Is an international driving permit enough to hire a driver?

No. An international driving permit is a translation that travels with a license, not a license of its own. AAA, which issues permits in the United States, calls it only a translation and issues one only to a person who holds a valid U.S. license. Check the underlying foreign license, the driver's residency, and your state's rules. In New York, a resident with a foreign license must pass a written test, a five-hour course, and a road test.

How do I get a driving record from another state?

Order it from that state's motor vehicle agency, directly or through a screening company that pulls records nationwide. Each agency sets its own form, fee, and consent rules. For drivers of commercial motor vehicles, federal rules require you to ask each state where the driver held a license at any point in the three years before hire, with the records filed within 30 days, or a note documenting your good faith effort if a state does not respond.

The new license has not arrived yet. Can the driver keep working?

Yes, on the temporary document the DMV issues, as long as it is valid and your broker accepts it. New York, for example, hands out a temporary non-photo license document at the office and mails the card afterward. Record the temporary document's expiration date in the driver file, keep a copy, and replace it with the card when it arrives.

Out of state license NEMT driver: deadlines and records

Q: My driver lives across the state line. Can they work for me on that state's license?

Usually yes, as long as they stay a resident of the other state and the license is valid. Florida says so in its statute: a person domiciled in another state who commutes into Florida to work does not need a Florida license solely because of the job. Check your broker's rules too. Virginia's fee-for-service volunteer drivers need a Virginia license, and Paratransit Services in Washington asks for a valid Washington license.

Q: Does a driver's record from the old state follow them to the new one?

Partly. Under the Driver License Compact, member states report convictions to the driver's home state, which must treat four serious offenses as if they happened at home: vehicular manslaughter or negligent homicide, impaired driving, a felony involving a vehicle, and leaving the scene of a crash with injury or death. Other convictions get whatever effect the home state's own law gives them, so pull the old state's record directly.

The grace period starts when the driver moves, not when you hire

Each of the states below gives a new resident a limited window on the old license, then requires a license from the new state. The clock runs from the day the driver becomes a resident, so a driver who moved four months ago and never switched may already be driving illegally on a license that still looks valid. Ask on the application when the driver moved to your state, not just what license they hold.

Grace periods and the steps to switch differ sharply among the four largest states:

State	Grace period on the old license	What switching takes
California	Up to 10 days after becoming a resident, and none for driving on the job	Application, thumbprint, vision exam, and knowledge test; foreign licenses add a drive test
Florida	30 days after establishing residency	Vision test; written and road tests may be waived; $48 Class E fee plus a $6.25 service fee at most tax collector offices
New York	30 days after becoming a resident; 90 days of living there presumes residency	Surrender the old license, pass a vision test, pay the fee; the old license must be a photo license issued at least 6 months earlier
Texas	90 days after moving	Surrender the old license; no knowledge or skills tests for licenses from another state, territory, or Canada

California counts a person as a resident who intends to live there six months or more in a year, and Florida lists actions that can make someone a resident, starting a job among them. Florida also wants Florida insurance and vehicle registration within 10 days for vehicles the driver owns, which matters if the driver uses a personal car for work. The driver requirements guide covers license and experience rules in other states.

California: no driving for pay on the old license

California’s rule is the strictest of the four. Vehicle Code 12505(c) lets a person who was driving legally on a license from elsewhere continue for up to 10 days after establishing California residence, with one exception: they may not drive a motor vehicle for employment after establishing residency without first getting a California license.

For a NEMT company, that means a driver who moves to California for your job cannot drive your van on paid trips on the old license, even for a day. As an example, a driver who relocates from Reno to Sacramento on the first of the month needs a California license before the first shift. With a valid license from another state, the DMV visit is an application, a thumbprint, a vision exam, a photo, and the knowledge test, with up to three tries at the test. The drive test is added only for a license from another country. Plan the hire date around the DMV appointment.

Florida: a job can make someone a resident, but commuters are exempt

Florida treats work as a trigger. Its motor vehicle agency lists starting employment in Florida among the actions that can make a person a resident, and Florida Statutes 322.031 requires a nonresident who takes a job in the state to get a Florida license within 30 days of starting if they drive there.

The same statute exempts commuters. A person domiciled in another state who commutes into Florida to work, and holds a valid license from that state, does not need a Florida license solely because of the job. In practice, as an example, a driver who lives in southern Georgia and drives to a Jacksonville company every morning keeps the Georgia license. A driver who moves to Jacksonville for the job has 30 days.

Drivers licensed in another country

A visitor’s foreign license stops being enough once the person settles here. California lets a nonresident over 18 drive on a valid license from the foreign country where they live, and New York lets visitors drive on a valid foreign license but requires a state license once the person becomes a resident. A driver who has moved here to live and work for you is normally that resident.

Converting a foreign license takes more than an out-of-state one:

California. The same application as an out-of-state license, plus a driving test. Someone with a valid license must accompany the applicant to and from the test.
New York. A written test, a five-hour pre-licensing course, and a road test. The foreign license is handed to the examiner after the road test. A license not in English must be accompanied to the road test by an international driving permit or a certified translation.
Texas. A valid license from a qualifying country works for 90 days after the move. Texas has reciprocity with France, Germany, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and Taiwan, which waives the knowledge and skills exams for their licenses. Licenses not in English or Spanish must be translated before arrival.

An international driving permit is not a license. AAA, which issues permits in the United States, describes the permit as only a translation and issues it only to people who already hold a valid U.S. license. A driver with a permit and a foreign license is licensed by the foreign license, and only for as long as the state allows that license.

Experience requirements need a second look too. Virginia’s fee-for-service NEMT rules require a valid license held for at least two years, and Paratransit Services in Washington requires five. Ask the broker in writing whether years on a foreign license count before you build a schedule around the driver. Permission to work is a separate question from permission to drive; see E-Verify for NEMT companies for the hiring paperwork.

Pull a record from every state the driver held a license in

A driving record from the current state may not tell you everything about the old one. Under the Driver License Compact (California’s version is Vehicle Code 15020 to 15028), member states report each driver’s convictions to the home state. The home state must give four kinds of convictions the same effect as if they happened at home: vehicular manslaughter or negligent homicide, impaired driving, a felony committed with a vehicle, and failing to stop and help after a crash causing injury or death. For every other conviction, the home state applies its own law. When a driver applies in a new state, that state checks for licenses held elsewhere, refuses a license while one is suspended or revoked, and requires the old license to be surrendered.

Federal rules and broker contracts close the gap by asking for records from each state:

Commercial motor vehicle drivers. 49 CFR 391.23 requires an inquiry to each state where the driver held a license at any point in the three years before hire, with the records filed within 30 days, or documentation of your good faith effort.
Paratransit Services, Washington. The complete driving abstract comes from the Washington Department of Licensing before hire, no older than 30 days. Anyone living in Washington for under a year adds an abstract from their previous state. See the Paratransit Services guide.
Virginia fee-for-service NEMT. At most two chargeable accidents or moving violations combined over three years, a Virginia DMV point balance of minus 2 or better, and five clean years since any suspension or revocation for moving violations. A driver who arrived two years ago needs records from both states to cover that window.
MTM’s provider agreement. In the January 2023 version posted by Pennsylvania, the license must suit the vehicle and meet the requirements of the state and municipality where the driver provides rides. Within any 36-month window, three at-fault moving violation convictions disqualify a driver, and so do two at-fault crashes that injured someone or damaged property.

The motor vehicle record entry explains what each state’s record contains and how often brokers want it pulled.

CDL drivers who move

A driver with a commercial license has a hard federal deadline. Under 49 CFR 383.71(c), a CDL holder who moves must apply for a CDL from the new state of domicile within 30 days of establishing it. 49 CFR 383.21 bars anyone who operates a commercial motor vehicle from holding more than one driver’s license at any time. If your fleet runs buses or large vans that need a CDL, the CDL guide covers which vehicles cross that line.

A checklist for drivers new to your state

Ask for the full license history. Every state or country that licensed the driver in the past five years, with dates, and the date they moved to your state.
Work out the deadline. Compare the move date with your state’s grace period. In California, the new license comes before the first paid shift.
Order records from each prior state. Cover the longest lookback any of your brokers uses, and file a note for any state that does not answer.
Check each broker’s license rules. Look for an in-state license requirement, minimum years licensed, and whether foreign experience counts.
Tell your insurer. Add the driver to the policy’s driver list before the first trip; the insurer approval guide covers what underwriters check.
Track the temporary document. New York, for one, issues a temporary non-photo document at the office and mails the card later. Record the temporary document’s expiration and swap in the card when it arrives.

Drivers who live in one state and take trips across the line raise a different question, covered in the out-of-state trips guide.

Tracking the new license in HealthRide

HealthRide tracks each driver’s license as a credential with its expiration date, so when a driver swaps an old state’s license for a temporary document and then the new card, you update one record each time. Reminders go out before the date arrives, and the board warns you if you try to assign a trip to a driver whose license has expired. See fleet and credentials.

Hiring NEMT drivers with an out-of-state or foreign license: new-resident deadlines and driving records