a hill start. The two of them looked down and saw that my friend had the handbrake on the entire test. He still passed.

spideog7

Gandhi wrote: »

Though the best was my friend who did the test in Alabama while we were down there on a J1. The instructor asked him to stop on a hill to do a hill start.

Sure most everyone in the US drives an automatic, why would you have to do a hill start?!

To answer the OP's question you cannot exchange your Irish driver's licence for an American one (which is a good thing because if that were the case it would probably be a reciprocal agreement and most people with an American driver's licence don't deserve an Irish one!). You can drive on an Irish driver's licence in the US for a limited period of time (depending on the state it can be between 3 months and a year I believe). While it is advisable to have an international driver's licence also AFAIK it's not entirely necessary (since our licence is in English) but it might be less of a headache if you have one.

Stephen

Most states will not let you drive on a foreign licence for more than 90 days - i.e. the max length of a visa waiver trip. If you're here on a visa you're expected to get a local licence.

To get my US (Idaho) driving licence I had to do the following:

First, apply for a social security number. They won't let you have a driving licence unless you've got either a social security number or evidence of being denied one after applying for one.

Once I had the SSN, I just went to my local DMV and applied for the test there, and paid the fees. They gave me an Idaho driver's handbook and I went away with it for about an hour, then came back and did their electronic theory test which is very similar to the Irish one, and just as easy. Once I passed that they gave me a list of people in my area who can administer the actual driving test itself. I called up the first guy on the list and had an appointment for about 1 hour later, showed up and drove around for a while and passed with no problem. When the test was over he gave me a sealed envelope to present to the DMV. I took it back to them and they printed up my licence on the spot.

In short, getting the SSN took about 3 weeks, the whole driving test procedure took less than a day. I had to wait 8 months for a driving test in good old Ireland! Also, you don't need an international driving licence in the US, as all it is is a translation of your Irish licence into several other languages. In Idaho they let me take the driving test on my Irish full licence. I didn't need to apply for a learner's permit first. I did the test in a truck from work, on their insurance. I didn't buy my own car until after I had my licence, as most dealers won't let you anywhere near a test drive without being able to produce an American driving licence.

Bass Cadet

Stephen wrote: »

First, apply for a social security number. They won't let you have a driving licence unless you've got either a social security number or evidence of being denied one after applying for one.

If you're on a visa such as an F1 student visa you dont have to have a social security number to take the test and get the drivers license. Just need to present passport and visa forms at the DMV

I got mine in CA

68 lost souls

Any one know the deal with driving in indiana. Moving over next month until next may or june on a j1 study visa. Looking to get a car between 8 of us. Most have an irish licence. Can i hold both a US licence and an irish at the same time or do i give up my irish licence and also what could i expect on insurance if i have my full irish for 5 years?

Bass Cadet

68 lost souls wrote: »

Any one know the deal with driving in indiana. Moving over next month until next may or june on a j1 study visa. Looking to get a car between 8 of us. Most have an irish licence. Can i hold both a US licence and an irish at the same time or do i give up my irish licence and also what could i expect on insurance if i have my full irish for 5 years?

You dont have to give up your irish license. It's not part of the process. Go to the dmv, bring yer passport with visa in it and I-20 form or whatever the equivalent is for the J-1 (Im on an F-1). You dont need a social security number (SEVIS did away with that because it meant people were getting SSN's without having jobs and just got one because they had to get a drive license).

Do the written test, then get as early an appointment you can for the skills test (which is pathetically and unfortunately easy)

Go with Progressive Insurance...they took my Irish driving record into consideration. They also have been brilliant to deal with. Cost depends on your age and experience and whether you have a US driving license...I paid about $400 for 6 months on a 2002 Jeep wrangler, not bad at all

Cant stress how important it is to have a US driving license when driving over here. I know lots of Irish here who drive on their Irish licenses, the cops just laugh at them when they get pulled over

68 lost souls

Thats great thanks. Im 24 as are most of the group. Im assuming its like here and each named driver gets cheaper?

spideog7

Depends on the state, in PA you have to be here on a year long stay before they will give you a PA driver's licence, other states are different. Insurance over here is a bit different also, typically once you take out an insurance policy it's open drive so anyone over a certain age (I think it's 18) can drive the car as it's the car that gets insured not you.

Progressive also offered to take my Irish experience "into account" but they were still really expensive, worked out half the price to go with someone else who didn't care about my Irish experience.

PS The cops here might laugh at your Irish driver's licence but if it's valid it's valid there's nothing they can do about it. However nobody here will accept it as ID.

Stephen

Bass Cadet wrote: »

If you're on a visa such as an F1 student visa you dont have to have a social security number to take the test and get the drivers license. Just need to present passport and visa forms at the DMV

I got mine in CA

The rules probably vary from state to state. In Idaho a SSN or denied application for one is required, at least for my visa type - L1B.

stoneill

Some of the things that will make it easier:

If you have mail/utility bills with your name and your US postal address on it then that will make the application is much much easier.

There is a multiple choice written test - there are slightly different from state to state so READ THE MANUAL you get from the DMV. Also don't depend on your knowledge of Irish rules of the road, the questions are formatted differently and the answers need to be as per the manual.

When doing the actual driving test - you will be asked to bring your car around the back of the testing centre and park in a specific parking bay to meet your instructor. Remeber you only have a lerners permit at this stage so if you do this without a valid full licence holder in the car with you then it is an automatic fail.
(Depend on the tester and DMV center I suppose, but I have witnessed this)

The test itself is simple - turn right, turn left, park here. Not much else to it.

The big advantage is that the US driving licence is an instantly recognisable ID for pubs, clubs etc.