Do I need to tell DMV I am moving?

Just a tip: I would get started on practicing, applying for your UK provisional licence, taking a few driving lessons and preparing to take the tests as soon as you can after arriving in the UK. You need to have passed all the tests BEFORE your 12 months is up, or you will be treated as a learner driver in the UK (which means L plates on the car, and you must be accompanied at all times by someone over 21 who has held a UK licence for at least 3 years).

It can take several months to prepare and actually pass the tests, so give yourself plenty of time .

Noted! Tom is putting me on his insurance the minute I get there. We plan on visiting somewhere secluded, so I can get a feel for the car being the opposite of what I'm used to...and we'll slowly move to on-road practice. Do you know if there are any practice books/study material? I've heard that the UK driving test is more difficult than the US test.

Noted! Tom is putting me on his insurance the minute I get there. We plan on visiting somewhere secluded, so I can get a feel for the car being the opposite of what I'm used to...and we'll slowly move to on-road practice. Do you know if there are any practice books/study material? I've heard that the UK driving test is more difficult than the US test.

There are some great apps for the theory test, they're £4.99. I'm not sure if you can get them in the US though. Might be region locked depending on your phone type. There are 500 questions they can ask and you have to do a CGI hazard and perception test. Then, after passing you can book your practical (you have to use your theory test pass number to book the practical.

There are some great apps for the theory test, they're £4.99. I'm not sure if you can get them in the US though. Might be region locked depending on your phone type. There are 500 questions they can ask and you have to do a CGI hazard and perception test. Then, after passing you can book your practical (you have to use your theory test pass number to book the practical.

Fantastic! I definitely want to learn to drive or at least get comfortable with it in my first year before my US licence expires. I'm just really terrified of driving on the opposite side. It's not just the "other side of the road" though, it's the lay out of the car, the different road signs, and things that are on "auto pilot" when driving here that I won't have there. For example, just knowing where to go. I know my way around my home town like the back of my hand, I hardly need to know where I'm turning. But I won't have that luxury anymore. I also don't accidentally want to get into the "left turn lane" and end up hitting someone turning....eek!

Fantastic! I definitely want to learn to drive or at least get comfortable with it in my first year before my US licence expires. I'm just really terrified of driving on the opposite side. It's not just the "other side of the road" though, it's the lay out of the car, the different road signs, and things that are on "auto pilot" when driving here that I won't have there. For example, just knowing where to go. I know my way around my home town like the back of my hand, I hardly need to know where I'm turning. But I won't have that luxury anymore. I also don't accidentally want to get into the "left turn lane" and end up hitting someone turning....eek!

Not knowing where you are going is a big deal but you'll be surprised how easy driving on the other side actually is! 

Not knowing where you are going is a big deal but you'll be surprised how easy driving on the other side actually is! 

Yes, I don't have a problem with the actual driving on the opposite side or even shifting with the opposite hand. I have no idea where I am. I have no idea what direction I'm facing or where other cities are geographically. I'm lost so therefore I rarely go out driving.

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I'm also terrified of the "country roads" in the UK. No lines....tiny cars....trees/bushes on both sides.....!

I'm also terrified of the "country roads" in the UK. No lines....tiny cars....trees/bushes on both sides.....!

I avoid country roads because I always end up getting lost!  Now, if I can't get where I'm going on the motorway, I don't go! 

I avoid country roads because I always end up getting lost!  Now, if I can't get where I'm going on the motorway, I don't go! 

Me and my husband Tom got so lost driving around Wales in the country side it was genuinely terrifying!!! At least for me. Tom was like "What's the matter?" 

I avoid country roads because I always end up getting lost!  Now, if I can't get where I'm going on the motorway, I don't go! 

Lol.  We are exact opposites.  I drive through crazy windy hedgerows all the way to work that are single lane, national speed limit.  Great fun.

I’d rather stick a pen in my eyeball and walk around all day than take the M4!

Back to the original question - some states REQUIRE you to update your address within 30 days of any change. Some states REQUIRE you to be a legal permanent resident to have a DL. If you live in one of those states (VA is one, don't know all the others) and have an accident, or are stopped and have to show your license, it is a criminal offense to present a license that doesn't have your legal address, and also considered 'driving without a valid license'. Insurance is invalidated, and can lead to all sorts of problems.

Further, even in a state that allows you to retain/renew your license, it shows a tie to the state for state tax purposes. I would check the laws in your former state of residence carefully, and make darned sure you aren't breaking a law, and more importantly, have started breaking ties so that you are no longer domiciled and/or resident for tax purposes.

Lol.  We are exact opposites.  I drive through crazy windy hedgerows all the way to work that are single lane, national speed limit.  Great fun.

I’d rather stick a pen in my eyeball and walk around all day than take the M4!

Haha! It's a lot less busy where we are! 

Haha! It's a lot less busy where we are! 

Whereabouts do you live, Larrabee? 

Whereabouts do you live, Larrabee?

I'll pm you. 

Back to the original question - some states REQUIRE you to update your address within 30 days of any change. Some states REQUIRE you to be a legal permanent resident to have a DL. If you live in one of those states (VA is one, don't know all the others) and have an accident, or are stopped and have to show your license, it is a criminal offense to present a license that doesn't have your legal address, and also considered 'driving without a valid license'. Insurance is invalidated, and can lead to all sorts of problems.

Further, even in a state that allows you to retain/renew your license, it shows a tie to the state for state tax purposes. I would check the laws in your former state of residence carefully, and make darned sure you aren't breaking a law, and more importantly, have started breaking ties so that you are no longer domiciled and/or resident for tax purposes.

What if I let my licence expire, and use my new UK one when I visit? I wouldn't have any ties to my state anymore once the licence expires, correct? Or, if I present my new, UK licence instead?

If you rent a car, your UK license is perfectly good, and if you book from the UK, all the typical optional insurance coverage is included. (Way better price.)

I drove my father's car in the US with no issues. I carried my UK license along with the counterpart before they did away with that, and afterward with the DMV generated code that you would typically show when you rent a car. My father's insurance covered 'any licensed driver', so I was fine to drive.

Again, you can just let your license expire, but depending on your state, it's better to generate a paper trail to prove that you no longer have ties. Virginia has even been known to use a library card to insist you have ties; most states are not as ridiculous. It took us over a year and a mound of paper to get a ruling from the Tax Commissioner in VA that we had changed domicile, and in my case, I had only been in VA for 11 years out of my then 65. Again, it depends on the state; as I recall, seven states try to hold onto you forever and expect to see that tax return forever more unless you make a formal petition for change of domicile.