DMV Reminds New Driver License Applicants to Avoid Scams

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is reminding DMV customers to avoid scams involving driver license applications, such as efforts to charge for services that DMV offers for free.

“Paying someone who promises to speed up the process of obtaining a California driver license will only waste your time and money,” said DMV Director Jean Shiomoto. “It is easy to get a new driver license by making a free appointment at your local DMV office, so do not waste your money paying anyone to help you.”

Assembly Bill 60 (AB 60) allows the DMV to issue a California driver license, regardless of immigration status, to those who can prove identity and California residency.

Applicants must also meet all other qualifications for obtaining a driver license, including passing a written test, vision test, and behind-the-wheel exam. DMV will begin issuing driver licenses under AB 60 onJanuary 2, 2015. The only necessary fee is $33 payable to DMV.

Here are some tips on how to avoid driver license scams:

• Do not pay for help with driver license applications: DMV has free assistance and free appointments at your local DMV office, so do not pay for these services. Driver license handbooks and practice tests are available in many languages free of charge. If you need an interpreter, call
  1-800-777-0133 and indicate the foreign language.
• Do not pay fees to anyone except DMV: It only costs $33 to obtain a California driver license and this fee must be paid directly to DMV. Do not pay anyone except DMV.
• The fast way to get a license is to make a free appointment at DMV: The DMV will not issue licenses under AB 60 before January 2, 2015, and anyone who says they can get a license earlier than January 2, 2015, is lying.
• Do not waste money on unnecessary document translation: Of the dozens of ways an applicant can prove identity, only three require an English translation: (1) A marriage decree written in another language; (2) a divorce decree written in another language; or (3) the Apostille authentication of a foreign birth certificate. No other documents require translation. Here is the complete list of documents applicants can use to proof identity under AB 60.

Anyone who suspects a scam involving the new driver license application process should notify DMV
Investigations Division fraud hotline at 1-866-658-5758, e-mail your inquiry todlfraud@dmv.ca.gov, or report it on Investigations record of complaint form.

For more information on AB 60, including the accepted proof of identity documents, how to make an appointment, sample interactive tests, the driver handbook, and information about how to obtain a new driver license, visit: http://apps.dmv.ca.gov/ab60/index.html.

--Information courtesy of DMV.