Georgia driver license and ID card: first license, renewal, replacement and REAL ID

How to get a first Georgia license or teen learner's permit, transfer an out-of-state license within 30 days, renew or replace your card, and what a REAL ID or Georgia ID card requires, based on Georgia DDS pages.

Guide · Georgia · REAL ID · Driver licenses · Renewals · ID cards · updated October 29, 2026

Georgia driver licenses, permits and ID cards are issued by the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS). This guide covers the common cases: a first license (including the teen learner's permit and the Class D provisional license), moving to Georgia with another state's license, renewing, replacing a card, REAL ID, and state ID cards. Before any visit you must submit DDS's online License/ID/Permit Form. That step and the document list are in the Georgia DDS visit guide.

Your first Georgia license (18 and older)

The standard license for drivers 18 and older is the Class C. For a first license, DDS says to be ready to:

  • Show your identity, residency and lawful status documents
  • Pass a vision exam
  • Pass the knowledge exam (road rules and road signs)
  • Pass the road skills test
  • Have your photo taken and pay the fee

You must schedule the road test in advance. For drivers 18 and over, DDS lists these requirements:

  • A valid Georgia non-commercial learner's permit
  • A signed affidavit confirming 40 hours of supervised driving, 6 of them at night
  • A passed knowledge exam
  • A licensed driver aged 21 or older riding with you

Bring a paper copy of the vehicle registration and a current insurance card. The vehicle must pass a DDS safety inspection. Only you and that licensed driver may be in the vehicle.

DDS's fee table lists a regular 8-year license at $32 and a learner's permit at $10. DDS says the permit fee is paid before the test begins and is not refunded if you fail. If you fail a knowledge or road test, you wait 1 day to retest. After a second failure you wait 7 days.

Teens: learner's permit and Class D license

Georgia's graduated licensing has three steps: the learner's permit (CP), the Class D provisional license and the full Class C.

Learner's permit (Class CP), from age 15. You:

  • Pass the vision and knowledge exams and pay the $10 permit fee
  • Bring proof of school enrollment if you are under 18, such as a notarized Certificate of School Enrollment (DDS-1)
  • Bring a parent, guardian, responsible adult or authorized driver training instructor to sign your form

With a permit, you may drive only with a licensed Class C driver aged 21 or older sitting beside you.

Class D provisional license, from age 16. DDS says you must:

  • Have held the CP permit for at least 1 year and 1 day
  • Have no major violations that led to a suspension of the permit
  • Have completed the Joshua's Law requirements
  • Have completed the alcohol and drug awareness program (ADAP or eADAP)
  • Pass the road test

DDS summarizes Joshua's Law as 30 hours of driver education, 6 hours of behind-the-wheel training or 40 hours of parent-taught training, and 40 hours of supervised driving, 6 of them at night, for 16- and 17-year-olds. The driver education course must be at a DDS-certified driver training school.

Class D restrictions:

  • No driving between midnight and 5 a.m., with no exceptions.
  • For the first 6 months, only immediate family may ride with you.
  • For the second 6 months, you may carry one passenger under 21 who is not immediate family.
  • After 1 year, you may carry up to three passengers under 21 who are not immediate family.

At 18 you can upgrade from Class D to Class C online.

Moving to Georgia with another state's license

DDS says you must apply for a Georgia license within 30 days of becoming a resident, and that every Customer Service Center can do the transfer. What you need depends on your current license:

  • Valid, or expired for 2 years or less: you surrender the old license, pass a vision exam and bring your documents. No written or road test is required.
  • Expired for more than 2 years: you take the knowledge, road and vision exams. You also bring a certified driving record from your old state.
  • Lost or stolen: you pass the vision exam and bring a certified driving record. DDS says the record must be dated within the last 60 days, and it does not accept uncertified printouts from websites.

Renewing your license

You can renew up to 150 days before expiration. A renewed license is valid for up to 8 years.

Online or in the DDS 2 GO app, DDS says you qualify if:

  • You are a Georgia resident, at least 18
  • You are a U.S. citizen
  • Your current card is a Georgia REAL ID, with a gold or black star in the upper right corner

You cannot renew online to change your photo or other identifying details, or to remove a restriction. DDS's fee table lists a $5 discount for online renewal.

In person, you bring your current license and get a new photo. You also receive an interim license while the permanent one is mailed. If your card has no star, bring all REAL ID documents. If your Georgia license has been expired for two years or more, you must pass the road signs, road rules, road skills and vision tests again.

By mail, DDS offers renewal only in limited circumstances, for U.S. citizens who cannot renew in person.

Age 64 and older: you need a vision screening at every renewal; to renew online, you upload a vision report form (DDS-MR-274). For more on online eligibility, see Does the Georgia DDS offer online license renewal?

Replacing a lost or stolen license

You can request a replacement online, in the DDS 2 GO app or at a center. Online replacement has the same conditions as online renewal: a non-commercial REAL ID card, Georgia residency and U.S. citizenship. DDS says a replacement costs $10.00 if at least 150 days are left on the card. With less time left, you must renew instead. Allow up to 30 days for delivery.

In person, you bring one original or certified identity document and two supporting documents from DDS's lists.

REAL ID

DDS says all Georgia licenses and IDs issued after 2012 are REAL ID compliant and carry a gold or black star in the upper right corner. U.S. citizens who already hold one do not need to submit documents again unless they are changing their name or gender marker or requesting another identity-verifying service. DDS's renewal page adds that name or address changes need supporting documents. You must visit a center with original or certified documents in these cases:

  • You do not have a REAL ID.
  • You hold an out-of-state license.
  • You hold a foreign license.

Only one physical card, the license or the ID, can carry the star. DDS also warns that TSA does not accept interim paper licenses. Permanent cards are mailed within 30 days, so plan ahead before a flight. See How can I tell if my driver's license is REAL ID compliant? and REAL ID explained.

Georgia ID cards

DDS says anyone old enough to sign their name, or make a mark as a legal signature, can apply for an ID card. If you hold a valid license from another state, you must surrender it first. A license from another country does not have to be surrendered. You use the same documents as for a license, and applicants under 18 need an adult to sign. Georgia license holders may be able to apply for an ID online, unless they are surrendering their license.

The fee table lists a Georgia ID card at $32 for 8 years. Some IDs are free, such as the voter ID for registered voters.

For vehicle paperwork, see the Georgia vehicle registration and title guide. For nearby centers, see the Georgia DMV office list.

Sources · checked October 29, 2026

We wrote this summary ourselves from the official pages above on the date shown. Agencies change rules without notice: the official page always wins. DMVorganization.org is independent and not a government agency.

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