I am currently going through the conversion of my USA drivers license, which is unexpectedly complex, because my current license has a recent issue date (I thought it would be a good idea to renew before I moved away). Even though I still have my old license, which I thought would prove I have been driving for at least 2 years (in one of the "right" countries...), there have been many phone calls and visits to the AA office involved.
Here is a general guide for the process:
https://www.backpackerguide.nz/conve...river-license/
So my particular situation is that right before we moved to NZ in October 2018, we moved our official residence from California to Washington state. We don't have a house anymore, so we "moved in" with my sister-in-law for various reasons of convenience. The unfortunate part is that I had to get a hole punched in my California license in order to get a Washington license. (Otherwise the CA license would still be good, and would have been easy to convert in NZ). So, AA wanted me to call NZTA for a "reference number" to see if I could use both licenses together to get my conversion, and NZTA wanted AA to look at them and decide, basically punting the decision to each other. AA was also confused by the "enhanced drivers license" label on my Washington one, they had never seen that before and didn't know if it was the proper kind.
(See this link for the mess that is "REAL ID," supposed to be a requirement for domestic travel in the US starting in 2020... https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/dvs/rea...al-id-faq.aspx Again I thought it would be smart to get one before moving away, so I don't have to use a passport to fly in the US)
Long story short, the AA lady decided to approve me without making me get a certificate from the California DMV, which would be a nightmare from overseas. Hooray! Then...I failed the vision test. With my glasses on. There is apparently a trick to focusing the right way in the little box, otherwise your brain might turn the three columns into two columns. It's basically an optical illusion, because it's designed to simulate something far away, but some brains thinks - no, I'm looking into a little box, so that can't be right. Article here... https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/101...eening-machine)
Now I have to go to an optometrist to confirm that yes, I can see just fine with my glasses on. I'm not allowed to try again at AA. Good news is that AA members get a free eye exam at Specsavers, so ask about that.
Neat. So as I was trying to facilitate my husband's license conversion, I brought the licenses in to AA so they could call NZTA again and get the necessary "reference number" to proceed. It turns out that in the last few weeks, the process changed, and I now have to fill out another form "application for an exemption," and send both ORIGINAL licenses in the mail (not photocopies) to NZTA using a "track and trace" bag, and enclose another track and trace bag so they can return the licenses to me. Arg...
Throughout this process, I have been trying to avoid having to get the dreaded "certificate of particulars" from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, which is some sort of document that includes the key information: how long have you had a driver's license? I really really don't want to wait on hold for hours on Skype, which is no longer free. And I suspect the DMV would want to mail stuff to our old CA address, if they even know what this certificate of particulars thing is. Not an option.
Now, the "application for an exemption" form has a checklist indicating that we need to include the certificate of particulars. ARG!! But, I called NZTA and explained my situation, the lady said just the two licenses should be okay. Crossing my fingers.
In the meantime, our overseas license is good for 12 months from our last entry date, and that 12 months apparently renews every time you leave and come back to NZ.