Get a US driver's license

A US driver's license does two jobs. It is your legal permission to drive a passenger vehicle in your state. It is also the government-issued photo ID that Americans hand over in daily life. Opening a bank account, renting an apartment, picking up a package at the post office, buying a drink, and filling a prescription all assume you have one.

Your state's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) issues the license, not the federal government. Several states call the same office something else: the Department of Public Safety (DPS), the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA), the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV), the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV), or the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV). That is why two people on identical visas living in different states get different rules, fees, tests, and wait times.

If you do not plan to drive, say because you live in Manhattan or central Washington DC, you can skip the road test and apply for a state ID card instead. The same office issues it, the card looks almost the same, and it carries no driving privileges. Either card can be Real ID-compliant.

There is no national driver's license. Each state writes its own rules: who qualifies, what documents you bring, which foreign licenses it honors, how long your license stays valid, and what tests you take. Advice that worked for a friend in California can be wrong for you in Texas.

The variation runs across four axes. Tests are waived for some countries and required for others. Texas waives the written and road tests for licenses from France, Germany, South Korea, and Taiwan, while Virginia waives both tests for licenses from Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and South Korea, and still asks a Taiwanese license holder to pass the written exam. License validity is often tied to your visa, and many states cap a non-immigrant license at your I-94 expiration date instead of the usual 4 to 8 years. Social Security Number (SSN) rules differ too: some states accept a Social Security Administration (SSA) denial letter, others make you wait until you have an SSN, and a few take neither. Real ID depends on the proofs you can produce, so a visitor on a B-1 or B-2 visa is stopped by the state-residency requirement rather than by the federal definition of lawful status.

You do not have to guess which of those applies to you. This guide covers the path every state shares, and the state pages further down give the fee, the tests, the vision standard, the SSN rule, and the appointment address for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

In almost every state you need three things for a Real ID-compliant license: lawful presence (a valid visa, a green card, an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), or US citizenship), state residency (documents proving you live at a local address), and in most cases a link to a Social Security Number (SSN). You also have to meet the state's minimum age, which is 16 for a learner permit and 18 for an unrestricted adult license in most states.

Long-term visa holders (H-1B, L-1, O-1, F-1, J-1, TN, E-2 and their dependents) are eligible, though in most states the license expires on your I-94 end date. Green card holders and US citizens have the fewest extra rules, so treat them as the baseline. Visitors on B-1, B-2, or the Visa Waiver Program (ESTA) count as being in lawful status under the federal Real ID rule, but they rarely satisfy the state-residency test, and several states refuse them a license for that reason. For a short visit, an International Driving Permit (IDP) with your home-country license is the intended path.

If you are not yet eligible for an SSN, many states accept a Social Security Administration (SSA) denial letter, Form SSA-L676, instead. A few make you wait. SettleKit checks whether your state accepts a denial letter and walks you through getting one.

If you do not intend to drive, you can still apply for a state ID card on a similar eligibility path. The same office issues it.

Since May 2025, the federal Real ID Act has required a Real ID-compliant license, the one with a star in the top corner, to board a domestic flight or enter certain federal buildings. A standard license no longer clears a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint on its own.

As of February 2026, TSA also charges a $45 ConfirmID fee plus an extra identity check for travelers without a Real ID or an accepted substitute such as a US passport or a Global Entry card. The ConfirmID clearance lasts 10 days, so it is a one-time bridge rather than a lasting alternative.

The practical takeaway for immigrants: when you apply at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), confirm you are getting the Real ID version of your license. Most states demand stricter proofs for it, namely an original passport, an original I-94, and two printed proofs of residency. The non-Real ID license exists for people who cannot meet those standards. You almost certainly want the Real ID.

On a B-1 or B-2 visitor status, some states issue only the non-Real ID version and others issue nothing at all, because you still have to prove you live in the state. Your passport stays your flight ID.

Most states let you drive on your unexpired foreign license for a grace period of 30 to 90 days after you become a state resident. An International Driving Permit (IDP), issued in your home country before you travel, is an official translation of that license. Several states and most rental agencies ask for one.

Four points are worth knowing before you rely on it. The IDP is not a US license on its own, so carry it together with your original foreign license, and remember that it does not extend your state's grace period. You have to get the IDP before you leave home, because no valid IDP can be issued from inside the US. The grace period covers driving only, so start the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) application as soon as you have two proofs of state residency, rather than waiting until the grace period is nearly over. States also differ on whether they keep your foreign license at the exchange: Minnesota asks a Taiwanese license holder to surrender the card, while Idaho does not ask a foreign applicant for a non-commercial license to surrender theirs.

The exact list depends on your state and your visa type. Most states ask for the originals of these:

• Proof of identity: your unexpired passport with its visa stamp.
• Proof of lawful presence: your I-94, printed fresh from the US Customs and Border Protection site at i94.cbp.dhs.gov, plus the document for your status (I-797 for H-1B, L-1 and O-1, I-20 for F-1, DS-2019 for J-1, an I-766 Employment Authorization Document, or an I-551 green card).
• Proof of Social Security Number (SSN) status: your SSN card, or a Social Security Administration denial letter (Form SSA-L676) if you are not eligible for an SSN.
• Two proofs of state residency: a lease, a utility bill, a bank statement, or official government mail in your name at your local address.
• Your foreign driver's license, with an English translation or an International Driving Permit (IDP) if the license is not already in English.
• For dependents (F-2, H-4, L-2, O-3): the primary visa holder's status document plus your marriage or birth certificate.

Bring the originals and paper copies. Some offices keep a copy and send you home for one you did not bring.

The state pages further down this guide give each state's fee, tests, vision standard, SSN rule, and appointment booking address, so you can read your own state's list before you go.

If your state has a reciprocity agreement with the country that issued your foreign license, you can skip the written test, the road test, or both. For drivers who qualify, that turns a process of several months into a single visit.

The countries covered most often are Germany, South Korea, Taiwan, France, Japan, and most Canadian provinces. Each state decides which tests it waives. Texas waives the written and road tests for licenses from France, Germany, South Korea, and Taiwan. Virginia waives both tests for licenses from Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and South Korea, and asks a Taiwanese license holder to pass the two-part knowledge exam before it waives the road skills test. Wisconsin waives the knowledge and skills tests for France, Germany, South Korea, and Taiwan, for applicants who are at least 21 and have three years of driving experience.

Reciprocity waives the tests and nothing else. You still bring the full document set, pay your state's application fee, and pass a vision screen.

The written test, also called the knowledge test or the permit test, covers traffic laws, road signs, right-of-way rules, and safe-driving practices for your state. Most states run 20 to 40 multiple-choice questions with a passing score of 70 to 80%.

The best study material is your state's own driver's handbook, which the state publishes as a free PDF. Every question on the test comes from that book. Several states publish their own free practice questions as well: Georgia runs an official practice test through its Department of Driver Services, and Maryland publishes an Online Driver Test Tutorial. Start with your state's own material, because the questions follow your state's law.

A paid driving school or test-prep course is worth considering if you learned to drive under very different rules, such as driving on the left, different road signs, or no highway experience. Plan 5 to 10 hours of study over a week or two. Most failures come from opening the handbook for the first time on test morning.

Many states let you take the written test on the same day as your visit. A few make you book it separately.

If reciprocity does not waive the road test, you book one with your state after you pass the written test. New drivers also have to complete the permit holding period first. Most states now require online scheduling, and walk-in slots fill quickly at busy urban offices.

Three things are worth lining up in advance. You need a registered, insured vehicle on test day, and a friend's car is fine when the registration and the insurance are valid and physically in the car. If you hold a learner permit, a licensed driver has to bring you to the test site and back. The examiner inspects the car before the test starts and cancels the appointment if the car fails.

Wait times for road test slots run from a couple of days to several weeks depending on the office. Book as soon as you are eligible.

Almost every state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) now books appointments online through its website. Walk-in-only offices still exist, but they are rare, and walk-in waits in big cities can pass 4 hours.

Book the correct transaction type. The wording differs by state, and it is usually something like new driver license, license exchange, transfer from foreign license, or Real ID application. Picking the wrong category is a common reason people are turned away at the counter.

Three practical points. Cancellations appear constantly, so check the booking page again every couple of days when the first slot is weeks out. A smaller branch outside the city center usually has shorter queues and more same-day road-test slots. If you hold a visa tracked in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), which covers F-1, J-1, and M-1, wait 10 to 14 days after arriving in the US before you book, because the federal verification database needs that time to update and an early application triggers a hold.

A visit to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) follows this order:

1. Check in at the counter with your appointment confirmation and a government-issued ID.
2. Document review. The clerk verifies your identity, your lawful presence, your Social Security Number (SSN) status, and your two residency proofs, then runs the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) check for non-citizens.
3. Application and fee. You fill out the state's application form and pay. Fees run from $20 in Georgia for a license capped at five years and $32 in Texas, up to $88 in Maryland and $131 for a first eight-year license in Washington, which charges a $50 application fee, an $80 issuance fee, and a $1 technology fee. California charges $46 and Florida charges $48.
4. Vision test. Standards differ by state: Maryland requires 20/40 in each eye, Georgia requires 20/60 in at least one eye. Bring your glasses or contacts if you wear them.
5. Written knowledge test, when it is not waived. You take it on a touch-screen kiosk or a tablet, 20 to 40 questions, and you usually get the result immediately.
6. Road test, when it is not waived and the office runs same-day road tests. It takes 15 to 20 minutes with an examiner in your car.
7. Photo and signature capture.
8. Temporary paper license, issued before you leave.

The full visit runs 1 to 2 hours when your documents are in order. If the SAVE check hits a hold or a document is missing, plan for a second visit.

In most states you leave with a temporary paper license that lets you drive for about 30 to 60 days while the plastic card is produced. The plastic Real ID card is mailed to your address, usually within 2 to 4 weeks, and peak periods run longer.

If the card has not arrived after 4 weeks, call your Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Cards come back to the office over a building number that does not match, or an apartment-number format the mail carrier does not recognize. Keep the paper license with you until the plastic card arrives, because you need it if you are pulled over.

For non-immigrant visa holders, the plastic card expires on your I-94 end date in most states, rather than on the standard 4 to 8 year cycle. If your visa is later extended, you have to return to the DMV to update the license. A visa extension does not extend the card on its own.

A standard US driver's license is valid for 4 to 8 years for citizens and permanent residents, depending on the state. For non-immigrant visa holders, most states cap the license at your I-94 expiration date, so your renewal cycle follows your visa rather than the state default.

Most states mail a paper renewal notice 60 to 90 days before expiration, and many let you renew online for at least one cycle before requiring another in-person visit. Renewal usually includes a fresh vision test. On a non-immigrant visa, bring an updated I-94 and your visa extension or approval notice. If you let the license expire, some states charge a late fee or make you retake the written test.

Set a calendar reminder 90 days before your license or your I-94 expires, whichever comes first.

Every state requires you to update your license address when you move, usually within 10 to 30 days. Some states issue a free sticker. Others charge a small fee and reissue the card. Most let you do this online.

A name change, for example after marriage, usually requires an in-person visit with your marriage certificate or court order plus an updated Social Security card. Update the name with the Social Security Administration (SSA) first, because the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) verifies your name against the federal Social Security Number (SSN) record.

Most states run a points system. Moving violations such as speeding, running a red light, or reckless driving add points to your record. Once you reach your state's threshold, your license can be suspended. Driving under the influence (DUI) and street racing often trigger an automatic suspension on the first offense, whatever your point total.

Two things surprise new arrivals. Insurance premiums rise after a violation, and the increase lasts for as long as the violation stays on your record. A violation can also reach your immigration record, and a serious one, especially a DUI, can affect visa renewals and a future adjustment of status. Treat driving violations as immigration matters as well as driving matters.

Many states let you take a defensive driving course to remove one minor violation from your record. The citation itself names the court, the deadline, and the amount, so read it the day you receive it.

If your first license was the non-Real ID version, you can upgrade in person at any time. Bring the same documents you would bring for a first Real ID: your original passport, your I-94, and two proofs of residency. States charge their duplicate or replacement license fee for this. You leave with a new paper license, and the new plastic card arrives by mail.

States differ on whether they keep your foreign license at the exchange. Minnesota asks a Taiwanese license holder to surrender the card. Idaho does not ask a foreign applicant for a non-commercial license to surrender theirs or to produce a driving record. New Hampshire has a written rule for what its director checks when a non-citizen does surrender a home-country license. If you travel home often and need to drive there, read your state's page in this guide before the visit.

If you leave the US permanently, your home country may want to see your US license when you convert back. Keep the expired card and the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) receipt.