Driving License

A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public road. Such licenses are often plastic and the size of a credit card.

In most international agreements the wording "driving permit" is used, for instance in the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. In this article's country specific sections, the local spelling variant is used.

Most American jurisdictions issue a permit with "driver license" printed on it but some use "driver's license", which is conversational American English. Canadian English uses both "driver's licence" as well as "driver licence" (Atlantic Canada). The Australian and New Zealand English equivalent is "driver licence". In British English and in many former British colonies it is "driving licence".

The laws relating to the licensing of drivers vary between jurisdictions. In some jurisdictions, a permit is issued after the recipient has passed a driving test, while in others, a person acquires their permit before beginning to drive. Different categories of permit often exist for different types of motor vehicles, particularly large trucks and passenger vehicles. The difficulty of the driving test varies considerably between jurisdictions, as do factors such as age and the required level of competence and practice.