Foreign driver's licenses.

Existing law prohibits a person from having in the person's possession or otherwise under the person's control more than one driver's license. Existing law prohibits the Department of Motor Vehicles from issuing a driver's license, or renewing a driver's license, of a person who holds a valid driver's license issued by a foreign jurisdiction unless the license has been surrendered to the department, or is lost or destroyed. Except as specified, existing law requires the department to require an applicant for an original driver's license to submit satisfactory proof of California residency and that the applicant's presence in the United States is authorized under federal law. Existing law requires the department, upon application for an original driver's license, except a student license, to require an examination of the applicant. Existing law requires the examination to test, among other things, the applicant's knowledge and understanding of the provisions of the Vehicle Code governing the operation of vehicles upon the highways, an actual demonstration of the applicant's ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable control in operating a motor vehicle by driving it under the supervision of an examining officer, and a test of the hearing and eyesight of the applicant, as specified. Existing law authorizes the department to waive the driving test part of the examination for an applicant who submits a license issued by another state, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico if the department verifies through any acknowledged national driver record data source that there are no stops, holds, or other impediments to its issuance. This bill, commencing on July 1, 2025, would authorize the department, for purposes of the issuance of a noncommercial class C driver's license, to the extent not prohibited by federal law or treaty, to waive the driving test part of the examination for an applicant who submits a driver's license issued by a foreign nation, as defined, under specified conditions, including a requirement that the foreign nation, in a memorandum of understanding, extends the same reciprocal privilege relating to the issuance of a driver's license to a person who holds a valid California driver's license. The bill would require an applicant to be 18 years of age or older, to submit satisfactory proof of California residency and specified documents issued by the foreign nation, and to have no stops, holds, or other impediments to issuance in the person's driving record. The bill would specify that an applicant may submit a driver's license issued by a foreign nation that is equivalent to a noncommercial or a commercial class A, class B, or class C California driver's license, but would require the California driver's license issued by the department to the applicant to be a noncommercial class C driver's license only. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 12804.9 of the Vehicle Code proposed by SB 287 to be operative only if this bill and SB 287 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.