What is a CA licence?

All California residents need to have a valid California DL to operate a motor vehicle. Application requirements vary based on your individual situation (see below).

Table of Contents Show

Car (C) Licence
Light Rigid (LR) Licence
Medium Rigid (MR) Licence
Heavy Rigid (HR) Licence
Heavy Combination (HC) Licence
Multi Combination (MC) Licence
Rider (R) Licence

If you are over 18 years of age and you have never had a DL in any state or country, you may obtain an instruction permit until you are ready to take your driving test.

A provisional instruction permit is only for drivers under the age of 18. An instruction permit would be issued to a person over age 18.

Once you complete the requirements of the instruction permit, you can take the driving test to get a California DL.

Apply for an instruction permit

Here’s how you apply for a California DL if you already have a valid DL that was issued by another state:

Start a DL application online

If you have a DL issued by another country, follow the application process listed above for “I have a DL issued by another state.”

You’ll also need to pass a driving test to obtain an original California DL.

To take your driving test:

Schedule a driving test appointment (driving tests are not given without an appointment).
Provide proof of financial responsibility (insurance) that meets or exceeds California insurance requirements.

Your application fee allows you three attempts to pass the driving test. If you fail the driving test, you must schedule a new driving test on another day and pay a $7 retest fee. If you fail the driving test three times, your application is no longer valid and you must reapply.

Any Californian who can prove their current legal presence in the United States (U.S.) with one of the accepted identity documents (original or certified copy) is eligible to receive a standard or REAL ID driver license or identification (DL/ID) card. This includes all U.S. citizens, permanent residents who are not U.S. citizens (Green Card holders), and those with temporary legal status, such as recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and holders of a valid student or employment visa. For Californians with temporary legal status, their DL/ID card will expire depending on their immigration status, will expire on the same date as their U.S. legal presence document, and they can receive a new card with a documented extension of their legal status.

See the full list of acceptable identity documents for a Federal Non-Compliant or REAL ID Compliant DL/ID card.

There are many other ways to prove that you are legally present in the United States:

If you were born in the U.S., you may provide a U.S. birth certificate, passport, or passport card.
If you are an immigrant to the U.S., you may provide a U.S. citizen naturalization or citizenship document, or a Permanent Resident Card.
If you are a non-immigrant, but are authorized to be in the U.S., you may present a Temporary Resident Identification card or other temporary resident documentation.

Your DL will remain valid until the expiration date printed on the card.

If you no longer maintain U.S. legal presence, you can convert your DL to an AB 60 DL.

Australia has a national driver’s licence classification system, which means the licence classes are uniform across the entire country. Your licence type shows the vehicles that you’re qualified to drive.

More skill and experience is needed to drive vehicles that are heavy, large or carry many passengers. They demand special requirements, e.g. competency-based assessments, driving tests and minimum holding periods. You are not allowed to drive vehicles of a higher class without first being approved to operate them.

We’ll go through all the different licence classes & their meanings below.