Converting an Ontario G2 Driver's Licence to Californian one

I got a job offer in California and I'd like to convert my Ontarian driver's licence to a Californian driver's licence.

I called California Department of Motor Vehicles and asked what is involved and was told I should have an SSN, a valid visa and my native driver's licence.

My driver's licence category is G2 (not a full G), and I was wondering if anyone knows if there would be a problem to convert a G2 to a Californian one.

The reason I ask is because it takes time to book a test in Ontario for a full G, and I may not have so much time.

I got a job offer in California and I'd like to convert my Ontarian driver's licence to a Californian driver's licence.

I called California Department of Motor Vehicles and asked what is involved and was told I should have an SSN, a valid visa and my native driver's licence.

My driver's licence category is G2 (not a full G), and I was wondering if anyone knows if there would be a problem to convert a G2 to a Californian one.

The reason I ask is because it takes time to book a test in Ontario for a full G, and I may not have so much time.

California does not recognize a foreign driver's license--even a full one. You will need to start from scratch, and do the full road test in California, with or without the full G license from Ontario.

Yeah, you have to take the test, one of my relatives was in the same situation. According to her they made more of a fuss about the SSN than the actual test, they just drove down the block and back.

Ugh

Thanks guys. I guess I'll have to take the road test.

I wouldn't get worked up about it, I've taken several driver's tests in the US and I always got worried about them and they ended up being a joke. On two of my tests we never even left the parking lot.

My son got his driving licence on Sept. 18. He is a brand new driver, took 4 lessons in August, was tested on local streets, not highways. He bought a GPS and is exploring Bay area.

NY, MA, NJ and RI have the reputation of having the toughest tests, California is middling in that they actually do expect you to go out on a public road at least, but not too far.

Personally I think anyone who takes a US test (in any State) and thinks they're qualified to drive ought to think again. A lot of schools have driver ed so there is sort of an assumption that people know what they're doing, but when I lived in FL the local joke was that people should have flags on their cars instead of licence plates so you know what country's road rules they are following.

If I had kids in the US I would insist they took a proper defensive driving course before I let them get cars.

The State that gets me is Montana, I don't even know why they bother issuing speeding tickets in that State, the "fine" is $20, but in reality it's legally defined as "bail", so if you don't show up at court in Helena they keep the money. If you do show up at court the chances are very slim indeed the trooper will, so basically, show up at court and they drop the points and the fine almost automatically.

Even in Alberta they will drop the points down to one point if you show up, because they don't want to tie up the court, so as you need 15 points in 2 years to get your licence suspended, you've got to be an appallingly bad driver to lose your licence.

I applied for a CA drivers license about 3 weeks after getting my SSN. You do a 36 question written test which gives you a temporary 2 month license (no restrictions), but you must do a behind the wheel test within that time.

I had a California DL when I lived there. The written and road test were both required. When I did my road test (LA) the examiner asked why I was doing the test as I was one of the better driver's he had seen in a long time. He laughed when I said I had moved from Toronto and needed to get a CA licence as he knew our testing was more stringent than CA's.

What was weird was when my visa expired, but I was still in CA legally (it was in for renewal) they would not extend my CA licence so I had to revert back to my ON one. In SC if your visa expires, they extend your licence for 1 year with proof of application of visa extension/renewal.

Oh yeah, SC was much easier to get the DL, just showed my ON one and was out the door (well my ON one and all the govt paperwork)

Quick question:

Does California take away your Canadian DL when you apply?

If they do, and since California considers your Canadian DL to be useless, wouldn't it make more sense to tell them you don't have a Canadian DL?

This way, you can hide away your Canadian DL in a safe place for when you move back to Canada.