If you are an F or M student interested in applying for a U.S. driver’s license, you must first speak with your designated school official to verify that:

• Your student record is Active in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS).
• You have a redesigned Form I-20, “Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status.”

Your local Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is where you apply for a driver’s license. You need to read, print and bring the Redesigned Form I-20 Fact Sheet with you when you present your redesigned Form I-20 to any U.S. government entity, like a local DMV office or the Social Security Administration office. Since SEVP recently deployed the redesigned Form I-20, the Fact Sheet will help government offices that may not be familiar with the new form.

You need to wait at least 10 days after you arrival to the United States before you apply for the driver’s license. This allows enough time for your Form I-94, "Arrival/Departure Record," information to update in all the government systems. Additionally, you need to first verify that your record is Active in SEVIS in order to apply for a driver’s license. Remember that only your local DMV or another state-run motor vehicle department can issue legal and valid U.S. driver’s licenses in the United States. Attempting to get a U.S. driver’s license from any other person or place is illegal.

For more information, please visit our Driving in the United States page.