How to Complete and Submit the Georgia Driver License Renewal Form (DDS-23)

To renew a Georgia driver’s license, you complete the Georgia driver’s license renewal form (DDS-23, or the DDS-23MIR variant for mail-in applicants), pay a $32 fee, and submit it online, through the DDS 2 GO mobile app, in person at a Customer Service Center, or by mail if you qualify.¹ A standard license is valid for eight years, expiring on your birthday.² The form captures your identifying information, vision status, voter registration preference, and Selective Service compliance. What differs is how you submit it and what you need to send with it.

Pick the Submission Method You Qualify For

Not every driver qualifies for every channel, so start here.

Online or through the DDS 2 GO app is the fastest route, but it is only open to you if your current license is already REAL ID-compliant (the gold star in the upper corner).¹ If the star isn’t there, you’ll need an in-person visit to upgrade and renew at the same time.

You also have to appear in person if any of these apply:

This is your first-ever Georgia license renewal.
Your license has been expired more than two years, in which case you’ll retake the knowledge, vision, and road skills tests.
You’re changing your name or changing your immigration status from non-citizen to U.S. citizen.

¹³

Drivers 64 and older must pass a vision screening at every renewal. You can still renew online if you upload a Vision Report Form (DDS-MR-274) completed by an optometrist or ophthalmologist within the past two years; otherwise you’ll screen at a center.⁴

Mail-in is reserved for U.S. citizens temporarily outside Georgia: active-duty military and their dependents, students enrolled out of state, and workers on temporary out-of-state assignments. You get one mail-in renewal, and the next time you have to renew in person or online.³

Filling Out the Form

The DDS-23 is the standard application for any Georgia license, permit, or ID card. You can pre-fill it digitally in the DDS 2 GO app before visiting a center, which cuts the time at the counter.⁵ If you’re mailing it in, you’ll use the DDS-23MIR version, and it must be signed and notarized in Section F.³

You’ll enter your full legal name, date of birth, and physical descriptors like height and eye color. Every detail should match your supporting documents exactly. A mismatch between the name on the form and the name on your birth certificate or passport is one of the fastest ways to get turned away at a DDS center.

Voter Registration

The DDS-23 includes a voter registration section where you can opt in or decline. If you opt in, DDS forwards the registration to your county election office, and you won’t be asked to repeat information already on the application.⁶

Selective Service

Male applicants between 18 and 25 will see a Selective Service registration question. Federal law requires nearly all male U.S. citizens and male immigrants in that age range to register, and failing to do so can block federal student aid, federal job training, and, for immigrant men, U.S. citizenship.⁷ If you’re 26 or older, registration is no longer available or required.

Documents To Bring or Attach

If you already have a REAL ID-compliant license and you’re renewing online, your identity and residency documents are on file. You won’t present them again unless something has changed.

For an in-person renewal, especially one that upgrades you to a REAL ID card, bring documents proving four things: identity, Social Security number, Georgia residency, and U.S. citizenship or lawful immigration status.⁸ A valid birth certificate or unexpired U.S. passport works for identity. Two separate documents showing your current Georgia address, such as a utility bill and a bank statement, cover residency. If your name has changed since your last license, bring a certified marriage certificate or court order linking your current legal name to the name on your identity document.

Mail-in applicants send proof of Georgia residency along with the documents that match their reason for mailing: military members include a commanding officer’s affidavit on official letterhead (Form DDS-359 MIR), students include an enrollment verification letter dated within 60 days, and temporary workers include a notarized affidavit (Form DDS-360 MIR).³ Mail-in renewal cannot be used for REAL ID enrollment, name changes, or an immigration-status change to U.S. citizen.

Vision Screening

A passing vision score is required for every Georgia license. The minimum for a standard, non-commercial license is 20/60 acuity in at least one eye and a horizontal field of vision of at least 140 degrees, with or without corrective lenses.⁹ If you renew in person, you’ll screen at the center. Online renewals skip the screening unless you’re 64 or older, in which case the DDS-MR-274 form has to be uploaded through your DDS online account. DDS will email you whether the submission was approved, denied, or incomplete.⁴ If you fail the field-of-vision portion, DDS will ask you to have the DDS-MR-274 completed by a licensed practitioner before the renewal can proceed.

Fee and Payment

A standard eight-year renewal is $32.³ Veterans holding a current combat veteran license pay no fee. If you only need a replacement card and your license has at least 150 days left before expiration, a replacement is $10; otherwise you’ll pay the full $32 and start a fresh eight-year term.¹⁰

Payment options depend on the channel. DDS Customer Service Centers take cash, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express, and do not take checks, money orders, or cashier’s checks.¹¹ Online and app renewals take credit and debit cards. Mail-in renewals do accept checks and money orders in addition to credit cards; checks go to the Department of Driver Services.³

Where To Send It

For online renewal, log into the DDS Online Services portal or the DDS 2 GO app. If you haven’t used them before, you’ll create an online account first.⁵ The system walks you through confirming your information, uploading any required documents, and paying.

In-person renewals happen at any DDS Customer Service Center.

Mail-in packets go to:

DDS Special Issuance
2206 Eastview Parkway
Conyers, GA 30013¹

Include the completed and notarized DDS-23MIR, your supporting documents, proof of residency, a vision form if needed, and payment.

After You Submit

Once you’ve paid, DDS issues an interim license, a temporary paper document that proves your driving privileges while the permanent card is produced.¹¹ Online and app users can download and print it right away. Keep it with you when driving.

For online and mobile renewals, the permanent card arrives by mail in about 30 days.¹ DDS asks you to wait up to 45 days before contacting them about a missing card.¹¹ Mail-in renewals take up to 30 business days from the date DDS receives your complete packet.³

Special Situations

Expired More Than Two Years

If your license has been expired for more than two years, Georgia requires you to retake the knowledge, vision, and road skills tests. Online and mail-in renewal are not available. You’ll need to appear at a Customer Service Center with full supporting documents.¹ There’s a narrow 31-day cushion: if your license has been expired fewer than 31 days and you’re stopped, you won’t be convicted of driving without a valid license as long as you appear in court with a license that would have been valid at the time of the stop.¹²

Military Members Outside Georgia

Active-duty service members have extra flexibility. If your license expires while you’re on ordered federal duty outside Georgia for 90 days or longer, you can legally keep driving on the expired license for six months after your discharge or reassignment back to the state. Keep a copy of your orders or a written verification from your commanding officer.¹³ Military members stationed out of state can also renew by mail using the DDS-23MIR with Form DDS-359 MIR. Spouses and dependents qualify for the same mail-in option with documents linking them to the service member.³

Non-Citizen Applicants

If you’re not a U.S. citizen, Georgia law requires DDS to verify your immigration documents through the federal SAVE program before renewing your license. The first-level check is usually instant. A second-level verification can take up to 30 business days, and a third-level review, where DDS sends copies of your documents to USCIS, has no fixed timeline. DDS recommends starting your renewal at least 45 days before expiration, and starting any USCIS document renewal at least six months ahead. Your Georgia license will be tied to the expiration date of your immigration document, capped at five years. Lawful permanent residents, asylees, and refugees whose documents carry no expiration date can receive a license valid for up to five years.¹⁴

1
Georgia.gov. Renew a Georgia Driver’s License
2
Justia Law. Georgia Code 40-5-32 – Expiration and Renewal of Licenses
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Georgia Department of Driver Services. Mail-In Renewal Packet
4
Georgia Department of Driver Services. Drivers 64 and Over
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Georgia Department of Driver Services. DDS 2 GO Mobile App
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The United States Department of Justice. The National Voter Registration Act of 1993
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Selective Service System. Selective Service System
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Georgia Department of Driver Services. Real ID FAQs
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Georgia Department of Driver Services. Medical and Vision Information
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Georgia Department of Driver Services. Replace License
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Georgia Department of Driver Services. How Do I Renew My License or ID
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Justia Law. Georgia Code 40-5-20 – License Required
13
Justia Law. Georgia Code 40-5-37 – Expiration of Active Duty Service
14
Georgia Department of Driver Services. SAVE