Driving License Virginia

[H&V 5]

If you have found this post from searching please check up-to-date info at www.dmvnow.com

The Virginia DMV gives you all the details you need: http://dmvnow.com/webdoc/citizen/drivers/applying.asp

Also there is an online copy of the driver's manual: http://dmvnow.com/webdoc/citizen/drivers/manual.asp

My experience is as a Brit adjusting from K1 visa to permanent residence. I was able to drive on my British license for 6 months in Virginia (I could not prove legal presence and therefore apply for a VA license until I had my EAD). I went to the DMV in Arlington, VA. Because my previous license was British (drives on left) I had to do full test (vision, theory, road skills).

Go in, someone checks you have all your documents (see here http://dmvnow.com/webdoc/pdf/dmv141.pdf) and application form, and registration card for your vehicle. You are given a ticket (I was given the wrong type at first, which added on another 30min). Take a seat.

Then you go up to the first desk, you need to show the documents again (passport, EAD, proof of address, British driving license, vehicle registration card, etc.).You are given a vision screening here and they take your picture.

Then you go down to the end of the building and do your theory test - 10 questions on road signs (you need 100%) then 25 questions based on the other stuff in the driver's manual (you need 80%). It is a touchscreen computer, but I think you can do it written or orally if you request. There was someone doing theirs having it translated for them in real-time.

Then you wait (and wait!) for an road skills test. You sign a form, then head to your car. The tester makes you get in then checks all your lights are working correctly. (I have heard that they may fail you if you do not put your seatbelt on before you put the keys in the ignition, but my tester did not seem to check). Then we went out for approx. 20min. My tester was fairly chatty which was a little distracting! There were traffic lights, turns, 3 stop signs, a roundabout and it was just like a regular drive (not like the British driving test!).

If you pass you come back into the center and wait for your temporary license (just a sheet of paper) as you have to wait for the actual card in the mail. It costs $4. All in all I was in there for 3.5 hours and it was very boring! Take a book (or the theory manual to revise)! My license is valid as long as my EAD, I will renew in a year with the GC.

You can take the tests again if you fail but it depends on your circumstances so check the website - it really is very useful!!

[SabrinaFrance 8]

Thanks a lot for your detailed info.

When living in VA with a J1 visa I was able to get a VA DL as soon as I got my SSN. But I am wondering how it is going to work now. As apparently you cant apply before you get your EAD, and you are not supposed to be driving with an international DL unless you are a bona fide tourist. As I wont be a tourist then does it mean I wont be allowed to drive before I get my EAD?

Are you sure you were legal while driving for 6 months with your British DL? if so how did you make sure?!

[gensdad515 2]

Yep you will sure need your EAD. My wife went just with the SSI card and her passport. We also took our marriage certificate but it was for nothing since they don't even want to look at it. My wife's passport still has her maiden name on it, and although the SSI card has her married name they would not accept it. The document with the photo ID needs to have the 'new' name. I am familiar with the 6 month rule it applies the same here in Florida but my wife needs to drive so..... we're between a rock and a hard place. We just had our AOS interview and they took her work permit so now we have to wait till she receives the temporary visa card. Just loooooveeeee dealing with the Govmnt!!

Thanks a lot for your detailed info.

When living in VA with a J1 visa I was able to get a VA DL as soon as I got my SSN. But I am wondering how it is going to work now. As apparently you cant apply before you get your EAD, and you are not supposed to be driving with an international DL unless you are a bona fide tourist. As I wont be a tourist then does it mean I wont be allowed to drive before I get my EAD?

Are you sure you were legal while driving for 6 months with your British DL? if so how did you make sure?!

[olle 12]

Good information. Adding my limited knowledge on the subject: If you have a valid driver's license from Canada, Germany or France, you only have to pass the vision screening. Your license will be replaced with a Virginia one (you have to surrender the other one to the DMV) just like if you had held a driver's license from another US state. (Why Germany and France? I asked the same question, but no-one at the Alexandria DMV seemed to know.)

If you have a valid driver's license from another country you will have to take the full test (vision, questions and driving), but you get to keep your foreign driver's license. You also don't need to have a learner's permit and take the driver education program - stuff that people with no previous license have to.

For Swedish readers: the test (both questions and driving) is waaaay easier than the Swedish test... You won't need a study book, just download the questions and answers from the DMV website (www.dmv.virginia.gov).

Here is more info on eligibility requirements: DMV Now: Driver License Eligibility Requirements

[Hokie97 5]

When I moved to England, they said that any existing drivers license from a country that drives on the left side of the road could be exchanged. Perhaps it's just he opposite in the US. Any current license from a country that drives on the right can be exchanged. I don't actually know which countries are which to confirm this theory, though....

I emailed DMV in Virginia about my husband. He's never had a drivers license, so he has to take the vision and written test, then get a learners permit, which he has to have for 30 days prior to taking the road test. From what the said back in my email, we do not have to wait for a SSN. When I call to change the electric to our name I will add his name as well, so that hopefully we'll have a bill by the time we arrive and do not have to wait on that to prove residency.