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US driving licence Exchange- Question
Hi Team,
My wife has been to commune to exchange US driver licence with Belgium. Commune has given acknowledgement letter and they informed it will take atleast 3 months to validate and she will receive mail and we need setup an appointment for exchange. Can she drive during this period ? She has a copy of driver licence and commune acknowledgement... its just been 7 months for her in Belgium. Please advise we will plan accordingly.
Normally not. It is an unclear situation where the risks are very high. Read this. https://abra-relocation.com/driving-license-exchange/
Talk to your insurers.
If they say that she is not covered, she should not drive whatever anyone else says.
If she is covered there is not problem.
This is an ambiguous situation with a very high risk. It is best to ask insurers and control services. If someone is in the same situation and can talk about it, that’s good. But it’s better to see for yourself.
My wife and I moved from USA to Belgium six months ago. Four months ago, we exchanged our U.S., drivers license for the Belgium licenses. The officers at the Etterbeek city hall made it very clear that in the interim, whilst waiting for our new licenses to arrive, it was against the law of Belgium for us to drive - using whichever form of paper or receipt that was provided. I then confirmed with an attorney and colleagues at work (expats and Belgium) and for the same message - no! We decided that the risk of being caught was not worth it and never drove: used metro and
Uber. Yes, it took almost two months to get our Belgium drivers license. Worth noting: the notification letter from city hall never came. After two months of waiting, I went to the Etterbeek city hall, and guess what, our drivers license were ready to be picked up. Good news - it’s for ten years and can be used worldwide (I used it this summer in North America). The point is that it is really not worth risking jail time or hefty fine by braking the law. It might not happen but just imagine if someone were to hit your wife’s car whilst she was driving and without valid Belgium drivers license. If you are unsure, go to your city hall and ask the officials for advice. Good luck.
