Talk:Driver's licenses in the United States

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CDL Licenses Section Needs to be fixed
There are a number of discrepancies between the section and the cited sources for example the GVWR criteria for class A and B is generally 26,001 lbs or greater (26,000 lbs or fewer are generally don't require commercial licenses unless it is required for reasons other than weight). Class C includes vehicles that are 26,000 lbs, not just those below 25,999 lbs. It's also not clear where the 16,000 lbs quantity came from.

Also what is a "split (coupled) bus" and how is that different than an articulated buses (I know what these are)? I suspect that these may be the same thing, in which case how can they be under both class A and class B? If they are indeed different, what is the distinction?

I suggest taking the class descriptions from the main article on Commercial Drivers Licenses, where the information seems to be more accurate (and interestingly, more concise). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 104.129.192.75 (talk) 02:17, 20 October 2015 (UTC)

New York Junior Licenses
I keep trying to update the NY section on junior licenses but it keeps being modified. Class DJ drivers can drive in New York City, even if they are under 18. I understand that this was not always the case, but see http://nysdmv.com/youngerdriver/grad-nyc.htm and it allows the same driving privileges as a limited DJ license. Speaking of which, the article says that the Limited DJ licenses were eliminated in February, which is true, but they are still in circulation. If the last of them were issued on February 21, then it's possible that they'd still be in circulation until 6 months later, or August. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Crispy1995 (talk • contribs) 14:48, 10 July 2010 (UTC)

Rhode Island
I did a quick search and can't find it saying anywhere that Rhode Island is raising its driving age to 18. Mr Senseless (talk) 19:55, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

How much do non-driver ID cards cost? Application procedure?
In conjunction with the current voting rights case (Indiana law requiring photo ID for voting) it would be useful to add info on how much non-driver ID cards cost and what the procedure is for obtaining one in the several states. If someone has that info please add it.

Maybe a whole article on those ID cards would be better than having it in here though. -- 212.63.43.180 (talk) 22:21, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

Merge to Driving license
Suggest merging all information into the general article about driver's licenses. The information is too similar, and this article has a great deal of information that the main article could stand to have. Bulmabriefs144 (talk) 06:56, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Pennsylvania
I changed the age at which one can get his/her full driver's license from 18 to 17, 6 months. This is clearly seen in the link which is used for the citation. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.141.90.64 (talk) 01:09, 8 December 2008 (UTC)

Vermont
Are you kidding me 10 years for a learners permit that cannot be accurate. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.125.201.136 (talk) 06:20, 20 December 2008 (UTC)

Federal Law regarding driver's licenses
I removed the reference to a "federal law" that requires states to honor each other's licenses, since I could not find such a law. If you know of one, please post a citation. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bud08 (talk • contribs) 03:06, 29 December 2008 (UTC)


 * It's the full faith and credit doctrine that requires that states honor each other's contracts, marriages, et cetera. 12.109.73.226 (talk) 17:56, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

Actually, it is not that simple. Some people claim that the full faith and credit doctrine requires this, but no court has ruled as such. Marriages are most certainly not always recognized across state lines (gay marriages a case in point). I don't know of a single federal law or court case that has ever forced a state to honor an out-of-state driver's license, or license of any type. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bud08 (talk • contribs) 08:24, 2 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Okay...out-of-state driver's licenses are ALWAYS recognized in other states. Always. There has never been a court case forcing a state to recognize an out-of-state driver's license because there has never been a case where the issue was challenged. No person has ever been fined or charged with a crime in ANY state in the U.S. for not having a driver's license when they had a valid one from a different state. No, I can't cite references, because there are no references to cite for something that doesn't exist. But it's common sense. I challenge ANYONE to disprove this. Kronos o (talk) 01:13, 22 March 2009 (UTC)

It doesn't matter if there has never been a court case. The fact is that no such federal law exists, and therefore you cannot write it on wikipedia. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bud08 (talk • contribs) 06:09, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

"Section 1. Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records, and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.

Section 2. The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. "-US Constitution — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bolegash (talk • contribs) 04:55, 23 December 2011 (UTC)


 * How much is it cost 105.113.12.157 (talk) 04:10, 10 May 2024 (UTC)

Abusive language in alabama section
Please remove : "fc y'all rednecks... :U" —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.10.219.164 (talk) 21:13, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

Missing information - How long is a driver's license valid, state-by-state?
I note with amusement the focus on beginning drivers in the US driver's license web page, reflecting the focus of the contributors no doubt, who have recently gotten their first licence. While helpful, additional information would be useful on the state by state page.

When one is issued a regular drivers license, what does it cost, and how many years is it good for... expiring on anniversary of issue, or on birthdate?

This would be helpful, and in some cases is difficult to find, as the states do not all list it on their web sites. Probably easiest if collaborative where each state resident puts their own state's rules up. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 210.48.92.159 (talk) 20:31, 2 December 2009 (UTC)

What exactly does that mean?...
In New Hampshire, the law states that no one within a six month time period of getting their licence may drive with anyone under 25 who is not in their family, more than one person. Family is a very loose term. Does that mean your immediate family..or someone closely related to you, such as your cousin? Thanks! :) 71.161.101.100 (talk) 02:29, 7 February 2010 (UTC)MmmhmDriver71.161.101.100 (talk) 02:29, 7 February 2010 (UTC)

women driving at 32?
The first paragraph mentions that women are restricted to driving until they are 32. This can't be true. I didn't find anything close to that. Celamb07 (talk) 22:05, 12 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Agree this can't be true. Would be unconstitutional and seems to hurt credibility.  Am taking it down for now. Anyone who wants to restore it, please add citations showing which states do this and then bring it back. Jay1955 (talk) 13:55, 13 April 2011 (UTC)

Disabilities, deafness, etc.?
In Texas, The Samuel Allen Law (SB2304) was implemented to improve the interaction between law enforcement and drivers with disabilities with unique communication needs. Texans now have the OPTION to disclose “Communication Impediment” directly on the front of their Driver License or State ID, or when registering their vehicle through the DMV. This will alert the trained officer when approaching a vehicle of an individual who may be slower to respond (Autism, PTSD, etc) or one who is deaf or hard of hearing. For full information and downloadable forms, go to https://gov.texas.gov/organization/disabilities/texas-driving-with-disability — Preceding unsigned comment added by Aspergers101 (talk • contribs) 03:11, 22 March 2024 (UTC)

Can't find any information on national or state restrictions or rights for drivers with hearing impairment and other disabilities. In some countries they can't drive at all. Does it vary by state in the US or what? If you know or can find out, please add it. 69.105.239.185 (talk) 15:55, 22 July 2011 (UTC)

Hardship Licenses for Minors and Graduated Drivers Licenses laws in the 50 states and the District of Columbia
The article, in general, and this section specifically has gotten very large. The table in this section, in my opinion, is very unreadable, is there something we can do, perhaps make this a "generic" overview of US drivers licenses, as they are comparable from state to state, and have more specific, detailed articles for each state? --UnQuébécois (talk) 00:34, 25 May 2012 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress
There is a move discussion in progress which affects this page. Please participate at Talk:Driving licence in Australia and not in this talk page section. Thank you. --202.28.181.200 (talk) 02:32, 1 August 2012 (UTC)

Decline in licensing among young people in the U.S.
The line "For example, in California, newly licensed minors must wait a year before they can drive with other minors in their car, and cannot drive during certain hours of the night due to California's youth curfew laws. Thus, a minor can only drive with his or her friends in the car for at most one year before the minor becomes an adult." does not appear to have anything to do with the heading. Can this be removed? 4.79.1.1 (talk) 20:02, 3 June 2013 (UTC) It has been 10 days, I'm removing it. 4.79.1.1 (talk) 13:57, 13 June 2013 (UTC)

When did unaccompanied minors first drive?
The article doesn't say the first state to allow 16-year-olds to drive alone. Jay (talk) 01:05, 12 August 2014 (UTC)

CDL Restriction B: Corrective Lenses
I have a Class A CDL which shows this restriction as "A". I'm wondering whether the letter varies by state or simply just a typing error in the article. Silwunduniik (talk) 19:48, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

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Requested move 4 October 2016

 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section. 

The result of the move request was: Moved Fuortu (talk) 11:37, 12 October 2016 (UTC)

Driver's license in the United States → Driver's licenses in the United States – WP:SINGULAR needs to be circumvented in this case because there is not a single issued "United States Drivers License", each state issues its own drivers license, and although they are valid for ID and driving privilege purposes within the entire US, the requirements for obtaining each one are different. An alternative may just be to create articles like Driver's license in Alabama etc. Prisencolin (talk) 18:55, 4 October 2016 (UTC) CN¥
 * Support move. The plural makes sense in this case.  ONR  (talk) 05:05, 5 October 2016 (UTC)
 * Support. The current title is clunky. Seems like a sensible exception to WP:SINGULAR.  IgnorantArmies  (talk)  11:06, 11 October 2016 (UTC)

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Requested move 5 December 2018

 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this section. 

The result of the move request was: not moved. The early comment says it all... the rule quoted doesn't actually support the nomination. And the !votes indicate that consensus still supports this rule as it is. Andrewa (talk) 01:26, 13 December 2018 (UTC)

Driver's licenses in the United States → Driver's license in the United States – Per WP:PLURAL; this doesn't fit one of the exceptions so a plural shouldn't be used  IWI  ( chat ) 22:50, 5 December 2018 (UTC)
 * Comment: One of the exceptions is "Articles on groups or classes of specific things" – doesn't that fit? —BarrelProof (talk) 01:30, 6 December 2018 (UTC)
 * Oppose. There are more than 50 different driver’s licenses in the country. The proposed title sounds awkward as well.  Calidum   01:54, 6 December 2018 (UTC)
 * Oppose - It's plural because driver’s licenses are issued by the 50 states, DC, and the various territories, and not by a single entity. - BilCat (talk) 04:30, 6 December 2018 (UTC)
 * Oppose on pure grammar alone. We shouldn't throw out all common sense just to robotically conform to other conventions. We don't have River of the United States when the more natural term is rivers of the United States. --Animalparty! (talk) 21:14, 8 December 2018 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

South Dakota age for restricted driver's license
The current source for the information on South Dakota's information looks to be broken. However, a new link I found for it seems to say that you must be 180 days (6 months) older than your 14th birthday if you take approved driving lessons, or 275 days if you don't take an approved driving lesson program. This contradicts the current information on the page that says you can get a restricted permit when you're 14 and 3 months old with approved driving lessons or 14 and 6 months old without those lessons. Is this correct? Should the information in the article be changed? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kingapresa (talk • contribs) 01:26, 29 June 2022 (UTC)

Armed Forces
The article may benefit from some content on US Forces. Many people will have been taught to drive vehicles as part of their duties for various categories of vehicles. Do Armed Forces personnel have licences issued by a state / territory or do the US Forces issue them. 91.84.189.190 (talk) 12:20, 20 July 2024 (UTC)