Page 12 - FINAL GA Drivers Manual Updated July 2021

SECTION 2 : OBTAINING A LICENSE, PERMIT OR IDENTIFICATION CARD

tion about requirements to obtain a license or the District of Columbia (expired less than 2 vide a Motor Vehicle Report/Driving History
permit and exemptions for certain individuals. years). If you are unable to surrender a valid (printed in English) dated within the last 30
driver’s license, you must present a certified days, from the country of license issuance;
New Georgia Resident Without Motor Vehicle Report/Driving History from
a Valid License or Permit the state of issuance, dated within 30 days, • Most non-citizen customers with a valid out
Issued by Another State showing your status as valid. Non-citizens of country driver’s license, permit, or ID may
Please see the appropriate chapter of this are not required to surrender their foreign retain their out of country document upon
issuance of a Georgia-equivalent document.
manual for obtaining a license or permit for non-commercial license or permit; U.S. citizens will not be allowed to retain
the first time in Georgia.
• Be at least 18 years of age, or 17 years of age if any licenses, permits, or identification cards
• Under 18 – see Teen Licensing Requirements surrendering a valid license equivalent to a issued to them by foreign countries;
on pages 26; Georgia Class C license with no time, route, • Successfully complete the knowledge, road,
purpose or passenger restrictions;
• 18 or Older – see Obtaining a Class C license – and vision exams;
Applicant Not Currently Licensed on page 26. • You must know your full Social Security • Present mandatory documents to prove iden-
Number which will be verified with the Social tity, citizenship or lawful presence, Social
Transferring from Another Security Administration.
State or District of Columbia Security Number, and residency. See pages
• Provide proof of identity. For a complete list 10-11 for the complete list;
Under Age 18 with valid out of acceptable documents, see page 10; • If under the age of 18, additional requirements
of state license or permit • Provide proof of citizenship or lawful pres- will apply. Please see pages 30–32 for more
If you hold a valid driver’s license or instruc- ence in the United States (see page 10). All details on teen licensing requirements;
tional permit issued by any other state of the documents must be originals or certified • Licenses, permits and IDs issued outside the
United States or by the District of Columbia, you copies. Faxed copies will not be accepted; District of Columbia or any other state of the
will normally be eligible to obtain a comparable • Provide two documents to prove Georgia United States are non-transferable. A customer
license or permit issued by Georgia. However, residency. For a complete list of acceptable holding any document issued outside of the 50
the state of issuance may have requirements documents, see pages 10-11. States or District of Columbia must complete
for teenage drivers that differ from Georgia.
• Pass a vision test. the full process for issuance of a new document
18 or Older with a valid out in Georgia, including all tests required for the
of state license or permit class being requested, if applicable.
Transferring a License/Permit/ID • Citizens of certain foreign countries may be
• Surrender a valid license issued by another From Another Country or U.S. Territory exempt from knowledge and skills testing. For
state or territory of the United States or by a list, visit dds.georgia.gov.
• If you do not have the out of country license/
permit/ID in your possession, you must pro-

DANGER

ALL DMVs are not Alike!!!

Beware of fake DMV websites that charge for training materials or informational material.
Most customers arrive at these sites by doing a browser search for “Georgia DMV,”
“Georgia License Renewal” or similar generic searches.

Please read the pages of these sites carefully, because by law they are required to inform
users that the site is not affiliated with any State or Government Entity. They are privately
owned sites that will have .com or .org at the end of their website address (url). The official
state of Georgia websites will have .gov as is the case with www.dds.georgia.gov.

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