How to renew my drivers license from abroad?
International license is not worthless but must be accompanied by valid US license. So, it does not extend your existing license, but makes it possible for you to drive in a foreign country that wouldn’t let you on “just” a US license. What it *can* do is make it much easier for you to transfer your license from one country to another. Info from State Department (look for “International Driving Permit”) Application form In theory you are supposed to do this before moving overseas…
The profile says you’re in Oman. According to this site, you transfer your Ohio licence to an Oman licence. In fact, if you’re driving there, you should do it because you could end up in trouble for driving in Oman without a valid driver’s licence (No matter how attached you may feel to your home state, you are not a resident of Ohio anymore, you are a resident of Oman). States usually have reciprocical understandings when it comes to driver’s licence (which means you can later swap your Oman licence for a Ohio licence.
I’ve got the same problem. My Indiana license expires in March of next year, and I live in Australia (and have no current plans to visit between now and then). The kicker is that I could’ve renewed it on my last visit home, except that everybody in my family assured me that Indiana had introduced online renewals. Great. I only discovered on the last day of my trip that they’d discontinued it *very* quickly for some reason and went back to requiring you to go in person. HOWEVER – I do have an Australian driving license. Oz and the US have a reciprocal arrangement where I was able to get my license here without sitting any tests. I’m hoping that, should I eventually move back to the US, I’ll be able to do the same thing in reverse there.
I don’t know where you’re living now, but why not get a drivers license for your province? In Canada, I was able to use my valid California license to get a Manitoba license without taking any tests. Then, once you’re back in Ohio, use your valid (wherever) license to get an Ohio license, hopefully without taking tests. I’d call the DMV in Ohio to see what the rules are.
You can only renew by post if you’re serving abroad in the military. If you get an Omani licence and an international drivers’ permit (in Oman, translated to English) then you may be allowed to drive on it for visits or short stays in Ohio, or surrender it for an Ohio license with relative ease. It all depends on whether the Ohio BMV has a reciprocity agreement with Oman: some states do, some don’t. Get in touch with them to check.
