California Driver's License Renewal
How to Renew a Driver's License in California. Renewing your driver's license in California is a process which can take place online, through the mail, or in the DMV office, depending on your situation.
Every four years, you will need to renew that driver's license of yours. After all, the DMV needs to keep making money somehow, right? Thankfully, in this particular state, the process of how to renew a driver's license in California can be painless. In the beginning you might need to renew in person and wait in incredibly long lines, but after that initial torture, you will be able to renew your license online - and continue driving happily and legally and with the same picture from your younger days.
How to Renew a Driver's License in California In Person
When you need to get a new driver's license or your address and other information on your license has changed, you will need to head to your local 'friendly' DMV office to make the changes in person. You will need to fill out a DL 44 or DL44C form when you arrive, or you can print this ahead of time and have one step taken care of before you sit down for an hour or two. Next, you will need to bring along any supporting documentation of a name change - i.e. legal papers that state the name change or a marriage certificate if you've recently gotten hitched. When you're a commercial driver renewing your license, you will also need a medical clearance form and a filled out DL 939 form with you. If you don't know that that is, you need to brush up on your commercial driving regulations - and you might want to stop driving your truck or other vehicle until you learn.
How to Renew a Driver's License in California Online or By Mail
If you have already gotten a driver's license in the state of California and the state decides to send you your renewal in the mail, you can renew online - and avoid the hours of frustration! It's like winning the lottery, really. All you need to do then is to follow the instructions on the form and send in a check with the money to pay for the renewal fees. Are there limitations? Oh yes. You can only bypass the renewal lines if your address is still the same and when your social security number is on file with the DMV. Then, they basically trust you and then you can stay home and eat chips instead of proving you are who you say you are on your driver's license. When you're submitting your renewal by mail, realize that you can only do this twice before you have to go back in or start submitting your information online. And by mail, you need to fill out a fancy form, called a DL 410 FQ.
Remember that the key in how to renew a driver's license in California is to do it as quickly as you can because once it's expired, you have to head into the lines of the DMV. Actually, if you're new to the state, know that you can often sign up for appointments at your local DMV, so that might work out to speed up the process. Of course, those appointments just make you feel better. They don't actually make the lines move any faster. Bring a book and your taxes with you. You're going to be waiting a while.