OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
Office of Research Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov and Drafting Office
H.B. 374 Bill Analysis
135th General Assembly
Click here for H.B. 374’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Introduced
Primary Sponsors: Reps. Mohamed and Dobos
Effective date:
SUMMARY
 Codifies federal law that allows certain nonresident drivers with valid international
driver’s licenses to drive in the U.S., including Ohio.
DETAILED ANALYSIS
Driver’s licenses and international tourists
Background
Generally, certain international treaties, which have the force and effect of federal law,
authorize specified foreign nationals, including tourists who are visiting the U.S., to drive under
the authority of their foreign driver’s license. Several U.S. states require international drivers to
carry an international driving permit (IDP), which is a form of identification that translates a
person’s driver’s license into ten languages. Although, the possession of an IDP does not
replace an original driver’s license issued by the nonresident’s country or the requirement to
present an original driver’s license, it may be helpful in avoiding confusion with local law
enforcement, who may not be immediately familiar with foreign driver’s licenses. Ohio does
not require an IDP.
Authorization to drive
The bill codifies the federal authorizations referenced above. Thus, the bill expressly
permits non-Ohio residents with an out-of-country driver’s license to operate a motor vehicle
on Ohio highways, provided that the country is a treaty signatory.1 However, a nonresident who
1 If the nonresident’s country is a signatory to a convention regarding driver’s license reciprocity and the
U.S. is also a signatory to that convention, that nonresident may operate a motor vehicle on public
highways in the U.S. A resident of another country who is a bona fide tourist visiting the U.S. may drive
for up to one year with their own national license plates (registration tags) on their vehicle and with
their own driver’s license. Countries that have signed and ratified the United Nations International
January 29, 2024
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operates a motor vehicle on the public highway must be readily able, upon request, to prove all
of the following:
 Lawful possession of the motor vehicle being operated;
 A right to operate that motor vehicle (i.e., a valid driver’s license);
 Proper identity; and
 Legal presence within the U.S.2
Additionally, the bill authorizes, but does not require, nonresident foreign drivers to
carry an IDP.3
HISTORY
Action Date
Introduced 01-08-24
ANHB0374IN-135/ts
Convention on Road Traffic of 1949 maintain this arrangement with one another (available on the
United Nation’s Treaty Collection website: https://treaties.un.org/, by clicking on “Depositary
Notifications” then “Status of Treaties,” then “CHAPTER XI,” then “Road Traffic,” and then “1. –
Convention on Road Traffic, Geneva, 19 September 1949”).
2 R.C. 4507.04(B)(1).
3 R.C. 4507.04(B)(2).
P a g e |2 H.B. 374
As Introduced


Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 4507.04