Expiration and Renewal of Licenses; Reexamination Required

  1. Law
  2. Georgia Code
  3. Motor Vehicles and Traffic
  4. Drivers' Licenses
  5. Issuance, Expiration, and Renewal of Licenses
  6. Expiration and Renewal of Licenses; Reexamination Required

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    1. Except as otherwise provided in this Code section, every driver's license shall expire on the licensee's birthday in the eighth year following the issuance of such license. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any commercial driver's license that contains an H or X endorsement as defined in subsection (c) of Code Section 40-5-150 shall expire on the date of expiration of the licensee's security threat assessment conducted by the Transportation Security Administration of the United States Department of Homeland Security.
    2. Except as otherwise provided by subsection (c) of this Code section, every veteran's, honorary, or distinctive license shall expire on the licensee's birthday in the eighth year following the issuance thereof. The department may allow a veteran, honorary, or distinctive license holder to retain his or her expired veteran's, honorary, or distinctive license as a souvenir.
    3. Every driver's license shall be renewed on or before its expiration date upon application, payment of the required fee, and, if applicable, satisfactory completion of the examination required by subsection (c) of this Code section. Nothing in this Code section shall be interpreted as affecting the rights and privileges of any person holding a veteran's, honorary, or distinctive license, or authorizing the imposition of a charge or fee for the issuance or renewal of such licenses.
    4. The commissioner shall issue such rules and regulations as are required to enforce this subsection.
  2. An application for driver's license renewal may be submitted by means of:
    1. Personal appearance before the department; or
    2. Subject to rules or regulations of the department which shall be consistent with considerations of public safety and efficiency of service to licensees, means other than such personal appearance which may include without limitation by mail or electronically. The department may by such rules or regulations exempt persons renewing drivers' licenses under this paragraph from the license surrender requirement of subsection (c) of Code Section 40-5-20.
    1. The department shall require every person who is age 64 or older applying for issuance or renewal of a driver's license to take and pass successfully such test of his or her eyesight as the department shall prescribe.
    2. The commissioner may issue such rules and regulations as are necessary to implement this subsection.

(Ga. L. 1937, p. 322, art. 4, § 5; Ga. L. 1943, p. 196, § 5; Ga. L. 1947, p. 294, § 1; Ga. L. 1951, p. 157, § 7; Ga. L. 1955, p. 662, § 1; Ga. L. 1955, Ex. Sess., p. 35, § 1; Ga. L. 1961, p. 136, § 2; Ga. L. 1961, p. 433, § 1; Code 1933, § 68B-213, enacted by Ga. L. 1975, p. 1008, § 1; Ga. L. 1977, p. 307, § 2; Ga. L. 1977, p. 576, § 1; Ga. L. 1989, p. 519, § 12; Ga. L. 1990, p. 2048, § 4; Ga. L. 2000, p. 951, § 5-11; Ga. L. 2002, p. 1045, § 2; Ga. L. 2004, p. 749, § 5; Ga. L. 2005, p. 334, § 17-10/HB 501; Ga. L. 2010, p. 932, § 9/HB 396; Ga. L. 2016, p. 385, § 7/HB 806.)

The 2016 amendment, effective April 26, 2016, in paragraph (a)(1), substituted "eighth year" for "fifth year" in the first sentence, inserted "driver's" near the beginning of the second sentence, and deleted the former third and fourth sentences, which read: "An applicant for a Class C, E, F, or M noncommercial driver's license who is under age 60 shall at the applicant's option apply for a license which shall expire on the licensee's birthday in the fifth or eighth year following the issuance of such license. Every such license shall be renewed on or before its expiration upon application, payment of the required fee, and, if applicable, satisfactory completion of the examination required or authorized by subsection (c) of this Code section."; in paragraph (a)(2), substituted "veteran's, honorary, or distinctive license" for "veteran's or honorary license" in the first and second sentences, deleted "until the holder reaches age 65 and shall thereafter be subject to renewal pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection on or before his or her birthday every five years" following "issuance thereof" in the first sentence, and substituted "veteran, honorary, or distinctive license" for "veteran or honorary license" in the second sentence; added paragraph (a)(3); redesignated former paragraph (a)(3) as present paragraph (a)(4); and inserted "issuance or" preceding "renewal" in paragraph (c)(1).

Cross references.

- Veterans' licenses, honorary licenses, generally, § 40-5-36.

Law reviews.

- For note on the 2002 amendment of this Code section, see 19 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 277 (2002).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Duties of holders of veterans' licenses.

- From the language employed in O.C.G.A. T. 40, Ch. 5 since 1975, it is apparent that the legislature contemplated that the veterans' licenses would expire in the same way as other licenses and must be renewed every four years. Littlejohn v. State, 165 Ga. App. 562, 301 S.E.2d 917 (1983).

Holders of veterans' licenses must comply with vision test requirements of subsection (b) (now subsection (c)) of O.C.G.A. § 40-5-32. Littlejohn v. State, 165 Ga. App. 562, 301 S.E.2d 917 (1983).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 7A Am. Jur. 2d, Automobiles and Highway Traffic, § 122.

C.J.S.

- 60 C.J.S., Motor Vehicles, § 341 et seq.


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