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Colorado driver's license

Get your first license in Colorado after moving to the US.

How it goes

  1. 1
    You arriveYou have moved to Colorado and you want to drive here.
  2. 2
    Your permitYou practice on the road with a learner permit.
  3. 3
    The written testYou take the written test.
  4. 4
    Behind the wheelYou take the drive test behind the wheel.
  5. Your licenseYou pass the tests, and the license is yours.

What it costs

A first license

$34

  • $28, for a full or minor driver's license, since July 1, 2018.

You pay this when you apply.

If you just arrived in the US

Your immigration status

Colorado has paused issuing and renewing term-limited (non-domiciled) commercial driver's licenses and commercial learner's permits until further notice, under federal regulations effective September 29, 2025.

Foreign documents with no expiry date

Colorado publishes no rule for a foreign driving license that shows no expiry date. A foreign passport, consular identification card or military identification document with no expiry date is accepted for 10 years from its issuance date.

  • Colorado law requires an exam for every applicant and says nothing about what a foreign license card must show, including its expiry date. The test waiver for license holders from reciprocal countries is granted at the department's discretion, not by law.

If your license from another state has expired

More than a year without a US driver license means you take a written test and a driving test, and pay for both a permit and a new license.

If you have no license to transfer

If you have never had a license, or yours has been expired or canceled for over 12 months, the permit route applies at any age: a written test, an instruction permit, a drive skills test, and a new driver license.

Documents you need

  • Documents that are still validA document must be currently valid or within 10 years of its listed expiration date. When it shows no expiration date, the 10 years run from its issuance date.
    • A document must be currently valid or meet the expiration rule for that particular document.

Your Social Security Number

Giving your number, and who may see it

You can give your Social Security number verbally at the appointment; no document is needed.

Tests you take

Eye test

A driver license technician gives it in person, and every applicant for a permit or driver license must pass.

  • Bring the glasses or contacts you use; you must pass a basic vision exam given by the technician.

  • Bring your glasses or contacts. The technician gives a basic vision exam, and you must pass it.

  • If you fail, an optometrist completes the eye-examination report you are given, and you bring the completed form to your rescheduled appointment.

  • If your online renewal is rejected, the driver license technician gives you an eye exam at your in-office appointment.

  • A technician gives the required basic vision exam.

  • The DMV's screening is basic and does not replace a professional evaluation when one is required. Vision in either or both eyes must be at least 20/40.

  • If you fail, you get Form DR 2402 for an optometrist to complete, and you bring it back at a rescheduled appointment to receive your credential.

  • Your eyesight must be at least 20/40 in either or both eyes, and state law requires it to be tested for every applicant.

Drive test

Yes

  • If you are selected for a re-examination of your driving ability, you will be notified and a driving skills test is required.

  • You take it by appointment.

  • You must be at least 16 years old to take it.

Tries you get on the written test

You can take up to two written tests in one day. If you miss more than 50% of the questions on your first attempt, you must wait until the next day to test again.

  • Each written retest costs $11.50.

  • Each written retest taken until you pass carries an added state fee, paid at your appointment.

  • Each retest after a failed attempt costs $11.50.

  • You need a score of 80% or higher to pass, you can take no more than two written tests per day, and each retest costs $11.50. If you miss more than 50% of the questions on your first attempt, you must wait until the next day to test again.

Practice questions for the written test

The real written exam is barred from being used as a practice test, so no driving school can let you rehearse on the actual questions.

  • The Colorado driver manuals are available as audiobooks through three applications.

Using an interpreter

When translation is required, you pay all of its costs.

  • The DMV website offers Google Translate for reading its pages. That does not give you a right to an official interpreter or a translated licensing service.

Practising with your permit

Who can sit with you while you practise

A licensed driver who is 21 or older must be with you, sitting in the front passenger seat.

  • The driver supervising you must be licensed, at least 21, and seated in the front passenger seat.

  • You still hold only a permit on test day, so you arrive with a licensed driver who is 21 or older — holding a valid Colorado driver license, or a military ID with a valid out-of-state license — seated in the front passenger seat.

What to bring to the drive test

Who comes with you

Only you and the tester are in the car during the drive test — no passengers, no interpreters, and no pets except service dogs. Right after the test, the tester goes over your performance with you outside the car.

The car and its insurance

The car must be registered and insured, with both cards in the vehicle and matching the VIN (digital proof of insurance counts), and must have front and rear plates or temporary tags visible from the back. The tester inspects it for safety before every test, and the test runs in daylight — between half an hour before sunrise and half an hour after sunset.

Where to go

Who gives the tests

Driver-education schools on the linked list offer both written and drive testing, along with driver training.

  • State driver license offices do not conduct the driving skills test.

  • Approved third-party testing schools give the driving test. The DMV cannot book those appointments — you book through the school.

  • An approved third-party testing school gives the driving test; the DMV does not book that appointment.

  • Third-party driving schools conduct the driving and motorcycle tests. The DMV cannot book these appointments.

  • State-certified third-party driving schools (Certified Commercial Driving Schools) give the drive skills test, and you make that appointment with the school, not the DMV.

  • Drive skills tests and motorcycle skills tests are taken through a third-party tester.

Booking an appointment

You can book an appointment at dmv.colorado.gov/AppointmentScheduling.

  • You can make an appointment to visit a state driver license office at dmv.colorado.gov/node/10344.

  • You can schedule the appointment for your permit at dmv.colorado.gov/AppointmentScheduling.

  • An appointment is required. You can book one at dmv.colorado.gov/node/10344.

  • You can book an appointment at dmv.colorado.gov/AppointmentScheduling.

  • An appointment is required, and the DMV's Appointment Scheduling Information page explains how to book one.

  • You can schedule an appointment at dmv.colorado.gov/AppointmentScheduling.

  • An appointment is required. Scheduling information is at dmv.colorado.gov/node/10344.

  • You can cancel an appointment at coloradoappt.cxmflow.com/Appointment/Index/b5455da2-134b-445d-a84b-229e7125dfb5.

  • You can schedule an appointment at coloradoappt.cxmflow.com/Appointment/Index/20f440ff-2a2b-4df9-8fd9-86c057f3590a.

  • You can schedule an appointment through the DMV's online services at mydmv.colorado.gov.

  • The appointment scheduling page is at dmv.colorado.gov/node/10344.

  • You can book an appointment at dmv.colorado.gov/AppointmentScheduling.

  • You can book an appointment at dmv.colorado.gov/AppointmentScheduling.

Office locations

You can find Colorado driver licence offices at dmv.colorado.gov/driver-license-office-locations.

  • The DMV lists its offices on its Driver License Office Locations page.

  • You can find DMV locations at dmv.colorado.gov/locations.

  • You can find driver license offices at dmv.colorado.gov/node/10866.

  • You can find state and county driver license offices at dmv.colorado.gov/node/10866.

  • State and county DMV offices are listed at dmv.colorado.gov/state-and-county-dmvs.

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Every source, quoted63 sources

Every fact on this page is quoted from the page that publishes it, in the words it uses.

Applying for a driver's license in Colorado?

Answer a few questions and see the steps that apply to you.

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