Russian Int'l Driver's License

[james&olya 1,121]

Too bad you won't be in Michigan! Here we were told that she could get away with driving on her Russian license until it expires! And our insurance lists her as well! She wants to study up and take the test next summer. That will be 2 years on the Russian license!

[Amy_and_Victor 159]

Here in Indiana, hubby had up to a year to drive on his international license. He had his local driver's license less than a month after he got his Social Security card, but they gave him a temporary one that they replaced with a permanent one after he showed them the NOA2 letter for his AOS at the DMV. I'd recommend that she go ahead and finish driving classes there to save driving practice time once she gets here. If she already has an international driver's license, she can already drive when she gets here and go ahead and take a written and driving exam while bypassing having to get a learner's permit and log so many practice hours here. All this is said being ignorant of Cali's driving laws, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

[Chuck and Diana 1]

My wife got her license in Moldova first. It was a good move for us because she was able to drive as soon as she got here. Here in Colorado, if you are not a resident (green card holder) you cannot get a Colorado Drivers License. If you are not a resident, you are allowed to drive on your valid foreign drivers license, but have to carry your passport and visa to go along with it. My insurance liability covers anyone I allow to drive my car, I simply had to report when my wife received her Colorado Drivers License. She passed the written test, but then ran into a name change problem with the DMV because USCIS in Denver did not update her married name in some system they have.

I highly suggest she gets a Russian drivers license before coming over. If for any reason, just to practice and learn to drive from someone who speaks her language. As far as an international license, I dont know what to tell you. Maybe an official translation of her Russian license would be just as good. When she comes to America, most states will see her as a visitor until she gets a green card and then they will see her as a resident. Notice most information from the DMV applies to residents. Even as a US Citizen, I cannot visit California and just get a drivers license, I need a job, a house or something that ties me there.

I got my wife a car with a navigation system (unfortunately it doesnt speak Russian). No matter how good your woman speaks English, It might be in your best interest to learn some basic words like svetafor (traffic light), nah levay and nah prava (left and right) before you put her behind the wheel. It can be quite the experience the first week or two of her driving but just emphasize safety to her. She will get better quickly, it will only be scary for a week or two. It is really worth it, my wife was so happy to be able to drive everywhere. Our village of 25,000 people has no public transportation and that can be a little shocking to a big city girl from the FSU.

[ONA 133]

In Maryland it is 30 days after becoming a resident but the State Police will write you a ticket for Driving without a valid licenses if they stop you and you do not have a B1/B2 visa and international drivers licenses and you have to go to court and fight it out with the Judge.

it's actually 60 days after becoming a resident of the state.

However, I used my International DL longer than that: when I took my knowledge test and found out that I had to wait for 2 more months before I could take my skills test, people at the MVA office told me that I could drive with my international DL while I was waiting.

Edited December 24, 2012 by ONA

[easyukraine 1]

In Ohio if you hold the international license you can take the written test in Russian and a few other languages then the driving course. If you pass you are issued a state license. If you are over the age of 18 you need the learners permit but you can test the following day. There are some rules that allow them to obtain an Ohio license by just showing up with the proper documents but not sure about it.

[BatmanUSA 105]

if you already have an international drivers license... when you get your states driver license.. will the insurance company take your previous driving license history, or since this is your first drivers license in the state, will the insurance charge you as a new driver.???

In Florida, first time drivers license, the insurance is about 3 grand a year... so if you already have an international drivers license, will the American insurance companies consider you an experienced driver ??

[Amy_and_Victor 159]

if you already have an international drivers license... when you get your states driver license.. will the insurance company take your previous driving license history, or since this is your first drivers license in the state, will the insurance charge you as a new driver.???

In Florida, first time drivers license, the insurance is about 3 grand a year... so if you already have an international drivers license, will the American insurance companies consider you an experienced driver ??

[Victor from Russia] From my experience I can tell, that insurance companies don't care at all about your driving history outside of the USA. I got my 1st insurance when I still had international driver license only (I got state licence about a month later), and it showed that I got my Rissian driver license 10 years ago, but I was able to get insurance only as a newbie with no history, because insurance companies didn't count abroad experience, and because they technically couldn't check my driving history abroad to be sure that I didn't have DUIs, accidents, tickets and etc. in Russia. The cheapest insurance I was able to get was about $240 for 6 months, and it was "state minimum" type of insurance - just to be allowed to drive. Next time I paid $220 for 6 months of "state minimum", because they counted that I already have 6 months of clear history in the US.