Non-U.S. Resident Driving in Nevada and California?

[harryv]

Hi there. Hoping someone can help me with my inquiries. I am a Filipino resident, with a valid driver's license from my country. I will be traveling to the United States in October, and part of my tour will be to do a roadtrip form Las Vegas to Los Angeles.

I checked the DMVs of California and Nevada on the web. From the information I gathered, it seems I am allowed to drive in CA with my Philippine Driver's License, but not in Nevada. Can anyone confirm this? If so, does anyone know a loophole around the Nevada restriction? I am really looking forward to this roadtrip.

Thanks

Harry

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

Typically, as long as you are licensed in your home country, you can legally drive in the US. I'd be very surprised if you could not drive in Nevada.

Do you have a link to the information you found from Nevada's DMV? Perhaps if we see exactly what you are talking about we could provide a better explaination.

[harryv]

Hi Midwest Michael!

Thank you for responding, and your interest in helping me out. I really appreciate it.

To be more specific, I actually did not find any statement in the Nevada DMV that says explicitly I can / cannot drive in Nevada with my Philippine driver's license. Unlike the CA DMV which says under the section International Driving Permits that "The State of California does not recognize an International Driving Permit (IDP) as a valid driver license. California does recognize a valid driver license that is issued by a foreign jurisdiction (country, state, territory) of which the license holder is a resident."

I did further research today, and found on the website of the U.S. Embassy in London that "Motorists visiting the United States from countries which have ratified the Convention on Road Traffic may use their own valid drivers licenses to drive in the United States for a period of up to one year." What I need to find out now is if the Philippines has ratified the Convention on Road Traffic. Have to flex my Google muscles. :-)

Hope to hear from you soon! Thanks again!