Existing law provides that the expiration date for an original driver’s license or a driver’s license renewal is the 5th birthday of the applicant following the date of the application for the license. Existing law authorizes the Director of Motor Vehicles to establish a program to evaluate the traffic safety and other effects of renewing driver’s licenses by mail. Existing law, pursuant to that program, authorizes the department to renew by mail driver’s licenses for licensees meeting specified requirements, including that the person is not 70 years of age or older, and that the department shall not renew a driver’s license by mail if the license has been previously renewed by mail 2 consecutive times for 5-year periods.
This bill would authorize a driver who is between 55 and 69 years of age, inclusive, who has no at-fault accidents or
violations other than parking violations on his or her driving record for the preceding 15 years to renew his or her license by mail. The bill would provide that a driver qualifying under these provisions would not be required to take a written exam, but would be required to pass an eye exam established by the department. The bill would provide that the prohibition against renewing a driver’s license more than 2 consecutive times by mail would not apply to a driver qualifying under these provisions.