International driver's license help, Netherlands & USA addition
July 15, 2013 6:08 AM   Subscribe

I have a semi-emergency situation involving US and Dutch driver's licenses. Complex situation inside.

I'll try to bullet point this as it's complicated:

- I am a dual USA / Dutch national with valid passports for each.
- I have a NY state driver's license I stupidly just now noticed expires in two weeks.
- I do not have a Dutch driver's license because I didn't qualify for the 30% rule, it's been longer than six months and I haven't had time to deal with the Dutch driving school mafia.

That's the situation. Here's the problem:

- I'm going to have to drive in the US (specifically SC and FL) in August. As mentioned, I will not have a valid NY license then.
- I will HAVE to rent a car!
- I have no way to renew my NY state license that I know of as I have no residency there anymore.
- There is no time to get a Dutch driver's license now because I leave for France for two week this coming Saturday and leave for the States immediately after that.

So possible solutions might be an international driver's license, although I'm unsure if I can get one based on my (for now) still valid NY State license. Maybe this new European Driver's License thing might work, but I have absolutely no idea how that works, and the website doesn't give any indication of where to go for more info.

I'll go to the ANWB tomorrow when they open. I went this afternoon, but it was as expected completely swamped.

Help? The older question on this from 2006 is neither comforting nor up to date.
posted by digitalprimate to Travel & Transportation around Hayti, MO (11 answers total)
 
You can renew you NYS drivers license on-line - I also believe you change your address. Perhaps your solution would be a mailbox to have your stuff sent to?

I'm sure there is a solution to this.
posted by JPD at 6:22 AM on July 15, 2013 [1 favorite]


An international driver's license isn't actually a license, it's basically a translation that needs to be paired with a (valid) license from some country to be valid.

I'm reading the European Driver's License memo as being about standardising licenses across Europe, not introducing a new type of license.
posted by hoyland at 6:24 AM on July 15, 2013


Best answer: International Driver's Permits are only valid if accompanied by a valid national license, unfortunately.
posted by atrazine at 6:24 AM on July 15, 2013


Best answer: Here is the website page for renewing on-line. Ask a friend in NY to provide an address that you can use.

You'll get an email confirmation of your renewal, which should be fine, in conjunction with your passport for car rental.

It's going to be fine!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:27 AM on July 15, 2013


Best answer: Technically you can't renew if you reside in another country, but if you're using a friend's address...well?

According to the site, you change the address first, then renew.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:29 AM on July 15, 2013


Yup, you cannot renew with a different address to the one the DMV has. You can change the address, and then renew. You can change the address online as well as renewing online.

You can also get the license sent out of state, apparently, although whether changing your address with the DMV and then giving a third mailing address in quick succession raises red flags I couldn't say.
posted by MuffinMan at 6:31 AM on July 15, 2013


Best answer: I think you're best/only hope is with NYS and getting your license renewed. I went through something similar with my CA license (I live in the UK) and did it by using my parent's address.

You can renew by mail from another state or country and have it sent to you there. Although it sounds like you don't actually have enough time to wait around in NL for a renewed license to arrive, perhaps you can have it mailed to someone else in the US (in SC or FL?) this way.
posted by vacapinta at 6:33 AM on July 15, 2013


Response by poster: The NYS renewal looks to be potentially an option, but then...Vision Test!

Le sigh.
posted by digitalprimate at 6:36 AM on July 15, 2013


If you look at my link, you can see that the vision test can also be conducted in a foreign country.
posted by vacapinta at 6:38 AM on July 15, 2013 [1 favorite]


You're supposed to get your foreign license changed for a Dutch one after a certain amount of time, regardless of the 30% ruling.

The ANWB isn't necessarily directly involved in getting the license changed, you can just go to the local council.

I exchanged my license a couple of years ago, and the whole process took a couple of months. One source of delay was getting an appointment with a doctor to do a very basic medical exam, that in itself took a couple of weeks. But I didn't have to retake the driving test.
posted by daveje at 12:31 AM on July 16, 2013 [1 favorite]


Apply for an IDL now while your NY license is still valid. You need it to apply. The countries in which I use one do not ask to see anything else but then these are places where you hand it over with a discreetly folded bill inside.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 3:27 PM on July 17, 2013


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