Virginia driver's license and ID for new residents

Step 1 — Count your 60 days

In Virginia, the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) issues licenses and ID cards. New residents have 60 days to get a Virginia license; with a commercial driver’s license (CDL), you have 30 days (DMV — New to Virginia).

DMV treats some people differently:

• Temporary non-residents may drive on their home license for up to six months, but once you are gainfully employed here, you need a Virginia license (DMV — Eligibility).
• Full-time students at an accredited Virginia school who don’t work may keep driving on an out-of-state or foreign license; a student who works counts as a resident (DMV — Eligibility).

Step 2 — Choose your card

• REAL ID license. Optional in Virginia, it has a star in the upper right corner and works for domestic flights and secure federal facilities (DMV — REAL ID). A REAL ID from another state doesn’t transfer: you apply again with all proof documents (DMV — REAL ID FAQ).
• Standard license. You can drive and prove your identity with it, but it says “Federal Limits Apply”; to fly, you need another federally approved ID, such as a U.S. passport (DMV — REAL ID).
• Driver privilege card. DMV calls it “a driver’s license for non-US citizens” that lets non-citizen residents drive legally “without requiring proof of legal presence or U.S. citizenship” (DMV — Driver Privilege Card).

It is for non-citizen Virginia residents at least 16 years and 3 months old, with no suspended or revoked driving privilege or insurance-related infractions, who in the past 12 months reported income from Virginia sources or were claimed as a dependent on a Virginia tax return (DMV — Driver Privilege Card). DMV says the law sets this tax condition, so it can’t waive it (DMV — Driver Privilege Card). The card isn’t REAL ID-compliant, so it can’t be used to board a flight (DMV — Driver Privilege Card).

If your stay has an end date. In October 2026, DMV’s application page said a REAL ID for people temporarily authorized to be in the U.S. lasts for the authorized stay (one year if it has no end date), while a non-REAL ID credential lasts up to 8 years (DMV — Apply).

Not driving? Without a U.S. license or permit, you can get a Virginia ID card with the same documents (DMV — ID card), or an ID privilege card, with the same tax condition as the privilege card (DMV — ID privilege card).

REAL ID nationwide: our guide to licenses and state IDs. Status questions: free immigration legal help.

Step 3 — Gather the right document list

Both lists want originals; photocopies and temporary documents are refused (DMV 141).

For a license, REAL ID or ID card (DMV 141):

• Identity and legal presence, such as an unexpired foreign passport with an unexpired U.S. visa and an unexpired I-94 or entry stamp, or a permanent resident card (DMV 141). F-1/F-2 students add the I-20 and J-1/J-2 visitors the DS-2019, and an unexpired Employment Authorization Document (EAD) proves legal presence, but not for a REAL ID (DMV 141). See our I-94 guide.
• Two proofs of Virginia residency, at least one from the primary list, such as a lease, or a utility bill (not a cell phone bill), bank statement or pay stub from the last two months, all with a street address, not a P.O. box (DMV 141).
• Your Social Security number, if you have one. DMV can verify it electronically, and an ITIN doesn’t count as proof (DMV 141). See our Social Security number guide.

For a driver privilege card (DMV 309):

• Two proofs of identity, at least one from List A (with a photo, expired no more than five years), such as a foreign passport, a consular ID, an EAD or a foreign driver’s license; the second may be from List B, such as an ITIN assignment letter (DMV 309).
• Two proofs of residency, and your SSN or ITIN (DMV 309). See our ITIN guide.
• A Virginia tax return filed in the past 12 months: Form 760, VA760CG, 760PY or 763 (DMV 309).

DMV verifies the return on the spot with the Virginia Department of Taxation, and it must have been accepted within a year before you apply (DMV — Driver Privilege Card). Documents in other languages need a certified English translation by a professional translator (DMV — Driver Privilege Card).

Your name must match across documents (DMV 141). Address proofs take time, so renting your first apartment and opening a bank account usually come first.

Step 4 — Exchange a license you already hold

• From another U.S. state: at 18 or older, with a license expired no more than a year, you skip training and tests, and bring your documents, current license and fee (DMV — Apply); everyone takes a vision screening (DMV — Apply).
• From Canada, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea or Taiwan: these countries have “reciprocal” status (DMV — Foreign license). Except for Canada, you first send form DL 7 and a copy of your license so DMV can verify it with your country, which can take up to 15 days (DMV — Foreign license). You may then need only a vision screening; Taiwan license holders also take the knowledge exam (DMV — Foreign license). Skip the DL 7 or fail a test, and the waiver is gone (DMV — Foreign license).
• From any other country: you pass the knowledge exam, the road skills test and a vision screening, but with an acceptable foreign license you need no driver education and no 60 days on a learner’s permit (DMV — Foreign license). Under 18, you can’t exchange a foreign license (DMV — Foreign license).

Step 5 — Starting from zero: the 2027 change

Never licensed anywhere, or can’t prove it? You start with a learner’s permit: at least 15 years and 6 months old, your documents, a vision screening and the knowledge exam (DMV — Learner’s permit). The licensed driver beside you must be at least 21, or at least 18 if they are your legal guardian or sibling (DMV — Learner’s permit).

Then it depends on your age and the date:

• Before January 1, 2027, at 18 or older: hold the permit 60 days, or complete a state-approved driver education program (DMV — Apply).
• From January 1, 2027: at 21 or older, the same choice; from 18 through 20, at least 90 days with the permit and driver education (DMV — Apply).
• Under 18: driver education, nine months with the permit, and 45 hours of practice, 15 after sunset (DMV — Apply).

DMV says the change, from House Bill 1224, doesn’t apply if you can prove a previous license from another state, U.S. territory or country (DMV — 2027 FAQ). Moving with teenagers? See family first steps.

Step 6 — Visit DMV and pass your tests

• Book, reserve or walk in. Appointments run Monday to Friday, and an e-ticket (text the office’s code to 89247) saves your place for same-day service (DMV — Plan Your Visit).
• Knowledge exam. You must get all 10 road sign questions right, then at least 24 of 30 general questions (DMV — Knowledge Exam). It comes in English, American Sign Language and 24 other languages, such as Arabic, Dari, Spanish and Vietnamese (DMV — Knowledge Exam). A translator is allowed only if your language isn’t offered, and you bring your own (DMV — Driver Privilege Card).
• Road skills test. It happens on the road, in English, in a car you bring, with a valid safety inspection sticker, plates and registration (DMV — Road Skills Tests). Your own translator may ride in the back seat if they are 18 or older with an unexpired U.S. license (DMV — Road Skills Tests).
• Your card comes by mail, and the Postal Service won’t forward it; report any move to DMV within 30 days (DMV — Driver’s Manual).