Can Illegal Immigrants Get a Driver’s License in California?

Yes. Undocumented immigrants can get a driver’s license in California under a 2015 law known as AB 60, codified at Vehicle Code Section 12801.9. The DMV must issue a license to any California resident who proves identity and residency and passes the standard vision, written, and driving tests, regardless of immigration status.¹ The license has one visible difference from a standard California license and comes with strong privacy protections built into state law.

What the AB 60 License Is

The Safe and Responsible Drivers Act took effect in January 2015 and has issued well over a million licenses since. The license lets you drive legally in California and functions as state identification. It does not change your immigration status, grant work authorization, or make you eligible for federal benefits.¹

The card looks almost identical to any other California license. The front carries the notation “Federal Limits Apply,” and the back reads “This card is not acceptable for official federal purposes.”¹ State and local law enforcement must treat it the same as any other California license.

Documents You’ll Need

Because AB 60 applicants cannot provide federal legal-presence documents, the DMV accepts alternatives. The cleanest path is a valid foreign passport from a DMV-approved country combined with an electronically verifiable Social Security number. If you have that combination, the primary review usually goes smoothly.²

Without that combination, the DMV runs what it calls a Secondary Review. You’ll need to assemble documents from the DMV’s approved list, which can include an expired foreign passport, a consular identification card, a foreign national ID card, a foreign driver’s license with a certified English translation, school records showing your photo or date of birth, and birth or adoption records.² Bring everything you have. More documentation makes the review easier.

Proving California Residency

You also need at least one document showing your name and a California address. Common options include utility and cell phone bills, a signed rental or lease agreement, federal or state tax returns, and bank statements. The address has to match the one on your application. If you don’t have anything in your own name, you can use a spouse’s or parent’s document along with a marriage certificate or birth certificate that establishes the relationship.³

How to Apply

You can start online using the DMV’s electronic application before visiting an office.⁴ Book an appointment; walk-in waits can stretch for hours. The application fee is $37 and nonrefundable, so have your documents ready before you pay.⁵

At the office, the DMV will verify your documents, scan a thumbprint, take your photo, and give you a vision test.⁶ You’ll take the written knowledge test the same visit.

One warning worth taking seriously. The application includes a voter registration section, and the system will register anyone who doesn’t opt out. If you are not a U.S. citizen, decline the voter registration portion.⁴ Registering to vote as a non-citizen is a federal crime.

The Tests

The written test covers California traffic laws and road signs. The official California Driver Handbook is published in English, Spanish, Chinese, Armenian, Hindi, Punjabi, Russian, and Vietnamese, and the test itself is available in even more languages.⁷ You get three attempts.

Pass the written test and you’ll get a learner’s permit and can schedule the behind-the-wheel driving test. That test looks at your ability to handle real traffic, make turns and lane changes, and respond to conditions. Three attempts here too. If you’ve never driven, practice with a licensed driver first. The road test is where most struggling applicants fail.

Where the License Can and Cannot Be Used

The AB 60 license works for everything a California license normally does within the state. It does not work for anything requiring federal identification.

The clearest example is air travel. Since REAL ID enforcement began on May 7, 2025, TSA will only accept REAL ID-compliant licenses or other federally approved identification at airport checkpoints.⁸ An AB 60 license is not REAL ID-compliant. To board a domestic flight you would need a valid foreign passport or another form of ID from TSA’s accepted list.⁹ You should also avoid presenting it to enter restricted areas of federal buildings or to identify yourself to federal law enforcement.

Privacy Protections

For many applicants the privacy question is the whole question. California layers several protections on top of one another.

What the DMV Cannot Share

The documents you give the DMV to prove identity and residency are not public records. The DMV cannot disclose them except in response to a subpoena in a criminal case, a court order, or a law enforcement request involving an urgent health or safety situation. The statute explicitly says immigration enforcement does not qualify as an urgent health and safety need. Information collected under the program is also exempt from California’s public records law.¹

The California Values Act

A separate law, Government Code Section 7284.6, restricts how all California law enforcement agencies work with federal immigration authorities. State and local police cannot use their resources to investigate, detain, or arrest people for immigration enforcement. They cannot ask about your immigration status, share personal information like your home or work address with immigration authorities, or honor immigration hold requests. They also cannot transfer you to immigration authorities without a judicial warrant.¹⁰

The Federal Limitation

The federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act generally prohibits states from disclosing personal information from motor vehicle records, but it includes an exception for government agencies carrying out official functions.¹¹ Federal immigration agencies have historically used that exception to request information from state DMVs. California’s answer has been to add state-level restrictions on top: even where federal law might permit a request, California law prohibits the DMV from disclosing AB 60 application documents for immigration enforcement.

None of this is an absolute guarantee. A federal court order can override state restrictions in a specific case. But applying for an AB 60 license is not designed to create a pathway for immigration agencies to find you through DMV records.

Protections Against Discrimination

California law makes it illegal to discriminate against you because you hold or show an AB 60 license. A business that treats you differently violates the Unruh Civil Rights Act. An employer who does so violates the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. A state or local agency, or any program receiving state funds, that discriminates violates Government Code Section 11135.¹

The license also cannot be used as evidence of your immigration status in any context.¹ If an employer asks for your license and you show an AB 60 card, they cannot infer anything about your immigration situation from it. That protection does not override federal employment verification. Employers are still required to run the standard I-9 process, and doing so does not violate state law.

After You’re Licensed

California requires every driver to carry liability insurance. The minimums are $30,000 for injury or death to one person, $60,000 for injury or death to multiple people in one accident, and $15,000 for property damage. Carry proof of insurance in the vehicle. Driving without it is an infraction with escalating fines and possible impound.¹²

A California license is valid for five years, expiring on your fifth birthday after the application date. If the identity document you used to apply expires sooner, the DMV issues a limited-term license that matches your document’s expiration.¹³ Renewal requires current identity and residency documents again, so keep your paperwork organized.

At a traffic stop, your AB 60 license is as valid as any other California license. A peace officer cannot detain or arrest you solely on a belief that you’re an unlicensed driver, unless the officer has reasonable cause to believe the driver is under 16.¹

1
California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 12801.9
2
California Department of Motor Vehicles. AB 60 Wizard
3
Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 13 Section 15.01 – Acceptable Proof of California Residency
4
California Department of Motor Vehicles. Apply Online for a Driver License or ID Card
5
California Department of Motor Vehicles. Licensing Fees
6
California Department of Motor Vehicles. Driver’s Licenses
7
California Department of Motor Vehicles. Driver’s Handbooks – Driving Test Resources
8
Transportation Security Administration. REAL ID
9
Transportation Security Administration. Acceptable Identification at the TSA Checkpoint
10
California Legislative Information. California Government Code 7284.6
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2721 – Prohibition on Release and Use of Certain Personal Information From State Motor Vehicle Records
12
California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 16029
13
California Department of Motor Vehicles. Driver’s License or ID Card Online Renewal