International driver's license alongside my Florida license

I could be wrong, but my understanding is that even with an IDP (basically not more than a translation of your original driver's licence) you can only drive on a foreign licence for a year after getting you Bulgarian residency.

Hopefully someone who has been through the process will be able to answer!

Doesn't sound a legit way to do it.

Obviously the bad advice, that you shouldn't do, would be to declare it lost in the U.S and get a replacement and then surrender the "lost one".

@PepitoFiesta

It kinda matters not what you "want" to do (or not do). if you're now a Bulgarian Resident, then the clock is ticking on your permitted usage (12 months) of your foreign driving license. As it's American, you can't even simply exchange it, there will be some work/study/bureaucratic overhead for you to deal with (sorry).

If you haven't been stopped yet, from my experience the police rarely ask for the driving license... their concern is your ownership of the vehicle and its legality (inspection, vignette, insurance). If you have all that in order, you might get away with your foreign license for far longer than officially permissible. But it might get unpleasant if they do ask, so it's probably best to get your BG one sorted.

If you go back and forth frequently, then I understand the concern. My guess is that you'd probably have to do something  sneaky  along the lines of Zooldrool's "lost" suggestion, or doing the Bulgarian test as a learner (more work/aggravation as you're not swapping and surrendering your old US license).

First of all, there's no such thing as an "international driving licence"; you're talking about the "IDP" (International Driving Permit") - and even that "the" doesn't tell the whole story as there are  three IDPs, because there are three international conventions that govern where each is valid.  None of these is a "driving licence", despite the common erroneous use of that term. It merely certifies that you have a valid driving licence in your home country and is invalid unless presented with said licence, valid at the time of presentation, in a country which also recognises that particular IDP (they aren't universally accepted/interchangeable).

As a Bulgarian resident you're required to either have your US driving licence notarised or hold an IDP from the US. After one year, you're required to exchange your US licence - it's purely an exchange, ie no test etc required, as the US is a signatory of the relevant Vienna Convention (unless King Donnie decides otherwise, of course). You can exchange your licence once you've been legally resident in Bulgaria for six months; you have to surrender your US licence to KAT as part of the process - it's returned to the US.

After that, you have a BG licence and are subject to the same traffic laws etc as the rest of us (eg, you lose "points" on your licence for infringements until you run out of them, at which point your licence is suspended).  It's worth noting that any infringements aren't necessarily notified to you (eg those caught by traffic/red light cameras):  you can find out about any you may have clocked up online or "the hard way", ie when your vehicle fails the GTP (annual inspection)/your insurance renewal is rejected/the traffic cop gives you the good news after stopping you miles from anywhere in the middle of the night...

It's not worth trying any of the "unofficial work-arounds" unless you're feeling very rich and enjoy handing out "presents" to traffic cops..

As a resident in Bulgaria, you can use your Florida license paired with an International Driving Permit (IDP) for one year from your date of residency. After one year, you are required to exchange your Florida license for a Bulgarian one. You do not need to surrender your Florida license to get an IDP, unless you officially convert to a Bulgarian license.

The problem seems to be that the original poster thinks an International Driving Permit is a type of driver's licence. It's not, it's an "official" fancied-up translation of your original driver's licence. It can't be used as a driver's licence on its own.

@gwynj

Thank you for the detailed response. This is my main issue with this process. I do travel back and forth as I still live in the US as well. So if I have to exchange my US license to get a Bulgarian one it leaves me without a license when I'm in the US.

Thank you all for your replies. I appreciate the clarification. It sounds like there is a lot of misinformation on Google about what the "international license" is. As I mentioned above in one of my replies, my main issue with exchanging my US license for a Bulgarian one is that I still also live in the US. So this process would leave me without a license in the US. And the cops there don't accept "gifts" as easily. At least not ones most of us can afford. I'm surprised my situation isn't more common. I will continue to search for a way of keeping my US license and getting one here in Bulgaria properly. I will update this post if I find something.

@PepitoFiesta

What makes you say that? As a US citizen who is a resident of Bulgaria, your Bulgarian driving licence, plus IDP, permits you to drive in the US for up to a year per visit. Your citizenship is immaterial to the validity of your Bulgarian driving licence, ie you're treated like any foreign resident visiting the US.

@JimJ

I guess they are talking about "grey areas" where technically you might be treated as resident in both countries.

I have two permanent residence visas and now live in a third country. It's a bit of a mind field in the grey zone.