How to Drive in New Jersey With a Foreign Driver's License

Foreigners may want to rent a car to visit the Jersey Shore.

Foreign travelers visiting New Jersey may find it necessary to rent a car to get around the state. While there are public transportation options such as buses and trains available in New Jersey, it is much easier to get around the state's more rural areas with a car. For most tourists visiting the United States for less than a year, applying for a U.S. driver's license is unnecessary.

Instructions

1. Check that the country you are from is party to either the Convention on the Regulation of Inter-American Motor Vehicle Traffic (1943) or United Nations Convention on Road Traffic, Geneva, 1949. If your country is on this list, you can drive in the United States using a license issued in your home country. Most countries are on the list.

   If your country is not on this list, your driver's license will not be valid to use in the United States and you will either have to forgo driving or, if you are going to be in the States for a substantial period of time and need to drive, you may have to apply for a U.S. driver's license.

2. Apply for an international driving permit in your home country. If you come from a country that meets the requirements mentioned in Step 1, the U.S. government advises that you should also obtain an IDP, which is a translation of your country's driver's license into the nine official languages of the United Nations. You will need to get the IDP before entering this country because the United States does not issue these to non-citizens. The IDP is not required to drive in the United States, but it is useful to law enforcement officers and others in case you are pulled over, arrested or involved in an accident.

3. Learn about the various laws, rules and regulations regarding driving in New Jersey.

4. Check with the university or college that you are attending if you are a foreign student and want to drive in the United States. The U.S. government suggests that foreign students check with their schools for more information regarding how they can drive in the United States.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are planning to work in the United States or are staying more than a year, then you will need to get a driver's license from the state in which you will be residing.

References

• State of New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission: Vistors with Foreign Driver Licenses
• USA.gov: Foreign Visitors Driving in the United States

Resources

• Wisconsin Department of Transportation: Driving in Wisconsin with a Foreign Driver's License
• Just Landed: Driving License: Recognition of Foreign Licenses and US Licenses
• Drivers.com: Where to Get International Driving Permits
• State of New Jersey: Basic Automobile Driver Manual