How to Surrender Your Georgia Driver’s License

To surrender your Georgia driver’s license, go in person to a Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) Customer Service Center and complete the Affidavit for Voluntary Surrender, Form DDS-577.¹ That’s the route for anyone giving up the license voluntarily, whether because you’re moving out of state, no longer driving, or dealing with a medical condition. If a court or an arresting officer is taking the license as part of a DUI case, the surrender happens through them instead, and you don’t file anything with DDS yourself.

When You Need to Surrender

Three situations put a Georgia license on the surrender track: you’re moving to another state and getting a license there, a court orders you to hand it over after a conviction, or DDS determines through medical review that you can’t drive safely.

The out-of-state move is the most common reason people surrender voluntarily. Under the federal REAL ID Act, no one may hold more than one REAL ID-compliant driver’s license at a time, and states are required to check other states’ records before issuing you a new one.² Georgia’s own rule works in the same direction: you cannot get a Georgia license without surrendering any valid license from another state.³ In practice, when you apply for a license in your new state, that state will either take your Georgia license directly or coordinate cancellation with DDS.

Medical review is triggered when someone, a family member, doctor, judge, or law enforcement officer, sends DDS a written concern or a completed Request for Driver Review form.¹ DDS mails you medical evaluation forms. If you don’t return them within 30 days, DDS sends a revocation notice giving another 30 days before your driving privileges end.⁴

How to Surrender Voluntarily

Go to any DDS Customer Service Center in person. Bring your physical Georgia license and complete Form DDS-577, the Affidavit for Voluntary Surrender.¹ There is no mail-in option for voluntary surrender.

Keep whatever documentation DDS gives you. Two situations turn that paperwork into something you actually need: the state where you’re applying for a new license asks for confirmation that you’ve terminated the Georgia one, or you later return to Georgia and want to show a clean surrender rather than an expired or suspended record.

If you’re surrendering because you’re leaving Georgia, don’t wait until after you’ve moved. Doing it before you go removes any question about whether you’re carrying two licenses when you apply in the new state.

Surrender in a DUI Case

You don’t drop a license off at DDS in a DUI case. The court or the arresting officer handles it.

For an alcohol-related DUI arrest, the officer typically takes possession of your license at the scene and issues a 45-day temporary driving permit while the administrative suspension process begins.⁵ For a DUI conviction involving controlled substances or marijuana, the court must require you to surrender the license and forward it to DDS within ten days of the conviction.⁶

One deadline is worth flagging even though it isn’t part of the surrender itself. You have 30 days from the notice date to request an administrative hearing and pay a $150 filing fee to DDS if you want to challenge the suspension. Miss the deadline and the right is gone.⁵

How a Medical Revocation Works

Medical revocation isn’t the same as walking a license into a DDS office. If DDS determines through its review process that you can’t drive safely, it issues a revocation notice and updates your driving record. There’s no physical handoff in the way a voluntary surrender or DUI surrender requires. If your condition later improves and a doctor submits updated evaluations, you can apply for reinstatement, though DDS may require additional testing before returning driving privileges.

Getting a Georgia ID Card After You Surrender

You’ll still want state-issued identification. Any DDS Customer Service Center can issue a Georgia personal identification card, and Georgia regulations set the fee at $20 or $32 depending on the card type. Bring the same identity and residency documents required for a driver’s license.

A non-driver ID also comes in handy for auto insurance questions. If you’re on a household member’s policy, showing that you hold a state ID rather than a license can help clarify whether you need to remain listed as a driver.

Getting Your License Back Later

Surrender isn’t necessarily permanent. What it takes to get back on the road depends on why you gave up the license.

Returning to Georgia After a Move

If you surrendered because you moved and later come back, you apply for a new Georgia license through the standard process: proof of identity, proof of Georgia residency, and the license fee. If your license has been expired for two years or more and you don’t hold a valid out-of-state license, you’ll need to pass a road sign test, road rules test, eye test, and a driving test before DDS issues a new one.⁷

After a DUI Suspension

Waiting out the suspension isn’t enough. You have to complete the DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program, which has an assessment and an intervention component and costs $360 total. Anyone with two or more DUI convictions within ten years also needs a separate clinical evaluation from an approved provider before reinstatement.⁸ On top of that, you pay the DDS restoration fee, which for a first DUI offense (age 21 and older) is $210 in person or $200 by mail.⁹ Fees rise for repeat offenses. If another state has also suspended your driving privileges over a DUI, Georgia will not reinstate until you’ve satisfied that state’s requirements too.

Some drivers who lose a license after a first DUI can apply for a limited driving permit if refusing one would cause extreme hardship, meaning no reasonable way to reach work, school, medical appointments, court, or substance abuse treatment. Prior DUI convictions within five years disqualify you. The permit restricts where and when you can drive.¹⁰

After a Medical Revocation

Reinstatement depends on updated medical evidence. Your doctor submits new evaluations, and if the condition has improved or is well managed, DDS may reinstate the license, sometimes after additional vision or road testing.

Do Not Drive After You Surrender

This part catches people who surrender voluntarily and assume the criminal driving-on-suspended rules don’t apply to them. They do. Driving after a Georgia license has been surrendered, suspended, or revoked is a criminal offense. A first offense within five years is a misdemeanor carrying two days to 12 months in jail and a $500 to $1,000 fine. A second or third offense is a high and aggravated misdemeanor, ten days to 12 months in jail and $1,000 to $2,500. A fourth or later offense within five years is a felony punishable by one to five years in prison and $2,500 to $5,000.¹¹ The reason for the surrender doesn’t change the exposure. A quick trip to the pharmacy after voluntarily giving up your license for a medical condition puts you in the same charging bracket as anyone else.

Active-Duty Military

Service members stationed outside Georgia get a narrow protection under Georgia Code 40-5-37: a Georgia license that expires while you’re on active duty outside the state can still be used for up to six months after discharge or reassignment back to Georgia, provided you show DDS your official military orders or a written verification from a commanding officer. The provision covers active-duty members of the regular or reserve armed forces, Coast Guard, Georgia National Guard, and Georgia Air National Guard serving on federal orders for 90 days or longer.¹²

This is an expiration rule, not a surrender rule. If a service member surrenders a Georgia license to get one in another state, the military exemption doesn’t undo that.

1
Georgia Department of Driver Services. Surrendering a Driver’s License
2
eCFR. 6 CFR 37.29 – Prohibition Against Holding More Than One REAL ID Card or More Than One Driver’s License
3
Justia. Georgia Code 40-5-20 – License Required; Surrender of Prior Licenses; Local Licenses Prohibited
4
Georgia Department of Driver Services. Medical Review Process
5
Justia. Georgia Code 40-5-67.1 – Chemical Tests; Implied Consent Notice
6
Justia. Georgia Code 40-5-75 – Suspension of Licenses by Operation of Law; Reinstatement
7
Georgia Department of Driver Services. License Expired
8
Georgia Department of Driver Services. DUI FAQs
9
Georgia Department of Driver Services. Reinstatement Fees and Payment
10
Justia. Georgia Code 40-5-64 – Limited Driving Permits for Certain Offenses
11
Justia. Georgia Code 40-5-121 – Driving While License Suspended or Revoked
12
Justia. Georgia Code 40-5-37 – Expiration of Active Duty Service