SACRAMENTO, CA — Thousands of California drivers will have to re-take their written driving tests within 30 days or risk losing their licenses, the Department of Motor Vehicles warned in letters sent out across the Golden State.
The problem stems from "irregularities" the DMV detected in tests taken since July of last year.
The California DMV confirmed to Patch on Tuesday that about 11,000 drivers who took written driver's license tests between July 2025 and April 2026 received letters in the mail from the DMV after they were flagged for "identified anomalies in the results of certain knowledge tests."
A DMV spokesperson said drivers were notified by the DMV their licenses will be cancelled if they do not take the exam within 30 days of receiving the letter.
The letters were sent because of the DMV's regular internal monitoring process.
"Ensuring the integrity of our testing process is essential," a DMV spokesperson said. "Knowledge tests play a critical role in confirming that drivers understand the rules of the road before they are licensed to drive in California."
Drivers who received the DMV letter were told to make an appointment and bring the notice, as well as their temporary driver's license or permit. Walk-ins will not be allowed for drivers who have to re-take the test.
The letters were sent to residents in Northern and Southern California. Affected drivers from Sacramento, San Francisco and Santa Monica posted to Reddit about the mysterious letters, wondering why they were targeted.
"It’s a major headache for people who maybe don't have reliable transportation," Sacramento resident David Specht told The LA Times. "A single parent raising a kid, they have to take time off work, they have to get child care. It just seems like if that’s our system, it isn’t really working for us."
The 36-year-old said he took the written exam in January after moving to Sacramento from Chicago but was confused after he received the notice last month from the DMV. He initially thought that the DMV suspected him of cheating because he quickly completed the test.
"Then I thought more and more about it, and I googled some of the language from the letter, and I stumbled upon a number of Reddit posts, and social media posts in general, where there were quite a few people questioning it, saying, 'I did not cheat, I don’t know why I got this,'" he said.
On Reddit, one user called the DMV's notice "unacceptable," adding they believe the agency is leaving California drivers with the impression they cheated on the exam.
"They owe the public an explanation because they are essentially accusing these people of cheating. It isn't right. I mean people have to take off work; they can't go in without an appointment; even some of the threads on this indicate people try to make an appointment at their local DMV, and appointments are more than 30 days out. This just isn't right," they wrote.
Specht told the LA Times he called the DMV with questions about what issues were detected with his test but did not receive an answer.
DMV officials have not provided further details about the exact "irregularities" that prompted the notices to drivers.
A DMV spokesperson told Patch on Tuesday the issue they reported to drivers "is not related to internal technical problems."
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