I currently live in Mexico and previously had, but no longer have a US (Florida) driving license. I’m applying to jobs in the US that require I have a driving license and I’m wondering if it’s possible to do since I make a Mexican salary and don’t have a huge amount of money to spend getting and staying and renting there before getting a job. Thank you!
8 comments
You should be able to take the driving tests (paper and actual driving) and get the license relatively quickly. Restricted permits are only required for minors, unless some states have a weird law about that. It’s a very easy and straightforward process in North Carolina and California.
If you bring your foreign drivers license then they might waive the actual driving portion of the test for you, again, depending on the state. Keep in mind that you will have to prove residency to get a drivers license, which each state defines differently.
Ultimately your best resource is to look it up on your states DMV website. Since you had a Florida DL in the past there could a chance you might be able to transfer that over without renewing it in FL.
The specifics are going to depend a bit on your situation (e.g. where you plan to live), but you can start with this:
[https://www.usa.gov/visitors-driving](https://www.usa.gov/visitors-driving)
For an American citizen, you just need to make an appointment for your driver’s tests (written and road tests) at the DMV. Best case scenario, a couple of days. Worse case, two weeks to a month. It depends on staffing and scheduling.
For a foreign national, I have no idea what additional steps they would need to take.
In general if you have a driver’s license in another country, it’s not hard to get one in the U.S. the specifics of how it will work depends on the state, but usually they’ll just have you take a written test to make sure you understand the basics of u.s. traffic laws. You can find u.s. drivers Ed textbooks easily enough online. I’d get one to review, but I can’t imagine it will be too significantly different than what you’re used to. I’ve driven in Canada and Mexico and the traffic rules are not dramatically different.
You might be able to just reinstate your Florida license, check into it.
Fairly quickly here in Wyoming. Take a written and practical test. Proof of residency. The license itself is around $40usd.
I’m in Atlanta but have a place in Fla. If you had Fla license it could be quite easy. You could also get an International DL from Mexico that would apply here. As to cost of moving, depends on the city you are looking into. There are a lot of places in FLA that rent and living cost are next to nothing but most of those places are in quite rural areas, like North Central. If not rural, then I would suggest looking online for potential short term roommate situation.
Remember most Americans still believe “The more the merrier”.
When I changed states from NY to IL I had to take a written drivers test again. No road test. Was able to get it done in an afternoon.