Idaho driver's license
Get your first license in Idaho after moving to the US.
How it goes
- 1You arriveYou have moved to Idaho and you want to drive here.
- 2Your permitYou practice on the road with a learner permit.
- 3The written testYou take the written test.
- 4Behind the wheelYou take the drive test behind the wheel.
- Your licenseYou pass the tests, and the license is yours.
If you just arrived in the US
Your immigration status
As a foreign applicant for a Class D licence who has never held a CDL, you do not surrender your foreign licence or provide a driving record. Drivers from Germany skip the skills test; drivers from Korea or Taiwan skip it only by surrendering their foreign licence; every other foreign driver takes it, and no foreign driver skips the knowledge test.
Your Social Security Number
Giving your number, and who may see it
Your Social Security number is required at issuance and is verified electronically. If you do not know your number, ask the Social Security Administration.
Tests you take
Eye test
You must see 20/40 in at least one eye, with or without corrective lenses. If you wear glasses or contacts during the screening, a lens restriction goes on your licence, and the examiner can require a Vision Exam form completed by an eye doctor or specialist.
Your vision is screened when you apply, and 20/40 in at least one eye — with or without corrective lenses — meets the standard, even if your other eye is weak or blind.
Drive test
An examiner with concerns about your ability to drive safely can require the skills test, regardless of prior licence, experience or age. That applies even where a waiver would otherwise skip the test, including for drivers from Germany, Korea or Taiwan.
Tries you get on the written test
If you fail, you wait three days to retest and pay the knowledge test fee again.
Practice questions for the written test
Online practice tests from other websites do not match the real Idaho knowledge test. The only practice material ITD endorses is its own sample test questions on itd.idaho.gov.
ITD's own Taking the Driver's Test page carries official practice tests.
The official Idaho driver's handbook is at itd.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/driver_manual.pdf. Spanish, CDL and motorcycle handbooks are published alongside it.
Official practice tests are on the Taking the Driver's Test page at itd.idaho.gov/guide/taking-the-drivers-test.
Using an interpreter
The knowledge test is offered in twelve languages: English, American Sign Language on video, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, French, Korean, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish, Swahili and Vietnamese. You can bring a translator only if your language is not offered, or you have failed the test three times in a language that is — and the translator cannot be a family member and does no more than read the questions and answers to you.
What to bring to the drive test
The car and its insurance
The car must carry unexpired proof of insurance (paper or digital — an SR22 does not count) and the original signed registration, and everything must work: doors, seatbelts, lights, signals, horn, wipers, mirrors, an uncracked windshield and tires with at least 2/32 inch of tread. If the car is not yours, the owner's permission must be written or given in person — not by phone — and a rental car is not allowed if you are unlicensed or under 25.
Where to go
Who gives the tests
ITD-certified skills test examiners work independently; you contact the examiner of your choice between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. and pay them directly.
Booking an appointment
Each county runs its own booking system: Ada County at dmvscheduling.adacounty.id.gov, Bannock County at bannockcodriverslicense.as.me/schedule/fde11216, Bonneville County at bonnevillesheriff.com/teams/drivers-license, and Canyon County at canyoncounty.id.gov/dmv.
Only 16 of Idaho's 101 offices publish an appointment link; at the rest you walk in. The state directory at itd.idaho.gov/dmv-locations lists every office with its hours, phone number and, where one exists, its booking link.
Idaho has no statewide booking system; each county posts its own link in the directory at itd.idaho.gov/dmv-locations. The portal at dmvonline.itd.idaho.gov is for renewals and other transactions, not appointments.
Office locations
You can find a local office at itd.idaho.gov/dmv-locations.
Other states
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Every source, quoted17 sources
Every fact on this page is quoted from the page that publishes it, in the words it uses.
“FOREIGN CLASS D If you are a foreign applicant applying for an Idaho Class D (non-commercial) driver’s license and have not been issued a CDL in any jurisdiction, you are not required to surrender your foreign driver’s license or provide a driving record. If drivers from Korea or Taiwan choose not to surrender their foreign driver’s license, they must take the skills test. Drivers from Germany do not have to surrender their license or take the skills test. All other foreign drivers must take a skills test. No foreign drivers are exempt from the knowledge test.”
itd.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/driver_manual.pdfChecked August 1, 2026
“Applicants must provide their social security number at issuance for electronic verification. If you do not know your number, please contact the Social Security Administration.”
itd.idaho.gov/service/drivers-license-and-id-required-documentsChecked August 1, 2026
“Your vision will be tested and you must meet a minimum standard of 20/40 vision in at least one eye, with or without corrective lenses. If you wear glasses or contacts during the vision screening, a lens restriction will be placed on your driver’s license.”
itd.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/driver_manual.pdfChecked August 1, 2026
“Your vision will be screened, and you must meet a minimum standard of 20/40 vision in at least one eye, with or without corrective lenses.”
itd.idaho.gov/guide/new-to-idahoChecked July 26, 2026
“You may have to take a skills test if you: ... When an examiner has concerns about the applicant’s ability to safely operate a motor vehicle, regardless of prior license, experience, or age.”
itd.idaho.gov/guide/new-to-idahoChecked July 26, 2026
“IF YOU FAIL A KNOWLEDGE TEST, YOU MUST WAIT THREE (3) DAYS TO RETEST. YOU WILL ALSO BE REQUIRED TO PAY THE KNOWLEDGE TEST FEE AGAIN.”
itd.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/driver_manual.pdfChecked July 31, 2026
“Web-based driver practice tests are not an accurate representation of Idaho knowledge tests, with the exception of the sample test questions provided by ITD through the itd.idaho.gov website.”
itd.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/driver_manual.pdfChecked July 26, 2026
“For more information and practice tests, visit the Taking the Driver’s Test page”
itd.idaho.gov/guide/new-to-idahoChecked July 26, 2026
“Driver's handbook (PDF) -> https://itd.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/driver_manual.pdf”
itd.idaho.gov/guide/new-to-idahoChecked July 26, 2026
“visit the Taking the Driver’s Test page -> https://itd.idaho.gov/guide/taking-the-drivers-test/”
itd.idaho.gov/guide/new-to-idahoChecked July 26, 2026
“A translator may be used while taking the Class D Driver’s License knowledge test under the following circumstances:”
itd.idaho.gov/guide/taking-the-drivers-testChecked August 3, 2026
“Vehicle Permission (written or verbal in person): If you are not the owner of the vehicle being used for the skills test, permission to use the vehicle must be provided to the skills test examiner either in written format or in person verbally. (Permission over the phone is not acceptable.) ... Vehicle Insurance (not expired): A paper or digital copy of valid proof of insurance must be in the vehicle during the skills test. An SR22 is not valid proof of insurance. ... Vehicle Registration (not expired): Valid, not a photo copy, must be in the vehicle during the skills test, and signed by the registrant.”
itd.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/driver_manual.pdfChecked July 31, 2026
“Contact the skills test examiner of your choice between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.”
itd.idaho.gov/guide/taking-the-drivers-testChecked July 26, 2026
“Schedule Your Appointment -> https://dmvscheduling.adacounty.id.gov/qmaticwebbooking/#/”
itd.idaho.gov/dmv-locationsChecked July 26, 2026
“DMV offices are operated by your county’s Sheriff’s or Assessor’s Office. Some locations offer only driver’s license or motor vehicle services, while others provide both (combined services).”
itd.idaho.gov/dmv-locationsChecked July 26, 2026
“DMV Office Locations -> https://itd.idaho.gov/dmv-locations/”
itd.idaho.gov/dmv/drivers-licenses-id-cardsChecked July 26, 2026
“Check out the DMV locations page to find a local office near you”
itd.idaho.gov/guide/new-to-idahoChecked July 26, 2026
Applying for a driver's license in Idaho?
Answer a few questions and see the steps that apply to you.