Action line 80913 - Military drivers license

  • Published
  • By Anonymous
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  Complaint:

I'm sending this due to my driver's license not being accepted by the Turks. On page 6 of the newcomers guide it states that a valid driver's license is one that hasn't expired. I have a Washington state driver's license and on the expiration date, it shows 'mil' as it may be difficult to renew my license at a given time. So technically, my license has not expired but it's still not acceptable according to pass and registration.

I went on leave in Washington before arriving here last week so I could have renewed my license had this requirement been more clear in the newcomers guide. Can the newcomers guide be amended to show that licenses with a 'mil' expiration date is not accepted so future inbound personnel can avoid having this problem? Thanks!

Response:

Thanks for bringing this to our attention; we certainly missed the mark in regards to the driver's license section of our Newcomer's Guide. It previously did not cover the situation you described above, but it will be corrected right away.

As you are aware, the Turkish authorities require all US drivers' licenses to show a definitive end date in the expiration portion of the license. Any indication other than a date, such as "Military" or "No Expiration Date" is simply not an acceptable license in our host country. A license with a past date under the expiration portion is also not acceptable (some US states allow military members to use expired licenses provided they can show a valid ID card as proof of their military status). The only entry that the Turks will accept under the expiration column of a license is a date sometime in the future.

We've already made the necessary changes to the Newcomer's Guide. Thank you for bringing this to our attention, and we apologize for any inconvenience this misunderstanding may have caused you. Hopefully your suggestion will save others from experiencing similar frustrations in the future.