Lost Drivers Licence

Bah

I'm going to the US for the summer and plan on renting a car for a few weeks. It's working out a lot cheaper (Well, cheaper/plausible - it's still pretty expensive) if I have a US licence, so I was thinking about getting a licence in New Jersey. I've already got a full Irish drivers licence and an IDP.

The only problem is that if I apply for a licence and get one, I've got to surrender my current licence, which gets destroyed after 60 days.

So, I'm wondering if I should just report my licence as lost, pay whatever charges there are for a replacement licence, and just let the New Jersey DMV detain/destroy my Irish one.

Are there any downsides to getting a replacement licence? Having "Duplicate" or something along those lines stamped on it or anything like that?

I'm leaving on Monday, so I'd appreciate a fast response.
Thanks in advance.

Bah

Anybody?

Larianne

Well once there isn't a chance of the Us peeps sending your passport back to the irish peeps..

Once you're sure that you'll get the licence fast enough, just do it! Dunno want to be stuck half your holiday waiting for the thing! You saving mega bucks here or what??

Bah

Larianne wrote:

Well once there isn't a chance of the Us peeps sending your passport back to the irish peeps..

Once you're sure that you'll get the licence fast enough, just do it! Dunno want to be stuck half your holiday waiting for the thing! You saving mega bucks here or what??

Well, they say they'll "destroy" it, so I doubt they'll send it back to Ireland, and even then I don't know if the county council/department of transport would have enough cop on to check if the licence was reported as lost/stolen.

My only major concern is that when I get a replacement licence here, it'll have the words "Duplicate" or something to that effect stamped all over it, I remember seeing one before with a stamp like that on it. Which will probably cause problems when I'm travelling again.

The car rental thing isn't just an issue of saving huge amounts of money, but even being able to get a company to rent to me. When I e-mailed them, most said they wont rent to people with Irish licences untill they're over 25 (which I'm about 6 years off), but they'll rent to American licence holders once they're over 18 (which I am)... so I thought it'd be easier/cheaper (and kinda cool) to get an American licence.

SoBe

are you sure you can get a licence in the states?i thought you had to have a us social security number to get one or mabey you have one.would be interesting to know cus im going there for 3 months on june 30th

Del2005

They don't recognize Irish licenses in the US anyway, you can drive on it but when you apply for an American one you still need to do the full test. Just turn up for the test and don't hand over you Irish license. BTW they need you to provide proof of residency so your going to need a US Social Security Number and some other prood of address.

tea

Bah wrote:

I'm going to the US for the summer and plan on renting a car for a few weeks. It's working out a lot cheaper if I have a US licence, so I was thinking about getting a licence in New Jersey. I've already got a full Irish drivers licence and an IDP.
The only problem is that if I apply for a licence and get one, I've got to surrender my current licence, which gets destroyed after 60 days.

So why not just not tell them that you have an Irish license in the first place? The US won't transfer Irish licenses, so you'll have to sit the US test whether you have an existing Irish license anyway.

Bah

Well, I'm going on a J1, so I'll already have a SSN (within the first 2-5 weeks anyway). I'm not elligible for a licence in New York (where I'm going to), but I am in New Jersey (very close), so I was thinking just go to New Jersey for a few days, do the tests, get the licence.

Del2005 - I e-mailed the DMV in New Jersey, they said that my licence would have to be surrendered, but I'd only have to do a written test (like a DTT) and no road exam. It's supposed to be a simple exam with a tiny waiting list though, so it wouldn't be too bad if I had to do a road test either...

SoBe

Del2005 wrote:

They don't recognize Irish licenses in the US anyway

from the recent reaserch i have done they do recognise the european licence,even though they recomend you get a idp before you go

Ernie Ball

Bah wrote:

Well, I'm going on a J1, so I'll already have a SSN (within the first 2-5 weeks anyway). I'm not elligible for a licence in New York (where I'm going to), but I am in New Jersey (very close), so I was thinking just go to New Jersey for a few days, do the tests, get the licence.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but you won't be able to get a license in NJ unless you're a resident of NJ.

Bah

Ernie Ball wrote:

Sorry to burst your bubble, but you won't be able to get a license in NJ unless you're a resident of NJ.

Well, the e-mail reply I got said that I could, and the DMV website says:

New Jersey DMV Website wrote:

#The following people with temporary visa status may apply for NJ driver licenses: treaty traders; students and their families; temporary workers, accompanying spouses and minor children; foreign information representatives and their families; exchange visitors and their families; fiancés and their children; intra-company transfers, accompanying spouses and minor children; students in nonacademic and vocational schools and family members; persons with temporary protection from deportation; Canadians temporarily U.S. residents; religious ministers and spouses; parents of U.S. citizens; international athletes or entertainment groups; and persons in a reciprocal exchange program.
# Students and their families on a (F) visa must show INS Form I-20, student identification cards or certification on school letterhead indicating status and their passport with I-94.
# Foreign drivers may use their native driver licenses as proof of driving experience if their countries are members of the United Nations Convention on Road Traffic, and if the applicants have their licenses translated into English by a consulate or an MVC approved translator or an International Driver License issued by there country.

Taken from this web page.

If I can't get a licence, it's not a major problem, I'djust take a train/bus instead, but it'd be handy to be able to rent a car for awhile.

Ernie Ball

All of what you cited is the case (you can exchange a license) provided you are residing in the state of NJ. You indicated that you were going to NY. I presume this means your address will be in NY. In that case, you cannot apply for a NJ license.

You might want to have a hard think about it in any case. If you hire a car and get in a serious accident, you can be sure the insurance company is going to investigate you. If they find that anything smacks of fraud, you could well be out of luck.

Victor

You could just sit the full NJ test and leave your Irish licence at home.

So, I'm wondering if I should just report my licence as lost before i leave, pay whatever charges there are for a replacement licence, and just let the New Jersey DMV detain/destroy my Irish one.

Do you realise what will happen if the American cops realise you declared you licence lost when it wasn't? Overstaying you visa for one day can have you in jail for 2-3 months. Now fraudulent ID ..... :eek: :rolleyes:

What are the NJ regulations regarding detain/destroying foreign licences. If they keep it for the 60 days, can you just surrender your NJ one and reclaim your Irish one?

Bah wrote:

My only major concern is that when I get a replacement licence here, it'll have the words "Duplicate" or something to that effect stamped all over it, I remember seeing one before with a stamp like that on it. Which will probably cause problems when I'm travelling again.

What problems?

Bah wrote:

but they'll rent to American licence holders once they're over 18

For how much?

Bah

Ernie Ball wrote:

You might want to have a hard think about it in any case. If you hire a car and get in a serious accident, you can be sure the insurance company is going to investigate you. If they find that anything smacks of fraud, you could well be out of luck.

Well, it wouldn't actually be fraudulent - if I was to apply for a NJ licence and my Irish licence were to be destroyed, then I'd imagine I'd be entitled to a replacement of my Irish licence once I return to Ireland. All I would want is a duplicate of the Irish licence that got destroyed/lost.

Victor wrote:

Do you realise what will happen if the American cops realise you declared you licence lost when it wasn't? Overstaying you visa for one day can have you in jail for 2-3 months. Now fraudulent ID ..... :eek: :rolleyes:

Well I wouldn't need my Irish one until I come home, so I don't think they'd be very interested in the fact that I declare my licence as lost and apply for a duplicate in September, when it's been destroyed. In fact, I doubt they'd even know about it.

What problems?

Well, when my father got a duplicate (about 9-10 years ago), it had "Duplicate" as a kind of watermark all over it, so when he went to France/Spain/non-English speaking country, they were very suspicious of his "duplicate" licence. It wasn't a huge problem, but it always involved long waits at rental companies trying to verify what "duplicate" actually meant. Not a huge problem, just something I'd rather avoid.

So I think I'll just wait until I'm over there to decide on whether I should apply for a licence.

Now, back to my original question: If I get a duplicate licence, will it still have "duplicate" written all over it?

edmund_f

i damaged a licence and had to get a replacement, no problems, no writing all over it. I did have the old one though. I did find the people in the licence office very helpful so perhaps a quick call to one of them, you can look them up in the local phone book.

Bah wrote:

Well, it wouldn't actually be fraudulent - if I was to apply for a NJ licence and my Irish licence were to be destroyed, then I'd imagine I'd be entitled to a replacement of my Irish licence once I return to Ireland. All I would want is a duplicate of the Irish licence that got destroyed/lost.



Well I wouldn't need my Irish one until I come home, so I don't think they'd be very interested in the fact that I declare my licence as lost and apply for a duplicate in September, when it's been destroyed. In fact, I doubt they'd even know about it.



Well, when my father got a duplicate (about 9-10 years ago), it had "Duplicate" as a kind of watermark all over it, so when he went to France/Spain/non-English speaking country, they were very suspicious of his "duplicate" licence. It wasn't a huge problem, but it always involved long waits at rental companies trying to verify what "duplicate" actually meant. Not a huge problem, just something I'd rather avoid.

So I think I'll just wait until I'm over there to decide on whether I should apply for a licence.

Now, back to my original question: If I get a duplicate licence, will it still have "duplicate" written all over it?

Bah

edmund_f wrote:

i damaged a licence and had to get a replacement, no problems, no writing all over it. I did have the old one though. I did find the people in the licence office very helpful so perhaps a quick call to one of them, you can look them up in the local phone book.

Thanks, I tried ringing them a few times, couldn't get through though.

Might try again today though.

Thanks again.

a_ominous

Why do you have to surrender your Irish driving licence if you have to do a US test? AFAIK in EU, surrendering your licence is done so you can be issued a licence in whatever country you become resident without the need for re-sitting the test.

Ernie Ball

Bah wrote:

Well, it wouldn't actually be fraudulent - if I was to apply for a NJ licence and my Irish licence were to be destroyed, then I'd imagine I'd be entitled to a replacement of my Irish licence once I return to Ireland. All I would want is a duplicate of the Irish licence that got destroyed/lost.

The fraud would be in claiming to reside in NJ when in fact you reside in NY.

Bah

a_ominous wrote:

Why do you have to surrender your Irish driving licence if you have to do a US test? AFAIK in EU, surrendering your licence is done so you can be issued a licence in whatever country you become resident without the need for re-sitting the test.

I'm really just going by what the e-mail/website says - I doubt I'll get away without doing a test, but if I do, I'll have to surrender my licence. The oasis site basically says that for Ireland, you can surrender your (foreign) licence for an Irish one without doing a test if you drive on the left hand side of the road. I probably will have to do a test, which shouldn't be a major problem. I just wanted to find out about the duplicate thing, just in case.

edmund_f

you could try phoning one of the other licencsing centers, galway, cork waterford limerick,

for waterford, phone number is (058) 22087 and from

http://www.waterfordcoco.ie/index.html

To apply for a duplicate Licence you need the following;

* Application Form D800
* Two photographs (signed on back)
* Appropriate Fee of € 5.08

took then 3-4 days from what i can remember

Bah

Ernie Ball wrote:

The fraud would be in claiming to reside in NJ when in fact you reside in NY.

TBH, I'm going wherever I've got a place to stay. And since I'm on a temporary visa, I'm hardly going to stay in the same area for my whole stay. As long as I stay in NJ for the period of application to test to receiving the licence, I'd imagine there wouldn't be a problem. I wouldn't be renting in NY anyway, so I'd be staying in NJ for awhile anyway.

Thanks Edmund_f, I'll give them a call now.