Renewing your license is easier and faster these days since the DMV now offers several renewal options. Aside from the traditional in person option, it can also be done online or by mail.

When should you renew your license? You may start working on its renewal as early as six months before its expiry date. You can likewise renew it after its expiration provided that two months haven’t lapsed yet. 

Typically, you are going to get a renewal notice a month or two before it expires. Apart from serving as a reminder that your license is nearing its expiration, the notice also lets you know the renewal options you have.

When you renew in person, make an appointment through the phone or online before heading to a DMV office near you. Below is a guide you can follow when you renew your license in person.

• Set an appointment through phone or the online appointment portal.

• Prepare for the knowledge test, if you are taking one.

• Visit your eye doctor prior to your appointment to address any eyesight problem that can prevent you from passing the vision test. 

• Accomplish the renewal application form.

• When at the DMV, present the pertinent documents needed and settle the renewal fee.

• Wait for your fingerprint to be scanned.

• Get your eyesight evaluated. Take the written exam. Your license only gets renewed if you pass both tests.

• Ensure that all details on your information sheet are correct, most especially your address.

You won’t immediately get your new license. You need to wait for at least two months which is why you’re going to be handed an interim license. 

Another option is to renew by mail; however, this is not open to everyone. You need to satisfy certain criteria (e.g. current license doesn’t expire in 60 days and motorist is not 70 or older when the license expires) to be eligible for renewal by mail. To learn more about the conditions for by mail renewal, you can visit this page.

If you are eligible to renew your driver’s license by mail, all you need to do is to fill out the renewal notice, prepare the check payment and send the form and check to the DMV.

The last option is renewing online. Just like mail renewal, this channel is only available to those who meet the eligibility criteria for online renewal. In case you are eligible, you’ll need to create an account on the CA DMV site first. 

Go to the DMV site to learn more about driver’s license renewal process in California.

Click here to find out more about driving in California or sign up for California Drivers Ed or Traffic School Online.