First Delaware Driver's License at 18 or Older

Before you apply: why adults have it easy here

For adults Delaware strips licensing down: no class, no hour log, and a road exam possible 10 days after the permit. The catch is that you show up to the exam with only the skill you built on your own, so most true beginners practice for far longer than 10 days.

An 18 year old who is still in the teen program can pick either road: stay in Level One for the full 12 months, or leave it and pass the DMV's eye, written and road exams.

Before you apply: documents and the gold star

Secure cards that meet federal standards have been standard in Delaware since 2010. Bring the full document set and your card gets a gold star, which works for domestic flights and federal buildings. Bring less and you can still get a card printed Not for Federal ID, and swap it for a gold star version later; that costs the $20 replacement fee.

You need a document for identity and legal presence, one for Social Security, and two for residency that come from separate sources, each showing a physical address and postmarked in the last 60 days. Expired, altered or photocopied papers are refused. Changed your name? Social Security has to have the new name first; then give it two days before your DMV visit.

• Identity: green card, naturalization certificate, U.S. passport or U.S. birth certificate
• Social Security: SSA-1099, W-2, the card itself, or a pay stub with the full number
• Residency: a lease, an insurance policy, a bank or credit card statement, or a utility bill

On test day: the road exam checklist

Road exams happen Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at the Georgetown, Dover, Delaware City and Wilmington offices. Have with you a permit that has not expired, a valid license belonging to the 21-plus companion who brought you, and current registration and insurance cards for the car, paper or electronic.

Before anything else the examiner inspects the car. The drive takes roughly 30 minutes and covers signs and signals, right of way, merging, lane changes, a three point turn, parallel parking and backing 50 feet. Phones, music and smoking are all off limits during the test. Fail, and the next attempt is 10 or more days away.

What it costs, as of October 2026

Fifty dollars buys a first Class D card with an eight year life. The exception is an applicant with a limited immigration stay, whose license ends when the stay does. A replacement card is $20, and renewing after expiration adds a $10 late fee.

Because no course is required, the state sets no course fee. If you hire a commercial driver training school, the school sets its own price.

Example: an adult who passes the written test on a Monday and practices daily could, at the earliest, sit the road exam about two weeks later. If you are starting from zero, booking a month or two out is usually the kinder plan.

If you are moving here with a license

Bring a valid out-of-state license to Delaware and you have 60 days to apply for a Delaware one. At the appointment you give up the old card (or produce a recent certified copy of your driving record), prove legal presence and your Social Security number, show two Delaware address documents, sign both the application and the surrender agreement, and read the eye chart. The DMV may give written and road exams but normally waives them for a valid license.

If your old license is suspended or revoked, nothing transfers until each of those actions has been cleared up. Motorcycle endorsements carry over for an added fee; taxi and limousine endorsements do not carry over.

If your license is from another country

Visitors older than 16 may drive in Delaware with a valid license from home in their pocket. Residency starts a 60 day clock. Licenses issued abroad or in a U.S. territory do not let you skip testing: you take the knowledge exam and the road exam.

Reciprocity agreements with France, Taiwan and Germany let drivers from those places skip both exams for a Class D, though not for endorsements, and you may keep your foreign license.