All members of the Foreign Mission Community are required to obtain a driver’s license from OFM.
Foreign mission members who obtain or maintain a driver’s license from one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, or any territory governed by the United States, will be required to pay a service fee of $100 prior to issuance of a Department of State driver’s license. Applicants must prove their ability to operate a Motor Vehicle by submitting a color photocopy of their current driver’s license and/or a certification that they have met all the driving requirements and passed all the necessary tests of the state in which they reside.
Applicants with a U.S. driver’s license that is valid or expired by no more than one year are required to pass a vision test.
Applicants with a foreign license that is valid or expired by no more than one year are required to take a vision test at a minimum to obtain a Department of State driver’s license. In addition, some applicants may also be required to pass a written test.
Applicants seeking to renew a Department of State driver license are required to pass a vision test at a minimum.
International Driver’s Permits do not qualify as an acceptable driver’s license for members of the Foreign Mission Community. Applicants who possess only an International Driver’s Permit must take and pass all tests required to obtain a driver’s license in the U.S. state where the applicant resides.
OFM maintains the driving records of all individuals who are licensed by the Department. Individual driving records contain the following information:
• The individual’s name
• DOS license number
• Class of license and restrictions, if any
• Status of the license
• Previous U.S. license, if any
• Previous foreign license, if any
• A list of moving violations, if any, to include violations recorded against a previous license issued by one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia
• Accident involvement, if any, to include accident involvement recorded against a previous license issued by one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia
The driving record of any individual licensed by OFM’s Diplomatic Motor Vehicle program will be provided, at no cost, to concerned insurance carriers or missions. Requests for driving records must be submitted electronically via an official e-mail address to OFM-DMV@state.gov.
If you are outside the Washington Metropolitan Area, please send requests for driving records to the appropriate OFM Regional Office that serves your area.