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I am relocating to California from New Jersey and will be there for around 7 months. Do I have to surrender my NJ driving license and get a new one in CA?

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  • I'm not sure whether this really qualifies as a travel question. It's more a "living in USA" question. But it's not an expatrates question either ... – hippietrail Dec 13 '13 at 3:21
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If you are not planning to stay in California permanently, you can continue to use your New Jersey license.

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/dl/dl_info.htm#two500

If you are a visitor in California over 18 and have a valid driver license from your home state or country, you may drive in this state without getting a California driver license as long as your home state license remains valid.

If you become a California resident, you must get a California driver license within 10 days. Residency is established by voting in a California election, paying resident tuition, filing for a homeowner’s property tax exemption, or any other privilege or benefit not ordinarily extended to nonresidents.

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  • I am not sure if I will be a resident or not. I am an international student here at NJ and will join an internship in CA. Will I be a resident in CA? – Abhishek Chanda May 28 '12 at 21:32
  • The section I quoted tells you the things that will make you a resident of California. – choster May 28 '12 at 23:31
  • @AbhishekChanda There is some ambiguity in the definition above since it says "or any other privilege or benefit not ordinarily extended to nonresidents." If a driver's license is your main concern, you should be okay as long as you don't get too many moving violations in California and your current NJ license remains valid. – Tensigh Mar 28 '17 at 6:32

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