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

How to get a first Oregon driver license or teen permit, transfer an out-of-state license, renew or replace your card, and what a REAL ID or state ID card requires, based on Oregon DMV's own pages.

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

Oregon driver licenses, instruction permits and ID cards are issued by Oregon Driver & Motor Vehicle Services (DMV), part of the Oregon Department of Transportation. This guide covers the common cases in order: a first license (including teen permits), moving to Oregon with a license from elsewhere, renewing, replacing a lost card, REAL ID and state ID cards. For booking a visit and the general document list, see the Oregon DMV visit guide.

Your first Oregon license (18 and over)

The DMV lists these steps:

1. Decide whether you want a REAL ID (see below).
2. Study the Oregon Driver Manual. A practice knowledge test is available in English and Spanish.
3. Visit a DMV office for standby service or make an appointment.
4. Show proof of your identity and physical address, and give your Social Security number or certify electronically that you do not have one.
5. Pass a vision test.
6. Pass the knowledge test, if required. You can take it online at any time or at a DMV office. The DMV lists the fee as $7 each time you take it.
7. Schedule and pass the drive test, if required. The DMV lists the drive test fee at DMV as $45. You bring a passenger vehicle with current registration and valid proof of insurance.
8. Pay the fees and have your photo taken.

If you want to practice before the drive test, you need an instruction permit. You may not need the drive test if you passed an ODOT-approved driver education course in the past two years.

Taking the knowledge test online

The DMV offers the Class C and motorcycle knowledge tests online. You need a desktop or laptop with a webcam, mouse and keyboard; phones and tablets cannot be used. Testers and proctors must give a valid Social Security number. You can test online only twice in 24 hours and four times per test type; after that you must test in an office. The DMV warns that if you already hold a valid license and take the test out of curiosity, your driving privileges may be suspended if you fail.

Teens: permit and provisional license

• Provisional instruction permit (ages 15 to 17). You pass the knowledge test and a vision test, bring a parent's or legal guardian's signature, show identity and address documents and pay the fee. You may drive only with a licensed driver who is at least 21 and sits beside you. For the practice hours to count, that driver must have held a license for at least 3 years. The permit is valid for 2 years.
• Provisional driver license (ages 16 and 17). You must have held a permit for 6 months. You also need 100 hours of supervised driving, or 50 hours if you passed an approved driver education course. Drive tests are by appointment, with the DMV or a Class C testing business.

For the first 6 months, a provisional driver may not carry passengers under 20 who are not immediate family. For the second 6 months, the limit is three such passengers. In both periods there is no driving between midnight and 5 a.m., except between home and work, between home and a school event with no other transport, for work, or with a licensed driver aged 25 or older. These limits end at 18 or after one year with the license, whichever comes first. Drivers under 18 may not use a mobile device while driving, even hands-free.

Moving to Oregon with another state's license

The DMV says new residents must get an Oregon driver license within 30 days if they want to drive (and must title and register their vehicles in the same period).

Most people can transfer without a knowledge or drive test if their license was issued by a U.S. state, territory or the District of Columbia, or by Canada, Germany, Japan, South Korea or Taiwan. You surrender that license, and it cannot be expired more than one year. Motorcycle endorsements transfer without testing from U.S. jurisdictions, Canada and Japan; tell the DMV you want to keep it.

Visitors, such as people stationed in Oregon with the military or students paying non-resident tuition, may drive on a valid license from their home state or country.

Renewing your license

You can renew from 12 months before to 2 years after your license expires. If it has been expired for more than 2 years, you apply for a new license, pay the original fee and take the tests.

You may renew online at DMV2U if, among other conditions:

• Your photo on file is less than nine years old, and you want to keep your photo, height and weight.
• You are not switching to a REAL ID (an existing REAL ID can be renewed online).
• You do not hold a limited term license and are not suspended, cancelled or revoked.
• You can pay by debit or credit card.

If you are 65 or older, you cannot renew online: you renew in an office and have your vision tested there. In an office, you show identity and address documents, pay the fee and have a new photo taken. Out of state? Call the DMV at 503-945-5000 or check whether you can renew online.

Replacing a lost license

The DMV replaces a license that is lost, stolen or damaged, or that needs a new name, address or sex. You can replace it online (answer security questions and pay the fee) or in an office. Online, you get a receipt to use as proof of driving privileges, and the card is mailed to you. Address changes alone can be made online for free.

REAL ID or standard card

Oregon issues both standard and REAL ID-compliant licenses, permits and ID cards. REAL ID cards have a star in the upper right corner. The DMV says that if you are not flying soon, you can wait until your next renewal or use a passport. You need a REAL ID or another accepted ID, such as a passport, to board domestic flights and enter certain federal facilities.

To get your first REAL ID, you apply in person. The DMV sums up the requirement as "REAL ID 1-2-3": one proof of identity, two proofs of address, and three weeks for the card to arrive. Your legal name must match your Social Security card. Use the interactive checklist on DMV2U or the printable list (Form 7479). The DMV says the REAL ID option costs $30 more than the regular fee each time you apply for an original, renewal or replacement card. TSA does not accept the temporary paper document.

To check a card you already have, see How can I tell if my driver's license is REAL ID compliant? and REAL ID explained.

State ID cards

You apply for an ID card in an office with the same identity, address and Social Security documents as for a license. You also turn in any license or ID card you already hold. The DMV says to allow up to 20 days for the card to arrive by mail.

Renewal works like the license: from 12 months before to 2 years after expiry, online if you meet the same kind of conditions, or in an office. Lost ID cards can be replaced online.

For vehicle paperwork, see the Oregon vehicle registration and title guide, and for nearby offices the Oregon DMV office list.