Virginia's Legal Presence Law

Introduction

Legal presence means that a person is either a U.S. citizen or is legally authorized to be in the United States.

Virginia law requires anyone applying for an original Virginia driver's license or for a DMV-issued identification card to show proof of their legal presence.

Persons who are authorized by the federal government to be present in the U.S. temporarily are issued limited duration driver's licenses or identification cards.

Customers can make their driver's license or ID card transactions a success if they plan ahead and know what to bring to DMV. Come prepared!

Legal Presence Affects Everyone

Legal presence requirements apply to U.S.citizens as well as foreign-born individuals. It affects teenagers applying for their learner's permit or first driver's license. It affects anyone who has just moved to Virginia from another state or country. It affects senior citizens and anyone else applying for an ID card.

Specifically, legal presence affects:

Applicants applying for an original Virginia driver's license.
Anyone who has never held a Virginia driver's license for the first time must show proof of legal presence in the U.S.
Applicants for a DMV-issued identification card.
Anyone applying for a DMV-issued identification card must show proof of legal presence. However, if the customer has permanent status in the U.S. and has once proven legal presence, he will not be required to submit proof of legal presence for subsequent ID card applications, unless the ID card expires. Also a customer who was born in 1937 or earlier will not be required to submit proof of legal presence with an ID card application if he has held a Virginia driver's license or ID card that is either valid or has been expired for five or fewer years. Proof of legal presence is required for persons who are temporarily authorized by the federal government to be present in the U.S.
Drivers reinstating their driver's license because of a license suspension, revocation or cancellation. Anyone who has not proved legal presence in the past, whose driver's license has been suspended or cancelled, must show proof of legal presence to reinstate driving privileges. Anytime your driver's license becomes revoked you must prove legal presence and satisfy any other requirements before reinstating your driving privileges.
Drivers who have allowed their license to expire. Anyone who lets his driver's license expire, even by just one day, must show proof of legal presence to renew, even if legal presence has been proven in the past.

If a driver loses his driver's license, he will not need to prove legal presence as long as he requests a duplicate while his license is still valid, before the license expiration date. The replacement license will display the same expiration date that was on the license he lost.

Requirements for Obtaining a License or ID Card

Each time an individual applies for a first-time issue of a Virginia driver's license, until he has been issued a license, he will be required to show proof of the following:

Identity
Legal presence
Virginia residency
Social security number, if the person has one

Each time an individual applies for a first-time issue of a Virginia ID card, until an ID card is issued, he will be required to show proof of the following:

Identity
Legal presence
Virginia residency
(Proof of social security number is not required for ID cards)

For a complete list of acceptable documents for proof of identity, residency and social security number, refer to the "Acceptable Documents for Obtaining a Driver's License or Photo ID Card" (DMV141).

Legal presence may be proved using documents such as a U.S. birth certificate or U.S. passport. For individuals not U.S. born, legal presence can be proved using a variety of other documents, such as a Certificate of Citizenship or naturalization, Resident Alien Card, or a valid foreign passport with a visa and I-94.

For individuals temporarily authorized to be in the U.S., a driver's license or ID card will be valid only for the amount of time that an individual is legally present in the U.S. The expiration date on the driver's license or ID card will be the same as the expiration date shown on the document used to prove legal presence.

Driver's licenses based on temporary lawful status will display an indicator that they are valid for a limited duration.

Individuals required to register with the Virginia State Police Sex Offender and Crimes Against Children registry (Virginia Code Chapter 9 of Title 9.1) will be issued a driver's license or ID card valid for five years.

If an applicant is authorized to be in the U.S. for an indefinite period of time, DMV will issue a driver's license or ID card valid for one year.

Even if an individual's stay in the U.S. will be very short, DMV will issue a driver's license or ID card for the amount of time that the individual is authorized to remain in the U.S.

The driver's license will cost $4 per year. A partial year will be rounded to the next full year. So, if the driver's license is issued for less than one year, the cost is $4. An ID card costs $10.

If DMV receives notification from a local, state or federal government agency that an individual is not a citizen of the U.S. and is not legally present in the U.S., DMV places an indicator on the individual's record requiring him or her to prove legal presence before renewing or replacing his or her driver's license or ID card. DMV will take these actions only if the state or federal governmental entity notifies DMV in writing that the person's authorized stay in the U.S. has ended.