Getting driver's licence in Arizona

[Travis and Meghan 24]

I looked on the DMV website and i know how to get a licence from scratch but what i really want to know is if i can just 'convert' my Australian licence over without having to do any sort of test?? i can't seem to find an answer anywhere :/

[*Snowdrop* 604]

It varies from state to state - in Virginia only those with Canadian, French and German licences are allowed to convert their licence without any tests. I had do all - vision, knowledge and road tests. Although compared to the British driving test it was incredibly easy.

If the Arizona DMV website isn't clear about what you'll have to do then the best thing to do is give them a call. Sometimes the process changes from one year to the next especially for immigrants so you should get it from the source.

Also double check what identity documents you will need for your resident status - all the DMVs seem to be tightening up requirements on this.

[bigdog 376]

You will need to complete written test and driving test. DT will include parallel park or a 3 point turn. You will need your k1 documentation or AOS 797 letter. Your DL ;will exp[ire when either of those expire,

[Ning 619]

I looked on the DMV website and i know how to get a licence from scratch but what i really want to know is if i can just 'convert' my Australian licence over without having to do any sort of test?? i can't seem to find an answer anywhere :/

In Az you will need to take your passport or green card to show status. You will take the written & driving test. No parallel parking anymore but you will do the three point parking test. Good idea to go to DMV when they are closed to practice this because any stop of motion & you fail. My frustrated husband taught me after I failed. Every person we watched failed this part.

Az DMV offices are very busy so allow plenty of time.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Sure,

and next time you are back in Australia you see if you can exchange your Arizona license for an Aussie one and then again you exchange this for an Arizona one and so you have found a way to keep yourself occupied until the day you die or until they put you in a white vest and in a nice room with padded walls.

I will give you a piece of valuable advice.

Unless you have turned your back on Australia for good and would rather eat Kangaroo stew for the rest of your life before going back to the continent where life is so very upside down, realize that you are now a member of an exclusive club: that of two worlds.

You have an Australian identity and life and a U.S. one. Once you naturalize, you can even separate both lives more by choosing another name. In Australia you are an Australian and you have a car with the steering wheel on the right side which is the right side but only down under and you drive it with your Aussie license and in the New World you are (almost) an American and you drive a car with the steering wheel on the left side which here is the right side and you do it with your Americanski license.

Don't mix up worlds. Keep them separate. Keep you Aussie license for Aussieland and get a US license for America. How much simpler can it get?

[Travis and Meghan 24]

Thanks for all the info and advice guys, very helpful looks like a driving test it is. It took me three go's to pass the aussie one, interested to see how long it will take me to pass the AZ one, lol

[Barbara J 115]

Sure,

and next time you are back in Australia you see if you can exchange your Arizona license for an Aussie one and then again you exchange this for an Arizona one and so you have found a way to keep yourself occupied until the day you die or until they put you in a white vest and in a nice room with padded walls.

I will give you a piece of valuable advice.

Unless you have turned your back on Australia for good and would rather eat Kangaroo stew for the rest of your life before going back to the continent where life is so very upside down, realize that you are now a member of an exclusive club: that of two worlds.

You have an Australian identity and life and a U.S. one. Once you naturalize, you can even separate both lives more by choosing another name. In Australia you are an Australian and you have a car with the steering wheel on the right side which is the right side but only down under and you drive it with your Aussie license and in the New World you are (almost) an American and you drive a car with the steering wheel on the left side which here is the right side and you do it with your Americanski license.

Don't mix up worlds. Keep them separate. Keep you Aussie license for Aussieland and get a US license for America. How much simpler can it get?

Bob I know you may be joking but I really don't like your condescending comments about my country Australia. The Kangaroo stew and so on. You make out sometimes that we are all bushy's which we are not and for your information most of us have never eaten Kangaroo meat . We are quite civilised down there and don't all speak like Paul Hogan or the Late Steve Irwin. I lived in a city Sydney with tall buildings and roads that have bitumen on them .

The OP is a young girl and does not know a great deal about what she has to do. Al you had to answer was No she will have to take a test you can't just transfer a license over .

I for one found it quite daunting when I first started driving here but now I am fine and it feels very strange at first but then hey I am from a British ruled country and yes we drive on the opposite side of the road and car.

I really love some of your answers but please don't make out we are a bunch of yobbo's or uneducated stupid people from down under.

I looked on the DMV website and i know how to get a licence from scratch but what i really want to know is if i can just 'convert' my Australian licence over without having to do any sort of test?? i can't seem to find an answer anywhere :/

No darl you will have to take a test you can't just transfer our license over to an American one. It's totally different driving here same but different basically because we are on the other side of the road. lol

[*Snowdrop* 604]

Bob I know you may be joking but I really don't like your condescending comments about my country Australia. The Kangaroo stew and so on. You make out sometimes that we are all bushy's which we are not and for your information most of us have never eaten Kangaroo meat . We are quite civilised down there and don't all speak like Paul Hogan or the Late Steve Irwin. I lived in a city Sydney with tall buildings and roads that have bitumen on them .

The OP is a young girl and does not know a great deal about what she has to do. Al you had to answer was No she will have to take a test you can't just transfer a license over .

I for one found it quite daunting when I first started driving here but now I am fine and it feels very strange at first but then hey I am from a British ruled country and yes we drive on the opposite side of the road and car.

I really love some of your answers but please don't make out we are a bunch of yobbo's or uneducated stupid people from down under.

No darl you will have to take a test you can't just transfer our license over to an American one. It's totally different driving here same but different basically because we are on the other side of the road. lol

I completely agree with you Barbara that Bob's post was unnecessary and also a little misleading - it can be possible to exchange a foreign drivers licence for the US one without doing some or all of the tests - it differs from state to state and depends on the immigrant's country of origin (as I mentioned in VA when I went to get my licence Canadian, French and German applicants can do exactly what Bob was being so sarcastic about - change their licence directly for the US one just like an out of state US licence.) If I'd lived in DC I would not have had to to do the road test for example.

OP - I was dreading the road test part and almost considered a move to DC to avoid it. But when it actually happened it was barely more than a drive around a block and back to the DMV center. So different from the British one. I'm sure you will be fine.

[Travis and Meghan 24]

Thanks for your replies guys

Yeah, i knew that every state is different and that you could only convert your licence if you were from a certain country but i had no idea which ones, lol. I suspected Oz wasn't one of them though.

haha, yeah, Travis said that the US one is actually really easy, far easier than the Australian which has gotten really, really hard these days

[Deb+Steve 13]

Good luck! In NY they want you to surrender your foreign licence when you receive a NY licence. I don't plan on giving up my Australian one. See how that goes for me.

[rheanick 42]

I looked on the DMV website and i know how to get a licence from scratch but what i really want to know is if i can just 'convert' my Australian licence over without having to do any sort of test?? i can't seem to find an answer anywhere :/

No, you could not convert your Aussie license. Though you are not required to get a learner's permit anymore since you have been driving in other country. You just apply for a new AZ DL.

Download the DMV driving manual, study and memorize it. Go to DMV office, bring all documents needed (GC, etc).

Take the written exam and driving exam.

If you pass both of them, you will get your DL in the same day.

You dont have to surrender your foreign license.

Edited October 5, 2011 by rheanick

[Travis and Meghan 24]

Good luck! In NY they want you to surrender your foreign licence when you receive a NY licence. I don't plan on giving up my Australian one. See how that goes for me.

serious?? oh that sucksssss! lol. I hope figure something out and can keep your oz one!

No, you could not convert your Aussie license. Though you are not required to get a learner's permit anymore since you have been driving in other country. You just apply for a new AZ DL.

Download the DMV driving manual, study and memorize it. Go to DMV office, bring all documents needed (GC, etc).

Take the written exam and driving exam.

If you pass both of them, you will get your DL in the same day.

You dont have to surrender your foreign license.

Thankyou for the info