There are a number of foreign students that obtain a Pennsylvania (PA) driver’s license or state identification card. In addition to providing visitors the opportunity to drive, state-issued photo identification can be a good alternative to the passport. The license or state ID card may be used when opening a bank account, paying via personal check, or going to bars and restaurants where alcohol is served. Each state has different requirements for the issuance of driver’s licenses and state ID cards.

Firstly, you would need to either get a SSN (Social Security Number) by working for the school, or to obtain a SSN denial letter from the Social Security Administration. Next, you will need to obtain a Driver's License / State ID verification letter from OIE. Then you will need to gather proof of residency and all your identification documents such as you passport, visa, I-94, and I-20. Refer to the OIE link for more information about the list of documents.

There are a few things that you need to do that's extremely time consuming. These include obtaining your SSN (or SSN denial letter) and getting your health check-up done. The health check-up is time consuming because there is a very long wait list....

After you get all these things sorted out, you can then finally move. on. to. the real. thing.

The driving test comprises of 2 components. You will first have to take a test comprising of 20 multiple choice question. I don't think you need to make reservations to take the test. It wasn't crowded when I went down and so I cleared it pretty quickly. You can only get a maximum of 2 out of 20 questions wrong (i think). It should be freaking easy... if you studied. heh heh. After you pass the MCQ test, PENNDOT will issue you a learner's permit which allows you to drive in PA (for 1 year) as long as there is someone who has a PA driving license sitting beside you. (and i think he has to an adult, i.e. >21 years old. shouldn't be a problem for most people).

The second portion is the practical driving portion. Of course, before you take the test, you should already know how to drive. If you don't, there are a few options you can take. You can either go to a driving school (which I went) or you can look for a really good friend who has a car and beg him/her to teach you how to drive. I leave that up to you. You will have to schedule your driving test at least 1.5 months before (or shorter if you're lucky) due to the immense wait list. Please note that you cannot take the test in a rented vehicle.

During the test, you basically reverse out of bay parking, parallel park, drive around for like 10 minutes. then PASS! easy rite?

Here are some additional resources that I recommend looking at:

OIE Driver's License Resource

PENNDOT website

Hope this helps.

Xi Jie