Georgia driver's license and ID for new residents

Step 1 — Know when your 30 days start

A non-citizen with a valid foreign license may drive in Georgia for tourism or business, and police may ask for your passport or visa to check it (DDS — Non-US Citizens). Once you’re a resident, the DDS FAQ gives you 30 days to apply, and it counts you as a resident if (DDS — License FAQs):

• you have a permanent home in Georgia;
• you accept a job here (the FAQ ties this to enrolling your children in school within 10 days of starting work);
• you’ve been in the state for 30 days or more.

Unsure which date counts? Call DDS early.

A second clock. If you bring a car, the Department of Revenue (DOR) gives you 30 days from your move to register it, and you need a Georgia license or ID card first (DOR). So start with DDS.

Step 2 — Find your path: transfer, reciprocity or tests

• License from another U.S. state or D.C., valid or expired for no more than 2 years: you surrender it, pass a vision exam and skip the written and road tests (DDS — Transfer). DDS hole-punches the old card, which is then no longer valid for driving, and gives you a temporary license (DDS — License FAQs).
• South Korea: with a License Certification Letter from the South Korean Consulate, you take only the vision exam (DDS — Other Nations).
• Taiwan: DDS says Georgia “also has reciprocity with Taiwan” without listing the steps (DDS — Other Nations), so ask DDS before your visit.
• Any other country: you pass Georgia’s vision, written and road tests (DDS — Other Nations). DDS returns your foreign license, unless you apply for a commercial license (DDS — Other Nations).

An ID card instead, or as well. Anyone old enough to sign their name can apply; you keep a foreign license, but must surrender a valid license from another U.S. state (DDS — ID card). You may hold a Georgia license and an ID card, but only one can carry the REAL ID star (DDS — License FAQs; DDS — REAL ID).

Step 3 — Gather your Secure ID documents

Three DDS rules are easy to miss: all documents must be in English, translated documents aren’t accepted, and your license is issued only in a name that exactly matches your original immigration documents (DDS — Transfer).

1. Identity and lawful status. DDS requires U.S. citizenship or lawful status in the United States (DDS — Non-US Citizens). Non-citizens bring an identity document and, where the DDS table requires it, a second one for lawful status, for example (DDS — REAL ID):

• many visa holders: an unexpired foreign passport with a U.S. visa, plus a valid I-94 or I-797A notice;
• F, M and J students and exchange visitors: the same, plus the I-20 or DS-2019;
• green card (Form I-551): no second document;
• work permit (EAD, Form I-766): some categories, such as Temporary Protected Status (TPS), stand alone; others need a passport or a USCIS notice.

Bring the originals each time you ask DDS for a license or ID service (DDS — Non-US Citizens). What each paper is: understanding your immigration documents.

2. Your SSN, or the denial form. Give your SSN, or fill in a Certification of Social Security Denial Status (Form DDS-351) at the center (DDS — Non-US Citizens). If the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has given you permission to work, DDS says you must apply for an SSN (DDS — Non-US Citizens), and your details must match at DDS and the Social Security Administration (DDS — Transfer). See getting a Social Security number.

3. Two proofs of your Georgia address. Both must show your name and current home address, come from separate sources or accounts, and not be a P.O. box (DDS — REAL ID). Accepted papers include (DDS — REAL ID):

• a rental contract or rent receipt dated within the past six months;
• a utility, internet or phone bill, or a bank statement, from the past six months (black out account numbers);
• any postmarked mail delivered by USPS in the past six months;
• a pay stub or employer letter from this year or last year;
• a USCIS notice such as an I-797C.

A personal check with your full name and address also counts (DDS — License FAQs), and refugees may use Form DS-20, the Refugee Address Verification Affidavit (DDS — Non-US Citizens).

Step 4 — Submit the online form, then choose a center

Before any visit, submit DDS’s online License/ID/Permit Form with your full SSN; DDS keeps it for 60 days, then you submit it again (DDS — Transfer).

Any Customer Service Center in the state will serve you (DDS — License FAQs). Not all of them offer road tests (DDS — Centers). Check hours and office closures first (DDS — Centers).

Step 5 — Pass the vision and knowledge exams

• Vision: at least 20/60 in one eye, with or without glasses, and a 140-degree field of vision (DDS — Tests).
• Knowledge exam: two tests, Road Rules and Road Signs, each needing 15 out of 20; no appointment; a free practice test online; and you must be at the computer at least 30 minutes before the center closes (DDS — Tests). Every center offers it except Jackson (DDS — License FAQs).
• Language: the DDS testing page lists 26 languages for both tests, from Amharic to Wolof (DDS — Tests), but the DDS FAQ says the Road Sign Test is English-only and every driver must understand simple English on road signs (DDS — License FAQs). Ask your center.
• If you fail: wait 1 day to retest, or 7 days after a second failure (DDS — Tests), and pay the permit fee again each time (DDS — Fees).

These exams, with your documents and the permit fee, also get you a learner’s permit (Class CP), which lets you drive only with a Class C-licensed driver aged 21 or older in the seat beside you (DDS — Learner’s Permit).

Step 6 — Book and pass the road test

• Appointments only: no walk-ins and no same-day appointments (DDS — Road Test).
• For drivers 18 and over, DDS lists: a valid Georgia learner’s permit, a signed affidavit of 40 hours of supervised driving (6 at night), a passed knowledge exam and a licensed driver aged 21 or older with you (DDS — Road Test). Licensed abroad? Ask DDS which of these apply to you.
• The car: a paper copy of the registration, a current insurance card, your name on any rental agreement, a bill of sale for temporary tags or a purchase in the last 30 days, and a passed DDS safety inspection (DDS — Road Test).
• Two formats: traditional, with an examiner and a 75% pass mark, or virtual, with a dual-facing camera, a hands-free device and a licensed adult aged 21 or older in the car; the road skills test is only in English (DDS — Tests).
• Timing: Tuesdays are typically busy (DDS — License FAQs).

Step 7 — Get your card and keep it valid

• SAVE check: Georgia law requires DDS to verify non-citizens’ immigration documents through SAVE, a DHS/USCIS system, before issuing a card (DDS — SAVE). It’s usually instant; otherwise DDS calls you within 30 business days, and a third-level check depends on USCIS (DDS — SAVE).
• Temporary license first: don’t laminate it (DDS — License FAQs) or plan to fly with it, because TSA doesn’t accept it (DDS — REAL ID).
• “LIMITED-TERM”: non-citizens’ cards carry these words and are valid for your approved length of stay, up to five years (DDS — Limited Term). They work for banking, car rentals and shopping, but not to verify citizenship for voting (DDS — Limited Term).
• Renew early: DDS suggests starting USCIS renewals 6 months before your documents expire, and your DDS renewal 45 days before your card expires (DDS — SAVE). If your Georgia card has expired, or expires within 30 days, while USCIS processes your request to extend your stay, you can get a one-time 120-day extension with an original I-797C (DDS — Non-US Citizens).
• Then your car: title and register it at your County Tag Office; in 13 metropolitan counties, including Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett, you need an emissions inspection first (DOR). See buying and insuring a car.