International Driving Permit

[Marilyn. 340]

when you move to the United States, you usually have a X amount of days before you need to get your US driver's license... the number of days depends on the State...

I really don't think a IDP will make any difference.. you will still need to follow the rules of the State or refrain from driving until you can get your US driving license.... just my opinion ....

[Yodrak 7]

girlfrmoz,

Notice that each paragraph in that write-up ties back to the person's home-country driver's license. That's what the US states look to and say that they will allow a person to drive in the US on the basis of - their home-country license.

As other posters have written, the value of an IDP is in providing the driver's license information in English when the license is issued in a non-English language. For an Austrailian, an IDP has no value. An Australian drivers license may look unusual to a US police officer, but they will be able to read it and understand what it is.

Yodrak

girlfrmoz,

You thought wrong, an 'International Driving Permit' does not mean that you can legally drive in the USA. The motor vehicle laws of each individual state dictate what is required to drive legally in that state, not some outfit in Australia collecting $15 from you.

Your Australian driver's license will enable you to drive for some period of time here in the USA, the IDP is meaningless.

Yodrak

...

I thought I would get around the USA driving license issue by applying for an International Driving Permit before I get to the USA. It costs $15.00 dollars here in Australia and all you need is your current drivers license to get one. It permits you to drive anywhere in the world and lasts 12mths and means you can drive legally in the USA taking the pressure off getting your US Drivers license quickly because you have to get an SSN first to apply for it.

So basically you can drive while all that paperwork is going through. Not sure how you get it in other countries.

Maybe I have been misinformed but this is what the Oz AAA website says, and I quote....

"IDPs are a special permit for tourists, authorised by a United Nations Treaty for the purpose of allowing motorists to drive internationally without further tests or applications provided their domestic drivers licence is valid;

An IDP is proof that you hold a valid drivers licence in your home country at the date of issue of the IDP and should be carried with your domestic drivers licence;

A valid IDP permits you to drive in most foreign countries in case of an emergency under normal IDP conditions."