"Tommy Tucker", a US Citizen, lived for 25 years in the US, but 1 year
ago moved from Indiana to outside of the USA, and now lives and works
in a foreign country. He has a drivers license in that foreign
country.

Tommy owns no "real property" (e.g., land) anywhere in the USA. 
Tommy is not registered to vote. 
Tommy does not own a car in the USA. 
Some of his belongings are stored at his parents' house.  
Tommy only visits the US for two or three weeks each year. 
He has his bills (credit cards, life insurance, etc.) mailed to his
parents' house, but he does not actually live there.

Tommy's state-issued drivers license is about to expire, and since he
no longer resides in Indiana, does not have an address inside of
Indiana, and never plans to return to Indiana as long as he lives, he
cannot renew his drivers license in that state.


QUESTION: Are there any states in the US that allow non-residents to
apply for a drivers license? Or, is there a 'federal' drivers license
available to "stateless" Americans.

NOTES: 
(1) Tommy is unwilling to make any false or blatantly deceptive
statements to obtain a drivers license, but is willing to exploit
loopholes.
(2) Tommy would prefer to avoid becoming a legal resident of any
state, because he is worried that doing so would obligate him to file
an income tax return in that state (even though all of his income is
earned outside the USA).

---

Request for Question Clarification by hedgie-ga on 09 Aug 2006 19:12 PDT

While this is comment

Subject: Re: US Citizens living overseas: how to obtain a US drivers license 
From: georgebrazil2003-ga on 09 Aug 2006 18:35 PDT 	  
Tommy should note that a U.S. citizen is subject to federal taxation
on his worldwide income regardless of his place of residence.

is true, it is also true that Tommy is US citizen and  resident of a
different country for tax purposes.
If this country has a 'tax reaty with US' (most do) he may not owe any tax
to the US. He still should file federal return.  He may establish residence 
the one of the US states which do not have income tax. 
So.
 He may want to clarify which country he is residing in (is it in EU?)
 and modify the question, to ask not about US driving licence (which he does
 not need)  but about is tax return situation - an information he may need,

First, there is no federal driver's license; it is a matter handled by the states.

Second, a question:  why does Tommy need a US driver's license if he
is planning never to return to the States permanently?
He can drive in the States using his driver's license from some foreign countries.
If not, he can get an "international driver's license", which is valid
for one year.  It is not an independent document; it is a standardized
form that is recognized internationally in conjunction with his
national driver's license and tells what kind of vehicles that license
authorizes him to drive.

Tommy should note that a U.S. citizen is subject to federal taxation
on his worldwide income regardless of his place of residence.