Foreign Reciprocity Working Group

Background 

AAMVA member jurisdictions have struggled with two major foreign reciprocity issues: (1) Allowing foreign licensed drivers to operate vehicles in the United States and Canada using a home country license, and vice versa: and (2) Establishing agreements with other countries to exchange licenses with minimal testing requirements. Questions on whether a written and/or road test is necessary when a licensed driver changes his/her residency from a U.S. state to another country, or vice versa, need to be addressed. The legal basis for allowing licensed drivers to drive in other countries is based upon numerous international agreements. Some are broad agreements paving the way for all drivers of signatory nations to operate vehicles in each other’s countries; others are specific to military personnel. The U.S. states need an up-to-date resource document to assist in making informed decisions about reciprocity agreements.

In 2000 AAMVA formed a foreign reciprocity working group to develop a recommended process to allow AAMVA member jurisdictions to make informed decisions on recognition of driving privileges and exchange of noncommercial driver licenses with foreign countries. The working group gathered information and developed the Foreign Reciprocity Resource Guide (FRRG) that was published by AAMVA in 2001. All AAMVA member jurisdictions received several copies of the guide and are able to download an electronic copy of the guide from the AAMVA website.

There is now a need to update the Foreign Reciprocity Resource Guide (FRRG), delete obsolete data, ensure the information is still accurate and update the guide to include the most current information available. A new FRRG Working Group has been established with the following objective:

Objectives of the FRRG W/G are to support the identification of obsolete and out-of-date sections of the FRRG and support the creation and printing of a new and updated FRRG. This guide aims at maintaining highway safety standards by providing a recommended process to allow states to make informed decisions on recognition of driver privileges. An updated FRRG guide will assist in improving highway safety by allowing jurisdictions to more quickly make informed decisions on the recognition of driving privileges as well as allowing for the verification of new or updated foreign driver’s licenses and driver records.

The FRRG working group will be working to evaluate the guide, identify areas that need updating or changed, obtain updated information and developing a new updated document for distribution to the AAMVA member jurisdictions. Over the next several months the working group will be gathering information and evaluating the current guide to ensure the FRRG provides the most useful and accurate data available.

Working Group Members