How to get a driver's license in the US

In the US a driver's license is not only for driving. It is the identity document you will be asked for most often: opening a bank account, seeing a doctor, collecting a parcel, entering a government building. If you do not drive, most states issue a state ID card through almost the same process, minus the road test.

Which agency issues the license#

Each state has one agency responsible for this, and the name changes from place to place:

• DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles): California, New York and many others
• DPS (Department of Public Safety): Texas
• BMV, MVA, DOL: various other states

The safest way to find the right page is through USA.gov and selecting your state. That takes you straight to the official agency and past the middleman sites.

Documents to bring#

Nearly every state asks for the same four things. Get them together at home first, because one missing paper means going back and booking another appointment.

1. Proof of identity and age. A valid passport, green card, or immigration document with a photo.
2. Proof that you are in the US lawfully. Green card, valid visa, employment authorization card (EAD), or equivalent.
3. Your Social Security number. Most states only need you to state the number, but some want to see the card. If you do not have one yet, see applying for an SSN or ITIN. If you are not eligible for an SSN, see the section below.
4. Two proofs of address in the state. A utility bill, lease, bank statement, or government letter, showing your name and current address.

The four steps#

Step 1: Learn the road rules#

Every state publishes a free driver handbook you can download from the agency's site. States with large Vietnamese communities, California and Texas among them, publish a Vietnamese edition. The written test comes straight out of that book.

Step 2: The written and vision tests#

The written test is taken on a computer at the office, usually 25 to 50 multiple-choice questions. Many states let you take it in another language, Vietnamese included. If you fail you can retake it, normally after a few days.

The vision test happens at the counter. If you wear glasses, wear them: the only consequence is a note on your license saying you must wear them when driving.

Step 3: The learner permit#

Once you pass the written test you receive a learner permit. With it you may drive while a fully licensed adult sits beside you. Most states make you hold the permit for a minimum period before the road test, from a few weeks to six months, and drivers under 18 always face longer holding periods plus a set number of supervised practice hours.

Step 4: The road test#

You have to bring your own car. It must be registered, insured, and have working lights and indicators. The examiner inspects the vehicle before you start, and a broken light will cancel the test on the spot.

The test usually runs 15 to 25 minutes around the streets near the office. The three failures that come up most: not turning your head to check the blind spot before changing lanes, rolling through a STOP sign instead of stopping completely, and speeding in a school zone.

The insured-vehicle requirement above is not only a condition of the test. See car insurance for how that side of it travels with the license itself.

What REAL ID is, and whether you need it#

A REAL ID is a state driver's license or ID card that meets a federal standard. You can spot one by the star in the top corner.

It is optional. California's DMV answers the question directly: "Do I have to get a REAL ID? No. A REAL ID driver's license or identification card is optional." New York lists what you do not need one for, and "being licensed to drive" is first on that list, along with voting, applying for or receiving federal benefits, and "accessing health or life-preserving services (including hospitals and health clinics)".

What it changes is airports and some federal buildings. New York's DMV describes a REAL ID as "required to board a domestic flight (within the U.S.) or enter certain federal buildings, unless you have a valid passport." That last clause is the part people miss. USA.gov puts it plainly: "Can you fly without a REAL ID? Yes." A passport works, and so does a passport card, a military ID, or an enhanced license. If you have none of them, USA.gov describes a paid fallback called TSA ConfirmID, where travellers 18 and over pay a $45 fee in advance and the verification lasts ten days from the departure date.

When your name is not written the same way twice#

This is the thing that sends people home from the counter, and it lands hardest on Vietnamese families: a name can run surname first on one document and last on another, carry diacritics on one and not the other, lose or keep a middle name, and change again at marriage or naturalization.

California's DMV states the rule: "If the true full name shown on your document does not match your current true full name, additional name change documentation is required." The identity document has to carry your "full name (first, middle, and last)".

The chain has to be unbroken. California asks you to "bring at least one of the following to document each legal name change", and its own checklist asks how many times your full name has changed, taking up to five. Each change needs its own paper: an adoption document, a name change order showing the name before and after, a marriage certificate, a domestic partnership registration, or a dissolution of marriage document.

New York says the same and adds the nickname trap, which catches anyone who has been going by a shortened or Anglicized first name: "A nickname, like an abbreviated or alternate version of your legal name, is not allowed. If a nickname, abbreviated name, or confirmation name appears on any of your proof documents, additional proof of full, legal name, or proof of a court-ordered name change, must be shown." On the chain itself: "If your name has changed once or multiple times due to marriage or divorce, for example, proof of each change, such as a marriage certificate or divorce decree, must be provided to show the connection."

If your marriage certificate or divorce decree is in Vietnamese, it needs a translation before you go. California's wording is that a marriage license in a language other than English "shall be accompanied by a certified translation or an affidavit of translation into English", and the same for a divorce decree. Arrange that in advance; it is not something the counter can fix.

There is a second name trap on the residency documents. California wants two, both showing the name that will be printed on the card. If your name is on none of them, because you live in your spouse's or your child's home, the DMV lets you trace the relationship: "you may present a birth certificate, marriage license, or domestic partner registration certificate to trace your relationship to the person whose name DOES appear on the residency documentation." If that tracing document carries a different last name again, you are back to needing the name change papers. New York also asks for two proofs of residency, will not take a P.O. Box, and will not accept "any documents issued more than one year before your office visit".

Two more things about a first REAL ID. California requires you to come in person: "Since a REAL ID is a form of federal identification, you must visit a DMV office in person when applying for a REAL ID for the first time." And nothing you handed the DMV in the past counts: "Even if you previously submitted your proof of identity documents to DMV for a driver's license or identification card, you must do so again in order to meet federal REAL ID application requirements."

If you do not have a Social Security number#

Not everyone is eligible for an SSN, and in some states that does not stop you from driving legally.

California issues what its DMV calls an AB 60 driver's license, "for individuals who are unable to provide proof of legal presence in the United States, but who meet California DMV requirements and are able to provide proof of identity and California residency." The knowledge test "is available in more than 40 languages." If your documents are not on the accepted list, the DMV runs what it calls a secondary review, an interview with its investigators that "may take up to 1 hour", with language assistance you can ask for by naming the language you need.

One thing to check before you plan around it: California's AB 60 identity list names national ID cards from a number of countries, and no Vietnamese document is among them. The route that does apply is a valid Vietnamese passport approved by the DMV.

New York's version has a different shape. Under its Green Light Law, "people age 16 and older can apply for a 'Standard,' not for federal purpose, non-commercial driver license or learner permit regardless of their citizenship or lawful status in the United States." You need neither a Social Security card nor an ineligibility letter. What you do need is a sworn statement: "You must sign an Affidavit (sworn statement) of never having been issued a Social Security Number when you apply for a standard driver license." That is Form NSS-1A. The DMV publishes it in eight languages and Vietnamese is not one of them, so take someone who can read it with you.

Two consequences worth knowing in New York. The card is marked "NOT FOR FEDERAL PURPOSES", which means you cannot use it to board a domestic flight. And once you hold a license issued without an SSN, renewals and replacements have to be done by mail or in person, because the DMV's online services require a Social Security number on file. The state runs a confidential multilingual hotline for exactly these questions, the Office of New Americans, on 1-800-566-7636.

California and New York are not the only two states that do this, but we are not going to print a number, because no government page we can reach publishes a count or a list. Search your own state's site for "driver license without SSN", or ask a local community organization before you go to the office.

A REAL ID and a license issued without proof of legal presence are mutually exclusive. California says it flatly: "Individuals applying for or renewing an AB 60 driver's license are not eligible to receive a REAL ID driver's license or identification card." New York's standard license is likewise not for federal purposes. Expect to choose between the two, not to hold both.

Never use someone else's Social Security number. The Justice Department describes the federal offense as knowingly using "a means of identification of another person" to commit unlawful activity, and says it "in most circumstances, carries a maximum term of 15 years' imprisonment, a fine, and criminal forfeiture of any personal property used or intended to be used to commit the offense." California's DMV puts the counter-level version more briefly: "If fraudulent documents are presented, DMV may take further action." On top of the criminal exposure, it can do serious damage to an immigration case.

How long it takes and what it costs#

Fees are generally $30 to $90 for a first license, depending on the state. California now has its own page, with fees and documents checked straight against the California DMV: see driver's license, state by state. You get a paper temporary license the same day, and the plastic card arrives by mail, usually in two to four weeks.

In larger cities an appointment is effectively required. In some offices the calendar is full two or three months ahead, so book the appointment first and study afterwards, not the other way round.

What to do next#

• Check your state's own page if we have one, because those figures come from the state itself
• Open your state's page from USA.gov, download the driver handbook, and check for a Vietnamese edition
• Put the four groups of documents above into one folder
• Book the appointment even before you have finished studying, because the wait is usually long