Driver's License Examination
The Driver License Division shall examine every applicant for a license by testing the applicant’s eyesight by the DMV or by allowing the applicant to furnish to the DLD a statement from a physician or optometrist licensed in Utah.
The Division requires the applicant be able to read and understand highway signs regulating, warning, and directing traffic. The state requires 20/40 vision and peripheral fields (side vision) of 120 degrees in each eye to pass the vision test. It also requires the applicant to be able to read and understand simple English used in highway traffic and directional signs and to have knowledge of the state traffic laws.
The Division is also allowed to assess other physical and mental abilities it finds necessary to determine the applicant’s fitness to drive a motor vehicle safely on the highways. The applicant must be able to exercise ordinary and reasonable control while driving a motor vehicle.
Graduated Driver's Licensing
Utah has a system of graduated licensing for novice drivers.
At age 15, individuals who pass the knowledge, physical and mental fitness tests are eligible for a learner’s permit.
- Learner’s permit holders may operate a motor vehicle if supervised by a driving instructor or a licensed driver who is at least 21 years of age.
- Learner’s permit holders must complete a driver education program.
- A person 17 years of age or younger shall hold a learner’s permit for 6 months before applying for a provisional Class D license.
- Driver’s education students must complete at least 6 hours of behind-the-wheel driving using a dual-control motor vehicle with a certified driving instructor seated next to the student.
- Drivers must accumulate at least 40 (10 at night) hours of parental supervised driving.
At age 16, drivers are eligible for a Class D/Intermediate license.
- For the first 6 months, license holders may not transport any passenger under 21 who is not an immediate family member unless accompanied by a licensed driver at least 21 years of age (secondarily enforced).
- Class D/Intermediate license holders under the age of 17 may not operate a motor vehicle upon any highway between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. unless accompanied by a licensed driver at least 21 years of age, or to and from the driver’s place of employment and their place of residence. Drivers may drive directly home from the school building if returning from school or from a school sponsored event.
At age 17, drivers are eligible for an unrestricted license.
Driver education is required for all license applicants under age 18.
Driver's License Issuance/Application
An application for any original license, provisional license, or endorsement shall be made at the DLD on a form furnished by the DLD.
All applicants applying for an original, duplicate, or renewal driver’s license, driving privilege card, or Utah identification card must furnish proof of identity, fingerprints, a photograph, proof of social security number or ITIN, proof of legal/lawful presence, evidence of name change, if applicable, and if address is different than the address on one’s current Utah record, two proofs of Utah residence address (not more than 60 days old).
License applicants age 18 and younger must have completed driver education but applicants age 19 and older do not have to complete driver education if they have held a learner permit for three months before applying and certify that they have completed at least 40 hours (with 10 at night) of practice driving.
The application for a license shall contain: the applicant’s full legal name, birth date, sex, social security number, and a brief description of the applicant; a statement of whether the applicant has previously been licensed to drive a motor vehicle and, if so, by what state or country; the applicant’s signature; and the mailing and residential address of the applicant.
The application form must be accompanied by proof of the applicant’s name and birth date by at least 1 of the following means: current driver’s license; birth certificate; Selective Service registration; or other proof, including church records, family Bible notations, school records, or other evidence approved by the DLD.
When the DLD issues a new driver’s license, the applicant is assigned a distinguishing number. A photograph of the licensee is required.
The licensee shall have his license in his immediate possession at all times when driving a motor vehicle.
Driver's License Renewal
A renewal or extension of a license expires on the birth date of the licensee in the 5th year following the year the license was issued or the date of expiration of the applicant’s foreign visa or permit. The license may be renewed at any time within 6 months before the license expires. The vision test is required once every 10 years, and the DLD may require the applicant for renewal to take a written examination. Vision tests are required for every renewal by drivers age 65 and older.
Drivers may renew by mail or internet every other renewal if they have a good driving records.
Drivers will be contacted by the DLD approximately 90 days prior to the expiration of their driver’s license.
Military personnel, civilian employees of the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Defense, and their immediate family members and dependents, who had a valid Utah license at the time of entry into the service may continue to use that license up to 90 days after discharge if stationed outside of Utah.
Types of Driver’s Licenses
Class A license (Commercial) is issued to drive any combination of vehicles with a GVWR of 26,001 pounds or more, if the GVWR of the 1 or more vehicles being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
Class B license (Commercial) is issued to drive any single motor vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 pounds or more, including that motor vehicle when towing a vehicle with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less.
Class C license (Commercial) is issued to drive any single motor vehicle with a GVWR of less than 26,001 pounds or that motor vehicle when towing a vehicle with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less when the vehicle is designed or used:
- to transport more than 15 passengers, including the driver;
- as a school bus, and weighing less than 26,001 pounds GVWR; or
- to transport hazardous materials.
Class D license (Non-Commercial) is issued to drive motor vehicles not defined as commercial motor vehicles or motorcycles. A person may not drive a motor vehicle as a private passenger carrier for 15 or fewer passengers unless the person has a valid taxicab endorsement or a commercial driver license
Endorsements: H-hazardous materials; K-restricted to intrastate operation of commercial vehicles; L-restricted to vehicles not equipped with air brakes; M-motorcycle; N-tank vehicle; P-passenger vehicle; S-school bus; T-double or triple trailers; X-hazardous materials and tank combination; and Z-taxi.