Driver's license in Pennsylvania: A foreign license works while you are still a visitor

If you are at least 16, hold a valid license from your home country and can understand traffic control devices, you may drive in Pennsylvania. Only the vehicle types your license covers, and following every restriction printed on it. Note: this page is written for visitors. Once you become a Pennsylvania resident, the 60-day rule below applies.

Driver's license in Pennsylvania: An International Driving Permit is not required

PennDOT states plainly that an International Driving Permit is NOT required in Pennsylvania and that a valid foreign license is enough. If you do have an IDP, always carry it with your original license, because an IDP is only a translation and is not valid on its own.

Driver's license in Pennsylvania: The 60-day rule for new residents

New residents holding an out-of-state non-commercial license must obtain a Pennsylvania license within 60 days of establishing residency. You have to appear in person at a Driver License Center, and some state-to-state services are not available on Saturdays.

Driver's license in Pennsylvania: You hand over your old license

You must surrender your out-of-state license, valid or expired by no more than six months, before PennDOT can issue a Pennsylvania one. A vision screening is also required.

Driver's license in Pennsylvania: The driver's manual comes in 30+ languages

The Pennsylvania Driver's Manual is available online in more than 30 languages. If you are stopped, you must show your license, valid vehicle registration and proof of insurance; if your identity cannot be confirmed from the license, you may be asked for your passport or visa.

Driver's license in Pennsylvania: Non-US citizens must prove lawful presence

PennDOT publication PUB 195NC (8-23) states that a non-United States citizen applying for a Pennsylvania learner's permit, driver's license or photo identification card must present documentation issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security establishing lawful presence in the U.S. PennDOT verifies immigration documents electronically through the USCIS SAVE program, and the expiration date of the product is set by the individual's authorized length of stay as approved by DHS, not by a fixed cycle. Where SAVE cannot verify status at the counter, PennDOT must resubmit for additional and occasionally third level verification, and those responses can take 30 or more federal working days. Plan your visit to a Driver License Center around that. If you do not bring every required document, no SAVE verification is run at all and you are handed PennDOT courtesy form DL-160. Minimum ages: 16 for a non-commercial driver's license and for a learner's permit, 16 and a half to transfer a non-commercial license from another state. An out-of-state learner's permit cannot be transferred to Pennsylvania.

Driver's license in Pennsylvania: Documents for a green card holder, and if you have no Social Security number

The chart in PUB 195NC has a row for each status. A Lawful Permanent Resident needs a Social Security card, two proofs of residency, and ONE of these, valid: a Permanent Resident Card (green card) I-551, a passport or I-94 with an I-551 stamp, a machine readable immigrant visa, or a Reentry Permit I-327. If the green card has expired you must present the expired card together with an I-797 receipt notice for an I-90, I-751, I-829 or N-400 that shows the validity period was extended. The old form I-151 is not accepted. If you are ineligible for a Social Security number, PennDOT requires a letter from the Social Security Administration saying so, and that letter must be presented with each application. The same chart carries separate rows for a Refugee, an Asylee, an Asylum Applicant, an Applicant for Adjustment of Status (I-485), an Applicant for Family Unity, a Cuban-Haitian Entrant, TPS, DED and a Parolee.

Driver's license in Pennsylvania: The document list exists in Vietnamese

PennDOT's Proof of Identity and Residency page publishes its document lists in about 30 languages, and Vietnamese is one of them: the line "Tiếng Việt | Vietnamese" appears under both headings, For US Citizens and For Non-US Citizens. The Vietnamese edition for non-citizens is titled "YÊU CẦU NHẬN DẠNG, CƯ TRÚ VÀ HIỆN DIỆN HỢP PHÁP ĐỐI VỚI NGƯỜI KHÔNG PHẢI LÀ CÔNG DÂN HOA KỲ", stamped PUB 195NC (8-23) Vietnamese, and carries the same content as the English. Print it and take it with you, because the counter clerk is working from that same list.

Driver's license in Pennsylvania: Two proofs of residency, even when no bill is in your name

You must bring two proofs of residency, each carrying your name and your Pennsylvania street address. PUB 195NC accepts: post-marked mail or package labels through USPS, UPS, FedEx and the like; a W-2 form or pay stub; a lease agreement or mortgage documents; official tax records; a current unexpired Pennsylvania license or photo ID card; a Pennsylvania vehicle registration card; an auto insurance card; a computer-generated utility bill (cellphone, cable, electric, gas). If you live with someone and have no bills in your name, PennDOT still wants two: bring the person you live with, plus their driver's license or photo ID, to the Driver License Center where they sign an affidavit that you reside with them, and supply a second proof in your name at that same address. One relief: for a non-commercial product, proving residency is a one-time requirement at first application, and a later change of address can be done online or through the mail rather than at a counter.

Driver's license in Pennsylvania

What Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Driver and Vehicle Services (PennDOT) publishes about getting a license, checked August 27, 2026.

A foreign license works while you are still a visitor: If you are at least 16, hold a valid license from your home country and can understand traffic control devices, you may drive in Pennsylvania. Only the vehicle types your license covers, and following every restriction printed on it. Note: this page is written for visitors. Once you become a Pennsylvania resident, the 60-day rule below applies.; Source: PennDOT - Driving in Pennsylvania with a Foreign Driver's License · Checked August 27, 2026
An International Driving Permit is not required: PennDOT states plainly that an International Driving Permit is NOT required in Pennsylvania and that a valid foreign license is enough. If you do have an IDP, always carry it with your original license, because an IDP is only a translation and is not valid on its own.; Source: PennDOT - Driving in Pennsylvania with a Foreign Driver's License · Checked August 27, 2026
The 60-day rule for new residents: New residents holding an out-of-state non-commercial license must obtain a Pennsylvania license within 60 days of establishing residency. You have to appear in person at a Driver License Center, and some state-to-state services are not available on Saturdays.; Source: PennDOT - Moving to Pennsylvania · Checked August 27, 2026
You hand over your old license: You must surrender your out-of-state license, valid or expired by no more than six months, before PennDOT can issue a Pennsylvania one. A vision screening is also required.; Source: PennDOT - Moving to Pennsylvania · Checked August 27, 2026
The driver's manual comes in 30+ languages: The Pennsylvania Driver's Manual is available online in more than 30 languages. If you are stopped, you must show your license, valid vehicle registration and proof of insurance; if your identity cannot be confirmed from the license, you may be asked for your passport or visa.; Source: PennDOT - Driving in Pennsylvania with a Foreign Driver's License · Checked August 27, 2026
Non-US citizens must prove lawful presence: PennDOT publication PUB 195NC (8-23) states that a non-United States citizen applying for a Pennsylvania learner's permit, driver's license or photo identification card must present documentation issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security establishing lawful presence in the U.S. PennDOT verifies immigration documents electronically through the USCIS SAVE program, and the expiration date of the product is set by the individual's authorized length of stay as approved by DHS, not by a fixed cycle. Where SAVE cannot verify status at the counter, PennDOT must resubmit for additional and occasionally third level verification, and those responses can take 30 or more federal working days. Plan your visit to a Driver License Center around that. If you do not bring every required document, no SAVE verification is run at all and you are handed PennDOT courtesy form DL-160. Minimum ages: 16 for a non-commercial driver's license and for a learner's permit, 16 and a half to transfer a non-commercial license from another state. An out-of-state learner's permit cannot be transferred to Pennsylvania.; Source: PennDOT - PUB 195NC, Identification, Residency, and Legal Presence Requirements for Non-United States Citizens (PDF) · Checked September 21, 2026
Documents for a green card holder, and if you have no Social Security number: The chart in PUB 195NC has a row for each status. A Lawful Permanent Resident needs a Social Security card, two proofs of residency, and ONE of these, valid: a Permanent Resident Card (green card) I-551, a passport or I-94 with an I-551 stamp, a machine readable immigrant visa, or a Reentry Permit I-327. If the green card has expired you must present the expired card together with an I-797 receipt notice for an I-90, I-751, I-829 or N-400 that shows the validity period was extended. The old form I-151 is not accepted. If you are ineligible for a Social Security number, PennDOT requires a letter from the Social Security Administration saying so, and that letter must be presented with each application. The same chart carries separate rows for a Refugee, an Asylee, an Asylum Applicant, an Applicant for Adjustment of Status (I-485), an Applicant for Family Unity, a Cuban-Haitian Entrant, TPS, DED and a Parolee.; Source: PennDOT - PUB 195NC, Identification, Residency, and Legal Presence Requirements for Non-United States Citizens (PDF) · Checked September 21, 2026
The document list exists in Vietnamese: PennDOT's Proof of Identity and Residency page publishes its document lists in about 30 languages, and Vietnamese is one of them: the line "Tiếng Việt | Vietnamese" appears under both headings, For US Citizens and For Non-US Citizens. The Vietnamese edition for non-citizens is titled "YÊU CẦU NHẬN DẠNG, CƯ TRÚ VÀ HIỆN DIỆN HỢP PHÁP ĐỐI VỚI NGƯỜI KHÔNG PHẢI LÀ CÔNG DÂN HOA KỲ", stamped PUB 195NC (8-23) Vietnamese, and carries the same content as the English. Print it and take it with you, because the counter clerk is working from that same list.; Source: PennDOT - Proof of Identity and Residency · Checked September 21, 2026
Two proofs of residency, even when no bill is in your name: You must bring two proofs of residency, each carrying your name and your Pennsylvania street address. PUB 195NC accepts: post-marked mail or package labels through USPS, UPS, FedEx and the like; a W-2 form or pay stub; a lease agreement or mortgage documents; official tax records; a current unexpired Pennsylvania license or photo ID card; a Pennsylvania vehicle registration card; an auto insurance card; a computer-generated utility bill (cellphone, cable, electric, gas). If you live with someone and have no bills in your name, PennDOT still wants two: bring the person you live with, plus their driver's license or photo ID, to the Driver License Center where they sign an affidavit that you reside with them, and supply a second proof in your name at that same address. One relief: for a non-commercial product, proving residency is a one-time requirement at first application, and a later change of address can be done online or through the mail rather than at a counter.; Source: PennDOT - Proof of Identity and Residency · Checked September 21, 2026

Every line carries its own check date, because a page is only as trustworthy as its oldest line.

The oldest line on this page was checked August 27, 2026

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