Before a caregiver drives your children, check three things. Are they allowed to drive in California? Does your car insurance cover them? Can they handle the roads they'll actually use? Your agency, the DMV and your insurer answer the first two. The third you can see for yourself on a ride-along, or ask an instructor to check.
It depends on the person: whether they count as a visitor or a resident, and what license they hold. Start with your au pair agency, since many have rules on driving and on who pays for a California license.
If your caregiver needs a California license and learned to drive in another country, the DMV requires a behind-the-wheel drive test as well as the written test (DMV: driver's licenses). Allow time for this. Bay Area drivers often report that drive-test appointments take weeks or longer to get. Our guide to moving to California with a foreign driver's license walks through the steps.
One rule covers anyone who lives in California: once they're a resident, they need a California license before they drive for work (California Vehicle Code §12505(c)). If driving your children is part of their job, treat it as driving for work. Whether an au pair counts as a resident depends on their situation, so ask your agency.
Call your insurer before the first drive. Ask whether the caregiver has to be listed as a driver on your policy, and whether their license affects your coverage. This is your insurer's call, not ours.
Quick quiz
Try it yourself, then ask your caregiver.
A license from home proves someone can drive. It doesn't show how they'll do on a San Francisco hill with a stop sign halfway up, on a 101 merge, or in a school pickup line.
Ride along before they drive the kids. Use the routes they'll really take, at the time of day they'll drive them. Watch for:
If the ride-along leaves you unsure, that's worth taking seriously. It usually means more practice, not a verdict on the person.
We offer two options for host families. Both are private, both include pickup at an approved address in San Francisco or listed San Mateo County cities, and both happen in a dual-control car, so the instructor can brake.
Host Family Driving Assessment: $200, one 2-hour session. The instructor drives with your caregiver, grades their skills, and sends you the scores and notes by email after the drive. There's no separate written report. It's a two-hour look at their driving, not a promise about how they'll drive later.
Road-Ready Package: $580, three 2-hour lessons. For when you already know they need practice: California rules, freeway and city driving, parking, and your family's routes to school and activities when practical.
Your caregiver needs their original California instruction permit or California driver's license at every lesson. A license from another country isn't enough on its own.
Whether your caregiver drives your children is always your decision. The lessons and assessment help you make it with more information.
Private 2-hour lessons in a dual-control automatic car, with pickup in San Francisco and listed San Mateo County cities.
Lessons from $200 for a 2-hour lesson. See all lessons and prices
