How to Fill Out California Form DL 937: Eligibility, Steps, and DL 933 vs DL 937

California DMV Form DL 937 is a verification document that a county social services agency or a qualifying 501(c)(3) nonprofit completes on your behalf to prove you qualify for a California ID card at a reduced fee of $6 instead of the standard $40.¹ You cannot download it, print it, or fill it out yourself. The organization that verifies your income eligibility holds blank forms, completes one for you, signs it, and hands you the original to bring to a DMV field office. The signed form is valid for 90 days.²

Who Qualifies for the Reduced Fee

The reduced-fee ID card is authorized by California Vehicle Code Section 14902 for people whose current income qualifies them for certain public assistance programs.³ The DMV does not make this determination. The verifying organization does, based on your enrollment or eligibility for any one of the following:²

CalWORKs
SSI/SSP (Supplemental Security Income and State Supplementary Payment)
General Assistance or General Relief
CalFresh
The California Food Assistance Program for Legal Immigrants (CFAP)
Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI)

You only need to qualify for one. The organization checks the box for the program that applies to you.

How to Get a DL 937

DL 937 forms are controlled, serialized documents. They cannot be photocopied, shared between organizations, or posted online, which is why you will not find a copy to print.² To get one, you have to visit a participating organization that already has blank forms on hand. Two types of organizations can participate:

Government public social service agencies, such as county welfare and social services departments.
IRS 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofits that serve low-income individuals or people experiencing homelessness.

The most direct route is to go through the agency where you already receive benefits. If you get CalFresh through your county social services office, that same office can usually verify your eligibility and complete the DL 937 while you are there. If you work with a nonprofit for other services, ask whether they are enrolled in the DMV’s reduced-fee ID program.

A staff member fills in your information, marks the assistance program you qualify under, and signs and dates the form. The form has to be filled out completely in legible print, with no corrections or write-overs. If the person completing it makes a mistake, they are supposed to destroy that form and start fresh rather than cross anything out.² You walk out with the original.

What to Bring to the DMV

The DL 937 only covers the fee. You still have to complete a regular ID card application at a field office. Along with the signed original DL 937, bring:¹

A completed Driver License or ID Card Application (Form DL 44), which you can start online or do at the office.
An acceptable identity document such as a birth certificate or passport. Your current legal name must match the name on this document.
Your Social Security number.
Residency documents, if you have never held a California driver license or ID card.

Your thumbprint and photo are taken at the office. Hand the DL 937 to the technician with the rest of your paperwork. They will confirm the form is complete, properly signed, and issued by a registered organization, and your fee will be $6 instead of $40.⁴

Rules That Trip People Up

The 90-day window is the biggest one. The clock starts the day the organization signs the form. Miss it and you have to go back for a new original.²

Photocopies and scans are not accepted. Each form is serialized and tracked, so only the original paper document works. If yours gets lost or damaged, the issuing organization has to produce a new one for you.

The DL 937 is for identification cards only. It cannot be applied to a driver license, a commercial license, or any other DMV product.

DL 937 or DL 933: Which Form You Should Ask For

The DMV runs a parallel no-fee program using a different form, the DL 933. The DL 937 reduces the fee to $6 based on income. The DL 933 waives the fee entirely for people who are unhoused as defined by the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.²

If you qualify as unhoused, ask for the DL 933 instead. The McKinney-Vento definition is broad and covers more than people living on the street or in shelters, including families fleeing domestic violence and youth in transitional housing.¹ And if you are 62 or older, you can get a no-fee ID card without either form.³

1
California Department of Motor Vehicles. ID Cards
2
California Department of Motor Vehicles. Reduced/No Fee ID Card Program Information for Organizations
3
California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code VEH 14902
4
California Department of Motor Vehicles. Licensing Fees