First Driver's License in Washington, D.C. for Adults

Before you apply: which route is yours?

Your age picks the route. From 21 up you are outside GRAD and can book the road test the moment you hold a permit and feel ready. From 18 to 20 you are inside it: half a year holding the permit, 40 signed-off hours, and a year without anything that carries points.

A valid license from another state means you are not a beginner in DC DMV's eyes; you convert it. If it lapsed more than 90 days ago, though, DC DMV treats you as new and you take both tests.

Before you apply: documents

A REAL ID card requires proof of who you are, your lawful presence and your Social Security number, along with two papers showing your current District address. Originals only; DC DMV turns away photocopies and notarized copies unless it tells you otherwise.

If you cannot meet the REAL ID rules, a Limited Purpose license may be available. You can drive on it legally in D.C., but federal agencies will not accept it. Over 70, or living with a medical condition that qualifies? Add DC DMV's Medical/Eye form to the pile.

• Identity and birth date
• Lawful presence
• Social Security number
• Two current proofs of a DC address
• Where required, evidence you are fit to drive
• The Medical/Eye form, if required

On test day: the order of things

Eye check and knowledge test come first. You get an hour for the standard knowledge test, with plenty of language choices and an audio version. A fail means three full calendar days before you try again.

The road skills test follows, judging how safely you handle the car, how you signal, and whether you can parallel park, among other things, on real District streets. A fail means a 72 hour wait. Six fails inside a year mean no seventh attempt until a year after the first.

On test day: DC DMV or a third-party tester?

Your examiner can be a DC DMV employee, or an instructor from an approved District driving school who holds DC DMV certification. The third-party program page lists Ethio Star Driving School, CAS Driving School and Dexterity Driving School as third-party testers.

An outside tester still starts and finishes you at DC DMV's road test facility, follow the same routes and score sheet, and cost what the tester charges, up to a $100 cap. A school may not test a student it trained, and a third-party test cannot use a DC DMV car.

On test day: what the car must pass

Before you drive, the examiner inspects the car. Expect it to check current insurance and registration, an inspection sticker if your car needs one, plates on the front and back, working signals, horn, mirrors and brake lights, and an emergency brake between the front seats that the examiner can reach.

The test is also cancelled for a cracked or blocked windshield, anything hanging from the mirror, a donut spare on the car, or any dashboard warning light, a low fuel light included. A rental car is only allowed if your name is on the rental agreement.

What it all costs, October 2026

Add it up from DC DMV's fee table: permit $20, knowledge test at a service center $10, road test with DC DMV $10, license $47 for eight years. That is about $87. Testing remotely swaps the $10 knowledge test for $39.95 or $49.95.

Need to cancel the road test? Do it two days or more in advance, per DC DMV's road test page, or you will owe $30 the next time you do business with the DMV. Paying by card adds 2.5%.

Example: an adult who tests at a service center, passes the road test with DC DMV on the first try and pays cash spends about $87. The same person testing virtually and using a third-party road tester at the $100 cap could spend about $217.

If you are moving here with a license

After 60 days of living in the District, DC DMV expects you to convert. Bring the same documents a new applicant would, pass the eye check, and surrender either the old card or a certified good-standing record from your previous state dated within the last 30 days.

Issuing your D.C. license cancels the old one. Be careful not to get a D.C. ID card instead: that, too, cancels your out-of-state license, and then you would have to pass both tests. Convert the license itself. Car registration has its own 60 day clock, and DC DMV asks you to do the license first.

After you pass

You walk out with a 45 day paper license; DC DMV mails the card to your address of record within 10 business days, never to a P.O. box. Finishing the application also registers you to vote unless you opt out.

Before your first solo drive, check that the car is insured to at least the District minimums: bodily injury of $25,000 for one person and $50,000 for one accident, property damage of $10,000, plus uninsured motorist coverage.