Sacramento – The California Department of Motor Vehicles is now offering Californians who are 70 and older the option to renew their noncommercial driver’s license online. Licenses that expire beginning March 1, 2020, and throughout the COVID-19 emergency are eligible, including REAL ID renewals. A mail-in option will be available in the coming weeks. Most drivers 69 and younger can also renew at dmv.ca.gov – even if their renewal notice states they must come to an office.
The alternative to an in-person renewal follows Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent Executive Order that temporarily waives California law requiring drivers age 70 and older to visit a DMV field office to renew their license. The DMV will make this option available during California’s State of Emergency or until the order is modified.
The DMV previously provided yearlong extensions to senior drivers with noncommercial licenses expiring in March through December 2020. Those who received the extensions are eligible to renew online.