How to get a driver's license in Arizona

The license that runs to your sixty-fifth birthday

A.R.S. 28-3171 is where the headline number lives, and it is written as a rule with four escape hatches. Subject to subsections B, D and E, and unless medical restrictions require a shorter expiration period, an Arizona driver license is valid until the applicant's sixty-fifth birthday; is renewable for successive periods of five years after the applicant's sixtieth birthday; and is valid for a period of up to five years if it was initially issued to an applicant who is sixty years of age or older. Read the three paragraphs together and the shape emerges: one very long first card, then five-year cards from sixty onward — with the medical-restriction clause able to shorten any of them.

The escape hatches matter more than they look. On presentation of satisfactory proof of qualification, the director may issue a Class D, G or M license or permit for up to five years to an out-of-state student or the spouse of one, to an immediate family member of any active duty military personnel temporarily stationed in Arizona, or to any other person for whom the director determines other circumstances justify it. A veteran whose license expires is not required to renew it for six months after discharge from military service. And the department may extend the expiration date of a Class D or M license — the subsection does not name Class G — for a resident who is not in Arizona when the license expires and will not be for at least thirty consecutive days afterward; on payment of the statutory fee it issues a certificate of extension that is valid only when carried with the previous license.

A long card is not an untouched card. A.R.S. 28-3173 requires the department, by written notice, to make a licensee either update the photograph or send in a report based on a vision test performed by the department or an examination by an optometrist, an ophthalmologist or a physician licensed to practice medicine, once the license has gone twelve years without an update — and it lets the director require one at any point inside that window. The Drivers FAQ states the same cycle plainly: update your photo every 12 years, and at the end of the twelve a notice asks you to visit a driver license facility for a new photo and a replacement license.

Two cards at the same counter: the plain license and the Travel ID

Arizona issues its REAL ID-compliant credential under its own name, the Arizona Travel ID, as either a driver license or an identification card, and marks it with a circle-and-star. Since May 7, 2025, its page says, TSA airport security checkpoints accept for domestic travel only a REAL ID-compliant credential such as the Travel ID, a U.S. passport, or other federally approved identification; rules for international travel are unchanged, and a valid passport or equivalent is still required to leave the country. The manual adds the flip side, in the language the federal act forces on the states: every non-compliant Arizona credential must print the words "Not for Federal Identification" on its face.

The document list is short and specific. One proof of identity — an original or certified birth certificate, or an unexpired U.S. passport or passport card. Your complete Social Security number, for which no document is needed. And two proofs of Arizona residency from different sources carrying your name and current Arizona residential address. If your current legal name differs from the one on a document, the page requires legal proof of the change: a marriage certificate, a divorce decree or a court order. The Travel ID costs $25.00 on that page and again on the fee schedule; check both before you pay, because fee pages get edited.

Two practical notes from the same page decide when to start. State law prohibits the Travel ID from containing a radio frequency identification chip, so nothing about it is contactless. And the card is not handed over the counter — it arrives by mail in up to two weeks, which is why the MVD tells you to apply at least two weeks before a trip. Its expiration follows a set of rules all its own, laid out in this guide's questions below.

Adoption is published as a running count. ADOT's Fast Facts page, updated each new fiscal year, lists 5,971,045 drivers licensed by ADOT MVD in FY2025 and 3,028,613 Travel IDs in the same year, up from 1,385,708 in FY2021. That Travel ID row is not broken out into licenses versus ID cards, so the two figures count different things — any ratio you draw from them is your own arithmetic, not the state's.

Whether Arizona considers you a resident at all

Before any of this applies to you, the MVD has to count you as an Arizonan, and its Proof of Identification, Age and Authorized Presence page spells out seven independent triggers. You are considered an Arizona resident if you work in Arizona, other than for seasonal agricultural work; if you are registered to vote in this state; if you place children in school without paying the tuition rate of a nonresident; if you have a business with an office in Arizona that bases and operates vehicles in this state; if you obtain a state license or pay school tuition fees at the same rate as an Arizona resident; if you have a business that operates vehicles to transport goods or passengers within Arizona; or if you remain in Arizona for a total of seven months or more during any calendar year, regardless of your permanent residence. Any one of them is enough.

Two groups are then named as not counting. Out-of-state students enrolled with seven or more semester hours are not considered Arizona residents, regardless of employment; and active-duty military personnel based in Arizona who qualify for exemption under the Service Members Civil Relief Act of 2003 are not considered Arizona residents either. The New to Arizona page adds the practical consequence: to get a license or register a vehicle you need to be a resident, and no appointment is required to walk into an office and start.

The written test: 30 questions, an 80% bar, eleven languages

The MVD's Permit Test page publishes the shape of the exam in two flat sentences: the written test consists of 30 multiple-choice questions, and a score of 80% or higher is required to pass. The third figure everybody wants is arithmetic rather than publication — 80 percent of thirty works out to 24 correct answers, and that computation is ours, not the MVD's. Read the bar as the page writes it, with the "or higher" attached: twenty-four right passes, six wrong still passes, and the seventh miss ends the attempt. The Practice Tests page repeats the 80% standard for the actual examination, says its questions are taken from the Arizona Driver License Manual, and tells you to study that manual thoroughly first.

Language is not an afterthought here. The Permit Test page lists the written test in English, German, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Italian, French, Tagalog and Korean; the motorcycle-license page counts the same set as eleven and adds that the MVD offers automated, printed and audio tests. A verbal knowledge test may be considered instead of the written one in three situations that page states separately: when a customer declares that he or she cannot read or has a low reading competency; when a customer has incorrectly answered a large number of questions on a previous test or has failed a second or third attempt; or when a customer reads in a foreign language and no written test in that language is available. Verbal tests run by appointment; the ordinary written test does not need one.

Where and when you can sit down to test is published to the quarter hour. At an MVD location you take it on a computer using a touch screen, with an audio version available, and the Permit Test page sets the window at 7:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., Monday through Friday, except state holidays and the second Wednesday of each month. The MVD Locations page frames the same day from the office's side: offices run 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, with limited service after 4:45 p.m., and on the second Wednesday of each month offices open at noon. The manual words that last one differently again, saying most offices are closed until noon on the second Wednesday. Three pages, one Wednesday, three shades of the same rule — plan around the strictest of them.

Your eyes get checked at that same visit, and against no published acuity number. The Permit Test page has the MVD test your vision where the permit is issued; A.R.S. 28-3158 lets the department ask anyone appearing in person for a license, a duplicate or reinstatement of a driving privilege to complete the vision screening it prescribes; and the Renew Your License page warns that some renewals require an office visit for an updated photo, a vision test and your identification documents. What none of the pages read for this guide prints is an acuity threshold for a car license. The one vision standard the Drivers FAQ commits to in writing is an accommodation: Arizona allows a bioptic telescopic lens system to meet its vision standards, for a noncommercial license only. Bring your glasses or contact lenses.

Nobody skips the permit, and the manual is blunt about it

The Permit Test page opens with the sentence that catches adults off guard: if you have never had a driver license in the United States, regardless of your age, you must pass a permit test before scheduling a road test. The manual states the companion rule from the issuing side — applicants will be required to pass the Division's written test before being issued an Arizona instruction permit — adding that this does not apply to Commercial Learner's Permits.

There are three permits, and only two age floors between them. The manual says you may be issued a graduated and/or a motorcycle instruction permit at 15 years and 6 months, and that you must be at least 18 for an operator permit. On a graduated or operator permit you must be accompanied by a Class A, B, C or D licensed driver at least 21 years of age who occupies the seat beside you, and those permits are valid for 12 months. The motorcycle permit is the odd one out: the manual gives it 7 months, renewable only one time within a 24-month period, and A.R.S. 28-3156 backs that with seven months from issuance plus a cap of no more than two Class M permits to the same person within twenty-four months. The MVD's Driver License Classes and Types page describes graduated and motorcycle permits together as valid for 12 months, which on the motorcycle side does not agree with the statute; the statute is the safer plan.

One line in the manual quietly decides scheduling for a lot of people: an applicant for a graduated license must have held an Arizona instruction permit for at least 6 months, and the permit must be valid at the time of application. A twelve-month permit and a six-month wait leave a real window, not an unlimited one.

What Arizona calls the classes, and what the vertical card means

Licenses are issued by class: G for graduated, D for operator, M for motorcycle, and A, B and C for commercial. The operator license, the ordinary adult card, covers any vehicle that does not require a motorcycle or commercial license, and the floor to apply is 18. A motorcycle license or endorsement is required for a motorcycle or motor-driven cycle, with a floor of 16; combine a Class M with any other class and it is added as an endorsement on the back of the current license rather than issued as a second card.

Two format details are worth knowing before the photo. An under-21 Arizona license has a vertical format and displays the date when the licensee reaches age 21, which is what makes it readable at a glance to anyone checking age. At 21 you are not forced to trade it — the Teen Driver Guide says you may continue to use your vertical driver license or identification card, or switch to a horizontal one. Either way the change is a replacement transaction, and the fee schedule carries a duplicate license or ID card at $12; confirm that figure on the fees page before you order.

Road-test day: the parts that are not driving

You supply the vehicle, and Arizona inspects it before it inspects you. The manual requires functioning brakes, brake lights, turn signals and horn, a windshield with no cracks, both inside and outside rearview mirrors, and tires in good condition — then keeps going. Passenger and driver side windows must also be operational. The passenger and driver door must open and close properly. You must show proof of current registration and current automobile liability insurance. If your vehicle is a 1972 model or newer it must be equipped with seat belts, and those belts must be properly fastened and adjusted.

The newest line in that section is about software. The manual advises that vehicle Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, including but not limited to auto-drive and parking assistance, are prohibited during the road test, and that all maneuvers must be performed manually without these features. If you learned to park in a car that parks itself, that is not the car to bring. Two of the spoken instructions the examiner may give are not driving instructions at all — "Does your speedometer work?" and "Fasten your seat belt" sit in the same list as the turns.

Scheduling is its own small strategy. The manual urges you to book the road test online at AZMVDNow.gov, and gives one concrete tip for getting an earlier slot: check multiple locations. It also warns that road tests may be suspended due to extreme weather or safety conditions — a sentence that reads differently in Arizona than elsewhere. The motorcycle-license page makes the reason explicit for its own skills test, naming temperatures of 105 degrees or above among the conditions that can suspend testing, and setting a summer cutoff hour for motorcycle testing in June, July and August.

The bill, sorted by how old you are

Arizona prices the card by the applicant's age, and the Fees (Driver License) page lists it as four brackets: a non-Travel driver or motorcycle license is $25 for ages 16 to 39, $20 from 40 to 44, $15 from 45 to 49, and $10 at age 50 and older — the same $10 covers the five-year license, and a limited license for qualifying military or students is also $10. The Travel ID sits outside the brackets at $25 for original and renewal alike, with a $12 duplicate. A non-Travel identification card is $12 for ages 0 to 64 and free at 65 and older, and free for recipients of Supplemental Security Income.

Getting started is cheaper than finishing. That page puts a non-travel instruction permit at $7, a motorcycle endorsement at $7, a restricted instruction permit at $3, a duplicate license or ID card at $12, and a duplicate instruction permit at $2. Arriving from elsewhere has its own two rows: an out-of-state driver license skill test at $15 and an out-of-state vision screening at $5. Every one of these is a line on a page the MVD edits, so read them there before you hand over cash or a card. Two more notes from it: a revoked, suspended or canceled license may cost you another application fee on top of a reinstatement fee, and returned check and reinstatement fees may not be paid by check.

Keep the old license in your hand, not the glovebox

For an ordinary interstate move the MVD's answer is short. The Drivers FAQ says that if you have a current out-of-state driver license in your possession you will normally not have to take a written or road test, however in some cases it may be required — the qualifier is the MVD's, not ours. The New to Arizona page turns it into a packing list: proof of authorized presence in the U.S., your current license or identification card from your previous state, and your Social Security number, with a Social Security card possibly required for name changes. The manual adds why to keep the old card in your hand rather than your glovebox — it will be used as a secondary form of identification and may waive the written or road test.

Licenses from other countries are handled by a page of their own, and its two official versions of the reciprocity rule do not read identically. The Driver Licenses for Foreign Applicants page lists Canada, Germany, South Korea and Taiwan as exempt from both written and road tests, and says all other countries require both tests for new Arizona licenses. The Permit Test page states the same list with two conditions attached and softer wording: you may not be required to take a written or road skills test if you have a current or valid driver license from Canada, Germany, Taiwan (age 18 or older) or South Korea (age 18 or older). Where the pages differ, the conditional version is the one to plan against — and under A.R.S. 28-3164 the department shall examine a person holding a license issued by another country who applies here as an original applicant, with a waiver of the driving demonstration available only where the applicant seeks a Class D or G license, appears to meet the department's medical qualifications, and holds an out-of-state license that is not revoked and not expired for more than one year.

One consequence of applying with immigration documents is easy to miss until the card arrives: the foreign-applicants page states that your Arizona license will expire on the same date as your authorized presence document, and that you will need to renew with updated immigration documents when your status is extended. That is a different clock from the sixty-fifth birthday the statute gives everyone else. The same page samples the documents themselves — an Employment Authorization Card, whose holders must all provide their Social Security number or card; a USCIS Form I-94, whose class type determines additional requirements, with F1 and J1 holders also bringing Form I-20 or DS-2019; or a Permanent Resident Card — while saying outright that these are examples and other authorized presence documents may be accepted.

How much of this you can finish without a lobby

The MVD's answer to lines is an account. The manual says two thirds of all transactions can be done online at AZMVDNow.gov, and the Renew Your License page adds that everyone with an Arizona driver license already has an account ready to be activated. Renewal opens there: you may renew within six months of the expiration date, most renewals go through online, and if an office visit is required you can book it in the same account or use an Authorized Third Party driver license location. The one thing the account will not do is warn you. Asked whether a renewal notice arrives before the license expires, the Drivers FAQ answers flatly: no, there is no formal notification process.

Third parties are the other pressure valve. More than 160 privately operated Authorized Third Party locations serve the state, the manual says, several handling driver license transactions as well as title and registration, often with weekend and evening hours; convenience fees apply, and MVD monitors their work against state operational standards. The manual's own advice on timing is worth taking literally: avoid the first two days and the last two days of the month, and the day after a holiday.

Arizona also issues the license itself as software, through the Mobile Driver License program described further down in this guide's questions. It is optional, MVD will continue to issue physical cards, and the standalone Mobile ID App was discontinued in April 2026 in favor of the Arizona Wallet app.

Arizona licensing — frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Arizona MVD — New to AZ: the arrival packing list, the resident test and the no-appointment rule
• A.R.S. 28-3173 — the twelve-year photo or vision update requirement
• A.R.S. 28-3158 — the application, and the vision screening the department may require in person
• Arizona Driver License Manual and Customer Service Guide (form 99-0117, Revised March 2026)
• Arizona MVD — Permit Test (at Home or in an Office): 30 questions, the 80% pass mark, languages and testing hours
• Arizona MVD — Practice Tests: questions drawn from the manual and the 80% standard for the real examination
• A.R.S. 28-3171 — driver license expiration and renewal, the exceptions and the extension certificate
• A.R.S. 28-3164 — what the original applicant's examination must include, and the foreign-license rule
• Arizona MVD — Fees (Driver License): the age brackets, permit fees and out-of-state testing charges
• Arizona MVD — Arizona Travel ID: required documents, the $25 fee and the validity exceptions
• Arizona MVD — Proof of Identification, Age and Authorized Presence: the resident definition and its exclusions
• Arizona MVD — Driver Licenses for Foreign Applicants: reciprocity countries and license validity for non-citizens
• Arizona MVD — Renew Your License: the six-month window and the cases that still need an office
• Arizona MVD — Drivers FAQ: the 12-year photo update, the absent renewal notice and the bioptic lens accommodation
• Arizona MVD — Mobile Driver License: the digital credential, its wallets and the reader caveat
• Arizona MVD — Driver License Classes and Types: Class G, D, M and the under-21 vertical card
• Arizona MVD — Motorcycle License: the eleven test languages, the retake rule and heat suspensions
• ADOT Fast Facts — licensed drivers and Arizona Travel IDs by fiscal year
• Arizona MVD — Hours and Locations: office hours, limited service after 4:45 p.m. and the second-Wednesday opening

Checked against official state sources on August 19, 2026.