How to get a US driver's license

Every state uses some version of graduated licensing. You pass a written knowledge test on the state's driving manual — free to download from the DMV site — plus a vision screening, to get a learner's permit.

With the permit you drive supervised by a licensed adult, usually 21 or over. States require logged practice hours for younger drivers, commonly 40 to 60 including night hours, and impose a holding period before the road test.

The road test covers ordinary driving, turns, lane changes, and usually parking. Pass it and you get the license — a provisional one with passenger and night restrictions for drivers under 18 in most states, converting to unrestricted with age and clean driving.

Adults over 18 skip most of the graduated requirements in the majority of states: knowledge test, possibly a short holding period, road test.

Bring identity documents, proof of Social Security number or ineligibility, and two proofs of state residency such as a lease and a utility bill. Check the DMV's exact document list before going — it is the most common reason for a wasted trip.

Choose the REAL ID-compliant version, marked with a star. Since enforcement began, a standard license no longer gets you through airport security for domestic flights — a passport does, but the REAL ID costs little more at issuance.

Once you establish residency in a state — a lease, a job, enrolling children — you generally have 30 to 90 days to get that state's license. Visitors can drive on a valid foreign license, with an International Driving Permit or translation if it is not in English, but residents cannot indefinitely.

Whether you must take the tests depends on the state and the issuing country. Several states have reciprocity agreements exchanging licenses from specific countries — Canada broadly, and depending on the state, Germany, France, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and others — without a road test. Most other foreign licenses require both the knowledge and road tests regardless of experience.

Some states will not credit foreign driving experience at all, which can mean an experienced driver briefly holding a learner's permit. Irritating, but usually fast to clear.

Several states, including California, issue licenses regardless of immigration status under state law — these are marked as not valid for federal identification.

An International Driving Permit is a translation of your existing license, obtainable only in your home country before you leave. It is not a license, cannot be renewed from the US, and does not extend your driving privilege past the residency deadline.

Liability insurance — covering damage you cause to others — is legally required before you drive in every state except New Hampshire, which instead requires proof of financial responsibility. Minimums are set per state and are low relative to real crash costs, which is why higher limits are near-universally recommended.

About a dozen states are no-fault states, where your own policy pays your injury costs regardless of fault through personal injury protection, which is then also mandatory.

Pricing will surprise newcomers. In most states insurers price partly on credit-based insurance scores, so no US credit history means higher premiums. Foreign driving history usually does not transfer automatically — but a letter from your previous insurer documenting claims-free years persuades some US insurers to apply a discount, and it costs nothing to obtain before you leave.

Proof of insurance must be carried when driving, and most states now accept the insurer's app. Driving uninsured is detected at traffic stops and, in many states, by database checks against registration.

Registration is separate from licensing: the vehicle is registered with the state, taxed annually or biennially, and in many states must pass a safety or emissions inspection.

Right turn on red is legal after a complete stop unless a sign prohibits it, in every state — New York City being the famous exception where it is banned by default.

School buses: when a bus stops with red lights flashing and its stop arm out, traffic in both directions must stop on an undivided road. This is among the most heavily enforced rules in the country and the fines are severe.

Move Over laws in every state require you to slow down and change lanes away from stopped emergency vehicles.

Speed limits vary by state — up to 85 mph on one Texas road — and enforcement is by patrol far more than by camera; automated speed cameras are banned or restricted in many states.

The blood alcohol limit is 0.08 in almost every state (0.05 in Utah), with zero-tolerance limits for drivers under 21. DUI penalties are severe everywhere and include license suspension on the first offense in most states.

Four-way stop intersections work on first-to-arrive-first-to-go, yielding to the right on ties. They are everywhere and genuinely unfamiliar to most foreign drivers.