r/DMV

My mother expects me to practice only 2-4 hours right from scratch in preparation for the behind the wheel test as she says it is very easy, because she claimed that she self taught herself one hour for driving before the test and that’s how she managed to get the driving license. She would never let me practice with her as I would only get private lessons for 2 2-hour sessions and then take the test right after. Is this normal or this is beyond expectations, because I have seen posts that you need 20+ hours of practice before even taking the test. I am 18+.

Decades ago, i was naturalized under my parents when i was still a minor. Now that i'm renewing my DL, they're asking for two official documents: 1.) birth certificate (mine is from Canada) 2.) passport (mine is expired).

Will a Canadian birth certificate suffice for renewal within California? Or do they need an official U.S. document to prove i'm an American citizen? Thanks in advance

I have a DL that wasn't a real ID so I applied for a real ID, went to the DMV and paid $40. I specifically said I wanted to see if I could get real ID for my DL and they said I could so that is what I assumed I was doing. However, i just got the new ID in the mail and it doesn't say DL on it, it said "Identification card". I looked up photos of Real ID licenses and they always have "Drivers license" written on top of it so now I am quite confused.
Did I just waste $40? 🥲

I just purchased a new car and wanted to get a vanity plate in CA for it. One of my options I wanted was available but my plates have not came in yet. Is there a way to still apply and so I can get the process started?

I recently moved from OH to PA and am getting conflicting information on whether I need to re-do the whole process of acquiring new DL in PA.

For more context, I am a non-resident alien and my current OH driver's license is valid, but it is a limited-term “Non-Renewable/Non-Transferable” license issued because of my immigration status (F-1 international student). The license itself is still valid for driving.

PennDOT's website says that new PA residents can transfer a valid out-of-state license, but I haven't been able to find anything specifically addressing an situation where the license is marked “Non-Renewable/Non-Transferable.” I have talked to three PennDOT locations and two said that I'd have to start the process like a new driver, and one said that it's not a problem and can be used to acquire new license.

A few questions for anyone with the knowledge on this matter:

1. Has anyone successfully "transferred" this type of OH license to a PA license?
2. If PennDOT won't transfer it, would I have to take the PA knowledge and road tests?

Any help is appreciated!

My son passed his road test yesterday and it says he needs to print his receipt as proof of his DJ until he gets his one in the mail in two weeks. However on the road test results page there is no receipt to print. We can't figure out where to print his DJ proof. The road test results page shows his pass status.

Any ideas?

How do you collect 12 yrs old traffic citation record? I was asked during my interview. Couldn’t show any evidence that I paid ticket. I showed that my DPS certified history record is clean, but IO said it’s not enough.

hello I need help lol please bare with me. Backstory:

-I was a travel nurse/contractual employee originally from Florida working in California from 2021 to 2024, with breaks in between where I was not working in CA for a full year

-shipped my FL car to California and have been using that for transportation here. Currently have FL Insurance and registration

-Officially moved into a California apartment 2024 and got a full-time job

-I have not updated my DL/Registration/Insurance to CA yet. Irresponsible on my end I admit.

-Tragic events happened to my FL home and therefore I need to update my car registration due to FL home not being there anymore (expires 11/2026). Since I need to update my car registration, I have to update my DL and Car insurance.

-Im still under car insurance with my mom/dad back home in FL, who have moved to a different home in FL (idk if this info is necessary). Car insurance expires in September and parents want to remove me from their insurance because my DL doesn't match their new FL home.

-Did research and I read I need to have a SMOG test on my car (Toyota RAV4 2019), I did that during my routine car inspection here in CA but it was done in January 2026.

Ok so now I applied online for a DL and set up an appointment next week. I already uploaded the information they asked online (Passport, Utility bills, Paystub). Im prepping for the DMV test to take in person.

Now my question is really the Car insurance/registration and any penalties I should expect:

-Should I get a CA Insurance first and then get my car registered? or vice versa?

-If the first step is getting my car registered - will they asked if I'm CA Insured or it doesn't matter for now

-Do I get the same insurance company from my FL insurance or get a completely different company for CA insurance? What's the best steps to approach this because I read that I can get severe penalties if I cancel my FL insurance first or tell my current FL insurance that Im already in California and ask to switch to CA insurance

-Will my SMOG test done in 1/2026 be qualified or do I need to repeat another SMOG test?

-How much should I expect to pay in fines/penalties for waiting this long? Is there any way to avoid it (ie not telling the DMV how long I was really staying here)

thanks so much for your help and I understand how irresponsible it is to wait this long but Im owning up to it and I just want to know what to expect with everything

Thank you!

My daughter got an automatic fail on her drive test today. The examiner told me she was doing a right turn on red and said it was legal but the examiner didn’t think the visability was great so she intervened and told my daughter not to go which she obeyed. The examiner told me since she intervened it was a fail. My daughter feels it was absolutely safe to go and that the examiner didn’t have the line of visability that she had as the driver. There were no oncoming cars and she made her full stop. The examiner then told my daughter she does not ever need to turn right on a red. To not do it, you won’t get extra points.

My question is, in her next test in 2 weeks, should she just not do a safe right turn on red and just wait for the green light? She is an excellent driver and the examiner even told both her and I that. That the only reason she failed her was because she intervened. Now my daughter doesn’t know what’s right? Turn on red right if safe or just don’t do it because her line of sight is different from the examiner.

I’m selling a car privately in Illinois. The car is mine, but the title is under my aunt and cousin’s names due to my circumstances at the time it was purchased.

Both are willing to sign the title.

Do they need to be present for the sale or go to the Secretary of State?

Or can they sign the title beforehand, and I handle the sale and give the signed title to the buyer?

So I just turned 18 and I’m currently going back and forth between Missouri and Pennsylvania, how would I get an id? Does it matter what state it’s from?

If I purchase blue/ yellow license plates, how can I legally put them on my vintage car. Just wondering what the process is. Thanks for any help

Hello,

Back in 2018, I applied for my DL for the first time using my passport on which the given name is “Marie Ann” and surname is “Lee”. Up to that point, I had gone by “Ann” because technically it’s my first name on my birth certificate from another country. A DMV officer that year strongly did not allow me to use my real first name as by law they had to use what was indicated on my passport, and advised me to use “Marie Ann” as my first name and leave the middle name blank in my application. I figured it would be easier to give up my true first name and go by “Marie Ann” as long as it follows the rules and makes everyone’s life easier. Since then, I used the first name “Marie Ann” and last name “Lee” (without using any middle name or middle name initial) on any official paperwork including schools, social security, bank, professional certificates, etc.

The name in the DL (and all other legal/official documents) has always been “Marie Ann Lee”, my older DL before real ID even clearly indicated FN: Marie Ann. Not until the beginning of this month did I figure out my name in the DMV system is not the same as it was advised in 2018. When I did fingerprinting for my professional license, my application was flagged “insufficient” with the reason that the name did not match because the fingerprints was submitted under the name “Marie A. Lee” and not “Marie Ann Lee” used on my license application. I went back to the fingerprinting agency and they said they simply put down what was on the DMV system after scanning my real ID, which was issued at the beginning of this year.

I went to DMV, hoping to get some help correcting my name on the system because after all, I have been trying to follow what they told me to do since 2018. And sadly, I was dismissed immediately by an agent, who said my name on the DMV system/record would stay as Marie (FN) Ann or A. (MD) and Lee (LN) unless I have court order about my legal name change. I even provided other legal documents (SSA, marriage license, PR card, etc.) with my first name indicated as Marie Ann but the agent refused to take a closer look at them, she did not even attempt to pull up my past record and repeatedly pointing at the space between my first name and said “there is nothing we can do unless you have the court order regarding the name change, clearly there’s a space here, don’t you see?”

I did not change my name ever, I didn’t use any preferred name to avoid confusion, I even gave up my true first name to make the information matches across different legal paperworks. I don’t know when there was an inconsistency initiated in the systems that caused yet another confusion. I just want to make it right once and for all.

Thank you for reading my long post. Please help me if you or someone you know ever encountered similar situation. Anything that can help me fix this is greatly appreciated!

Cannot find an answer, even after calling the DOL. My 40+ year old collector car got totaled after an accident. Called the DOL and got 2 different answers. It IS over the approx $12k value threshold, but NOT 6-20 years old. I called the DOL on 2 occasions, one time they said they would not issue a rebuilt brand because it is over the 6-20 year requirement, but the other time they said it only needed to reach the monetary value threshold to get the brand.

The definition of salvage vehicle includes "the vehicle had a retail fair market value of at least the then market value threshold amount and has a model year designation of a calendar year not more than twenty years before the calendar year in which the vehicle was wrecked, destroyed, or damaged." So is it even a salvage vehicle or just a total loss vehicle? If it isnt a salvage vehicle doesnt that mean that it cannot receive a rebuilt brand? Perhaps this is simply just confusing to me, but I have posted the sources I gained this info from. If anyone has any ideas or experience with this please tell!! Thank you.

https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=308-56A-460&utm
https://dol.wa.gov/vehicles-and-boats/vehicles/vehicle-registration/vehicle-title/salvaged-vehicles
https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.04.514

Hi. I went to the DMV last week to take my Class A license and was told that I had to take my Class C along side my Class A questions. I asked them if I passed all of A but failed all tries because of C if I'd lose progress to my Class A and they said yes. Is that necessarily true? Both Class A and C are different because one is commercial and the other is a standard license. Thank you guys and wish me luck on my second attempt if I need to redo all of it again.

I moved to Los Angeles 7 years ago from MA and I never bothered to convert my license because I a) don't own a car and b) don't actually really drive. I now need a CA ID with my address on it but for sentimental reasons (silly, I know), I am reluctant to give up my MA one. I also need to get the CA ID quickly and don't have time in my current situation to study for the written test to convert the license. Is this allowed?

I know you can only legally hold 1 Real ID, which my MA license is, and I can't find guidance about holding a Real ID and a regular ID card from another state at the same time.

Thanks!

I'm in SoCal specifically and I've been looking for those DMV kiosks everywhere I could and haven't been able to find any. Every grocery store I've been to so far hasn't had any. I haven't been to the DMV just yet since the whole point of the kiosks was to avoid the DMV..

Do they exist still? Do I have to go to the DMV? PLEASE HELP! Thanks.

I was jumped by a group of three men who shouted homophobic slurs at me near their pickup truck outside of The Seal pub in Harwich. Message me if you witnessed the incident or if you have any information.

Recently moved to Idaho from Texas. Car broke down so bought a new car in Idaho. It is currently being financed. At the dealership, only one partner was added to title. Is there a way to change the title to the other partner? Reading online, we have to be Idaho residents, but that will complicate our employment/money. I was also reading the car can be “gifted” but is that only if it is owned outright? Any advice?