Drivers' licenses.

This is our main tax information forum which deals with topics concerning Canadians living and working in the U.S., U.S. citizens contemplating working in Canada, and all aspects of Canadian and U.S. income tax and related adminstrative issues.

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MaggieA
Posts: 150
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2004 4:06 pm

Post by MaggieA »

In the US there are a couple of different inter-state compacts on driver's licences. Most but not all states have signed at least one of these. There's something similar in Canada between provinces. There is an initiative to standardize these both within the US and cross-border (it would be called the North American Driver's License Agreement) but this hasn't happened yet. Among other things, these compacts state that a driver may only hold one license from any of the signatory jurisdictions at a time.

Even though there's no formal cross-border agreement currently in place, many jurisdictions as a matter of policy (not law) attempt to enforce the only-one-license rule. Georgia DMV insisted on confiscating my BC DL when I got a Georgia one, for example. Many people have had similar experiences. However the enforcement tends not to be uniform.

It really doesn't make sense to be bothered about surrendering your Canadian license IMO. The terms of the Canadian license make it invalid when you cease residing in the province, anyway. If you move back there then you just go get a new license. This is tedious but not a big deal, surely.

On the other hand, a person who's managed to hang on to a Canadian licence when getting a US one has not done anything <i>illegal.</i>
nelsona
Posts: 18311
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 2:33 pm
Location: Nowhere, man

Post by nelsona »

One reason to give back your Cdn DL would be for the refund, if you were in a 'gov't insurance' province.

We got back over $100 when we returned our QC DLs, a few months after moving.

If you paid $10 for your DL, then that is not an issue.

<i>nelsona non grata</i>
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