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Delaware driver's license

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

How it goes

  1. 1
    You arriveYou have moved to Delaware 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

$40 for a Class D license, paid at the time of your first application.

  • $25 for a five-year Class D license.

  • $30 for a six-year Class D license.

  • $35 for a seven-year Class D license.

  • $50 for an eight-year Class D license.

  • $50 standard Class D license, $5 a year shorter term Class D rate

  • $40 for a Class D license, and you must pass an eye screening when you apply.

You pay this when you apply.

If you just arrived in the US

Foreign documents with no expiry date

If your lawful-status document has no expiration date, your Delaware license or ID is issued for no longer than one year, or the maximum license term, whichever is less. The card states on its face that it is temporary or limited-term.

If your license from another state has expired

The DMV waives the written and road tests when your license from another state is valid, so with an expired license you can be given both tests. You still apply as a transfer within 60 days of becoming a Delaware resident and turn in the old license or a certified driving record.

If you have no license to transfer

If another state's records report you as not eligible, Delaware will not issue you a license or ID card until that state reports you as eligible.

Documents you need

  • Documents that are still validPhotocopied, expired, or altered identity and legal-presence documents are not accepted.
    • The DMV does not accept photocopied, expired, or altered documents.

Your Social Security Number

Giving your number, and who may see it

If you are eligible for a Social Security number, you must give it. The DMV uses it only to run the driver-license program and keep identification accurate; it is not released to businesses or private individuals, though it can be released to state agencies for their governmental functions.

  • The Division must protect your personal information under state law and its information-technology policies.

  • The state's motor-vehicle database stores the SSNs tied to Delaware licenses and ID cards.

  • The division uses SSNs only to run the driver-license and ID-card program and to keep identification accurate.

  • Your SSN is not released to businesses or private individuals; it can be released to state agencies for their governmental functions.

  • If your card was issued without an SSN and you later receive one, you must tell the DMV within 30 days.

  • The required tax-compliance certificate shows your name, date of birth, the years taxes were filed, your ITIN or SSN, and a document locator code.

  • Your SSN is verified electronically, and the source document is stored electronically.

  • Giving your Social Security number is mandatory if you are eligible for one, and the DMV matches its license records with Social Security records electronically. It uses the number only to run the license program, and releases it only to state agencies for governmental functions, never to businesses or private individuals.

  • The application asks for your name, your Social Security number if you are eligible for one, your date of birth, sex, and residence address.

  • If you are eligible for a Social Security number, you must give it to the Division at renewal and whenever a new license is issued to you for any reason.

Tests you take

Eye test

The minimum is 20/40 vision, with or without glasses or contact lenses, and daylight-only driving can be allowed if your vision is between 20/40 and 20/50. If the screening shows you need glasses or contacts, your license is marked and driving without them is illegal.

  • You must pass an eye screening when you apply.

  • You need at least 20/40 vision in at least one eye, with or without corrective lenses.

  • Every driver must pass an eye screening.

Drive test

Passing a practical road-skills exam is required for a Class D operator's license.

  • A written test and a road-skills test are required for a Level 1 Learner's Permit. Students with certain disabilities are tested under a separate rule.

  • With the knowledge exam passed, you get a permit, and your road exam is scheduled for a later date.

  • You must take a road exam to get your license.

  • The test covers following and overtaking vehicles, entering intersections, being overtaken, inspecting the car for safety, and knowing its controls. You can also be asked to respond to road signs, signals, and pavement markings, apply right-of-way rules, keep proper speed, back up 50 feet, merge with traffic, parallel park, make a three-point turn, turn right and left, and change lanes.

  • You drive for about 30 minutes and do the things that come up in normal driving.

  • You must show the examiner that you can park a car in a parallel parking space.

Practice questions for the written test

The Delaware Driver Manual (July 2025 edition) is the state's named study material for the driver exam. You can ask the driver license examiner about anything that is not clear before the exam.

  • Free official sample exams are at dmv.de.gov/sampledlexam/sampledlexam.ejs?command=SampleDLExamHome and in the DelDOT mobile app.

Using an interpreter

The DMV website is in English and has a built-in Google Translate option.

  • The DMV website has a Translate control that translates its pages. This is website translation, not an interpreter for licensing transactions or exams.

Practising with your permit

Who can sit with you while you practise

With a Level 1 Learner's Permit, your supervisor must be a properly licensed parent or guardian, or a licensed driver who is at least 25 and has held a Class D license for at least five years.

  • With a Class D learner's permit, a properly licensed driver over 21 must be with you.

  • During the permit's six-month period, you can drive only when a licensed driver over 21 is in the seat beside you.

  • Your supervisor must be a properly licensed parent or guardian, or a licensed driver approved by your sponsor who is at least 25 and has held a Class D license for at least five years.

  • While the car is moving, your supervising driver must sit beside you in the front seat, and no one else can be in the front seat.

  • A temporary permit lets you drive for 12 months, only with a licensed driver over 21 in the seat beside you and no more than 2 other people in the car.

What to bring to the drive test

Who comes with you

The supervising driver sits beside you in the front seat while the car is moving, and no one else can be in the front seat.

  • If you do not have a valid Class D license that lets you drive alone in Delaware, a licensed driver over 21 must come with you. That driver must stay on site to drive the car away if you do not pass.

  • You must bring the valid license of your accompanying driver, who must be at least 21. This does not apply to the motorcycle skills exam.

  • Your accompanying driver must be at least 21 and hold a valid driver license. This does not apply to motorcycle skills-test holders.

The car and its insurance

Bring the vehicle's valid registration card and a valid insurance card, original or electronic, plus the trailer's registration if you use one.

  • Bring your valid learner's permit, your accompanying driver's valid license when one is required, and the vehicle's valid registration and insurance card, original or electronic.

  • You must provide a properly registered and insured vehicle that passes the DMV safety inspection and is within the license class you applied for.

  • A valid insurance card for the vehicle is required; it can be original or electronic.

  • The examiner does a basic vehicle safety inspection before the exam begins. Smoking, cell-phone use, and playing music are not allowed during the test.

  • It is up to you to provide the car driven in your road exam.

  • The car must be within the license class you applied for.

  • You must show proof of liability insurance and valid registration.

  • The car must be free of debris and carry no cargo.

  • The tank must be at least half full, or the exam can be rescheduled.

  • The car must be free of debris and cargo, have at least half a tank of gas, carry valid registration and proof of liability insurance, be within the license class you applied for, and pass the examiner's basic safety inspection. No smoking, cell-phone use, or music during the exam, and Intelligent Parking Assist must be turned off.

Where to go

Who gives the tests

The Division or a driver education teacher gives the road-skills test; students with certain disabilities are tested by the Division.

  • The Department examines every applicant before issuing a license, apart from a few set exceptions.

Booking an appointment

You can book the required SBI appointment online at uenroll.identogo.com.

  • You can book your road test online at dmv.de.gov: select Online Services, then My Road Test.

  • You can search for an appointment at dmv.de.gov/public.ejs?command=PublicOnlineAppointmentsSearch.

  • You can book an appointment at appointments.dmv.de.gov.

  • You can book a road test at dmv.de.gov/mydmv.ejs?command=RoadTestScheduleList.

Office locations

You can find DMV offices on the map at dmv.de.gov/About/locations/index.shtml.

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Every source, quoted65 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 Delaware?

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

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