A new state law seeks to reduce traffic jams of Georgia residents at driver’s license centers by lengthening the time between renewals. Gone is the option for a five-year license that cost $20. The eight-year, $32 license remains.
Commissioner Bert Brantley of the Department of Driver Services points out that the annualized cost of a driver’s license remains the same, $4 per year.
Also, those who have “Real ID” licenses – licenses issued under the federal law that took effect July 1, 2012, that had you digging through the closet to find your birth certificate, passport, Social Security card and other documents to prove residency – can renew online and get a $5 discount.
“Everybody licensed from 2012 forward with Real ID and who has a gold star on their license can renew once online and go 16 years before coming back, unless you’re above 64 and have to come in for a vision test,” Brantley said.
The change came about through House Bill 806, sponsored by state Rep. Kevin Tanner, R-Dawsonville, and passed by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Nathan Deal this spring.
Some drivers whose specialized licenses have shorter terms aren’t eligible for the longer renewals – teenagers, commercial license holders with hazardous materials endorsements and immigrants whose legal status is less than eight years. Eligible veterans with the appropriate paperwork on file will continue to receive free, eight-year licenses.
“For the next five years, there’s really no impact; all the people who had gotten five-year licenses in the past will still have to come in when they’re up for renewal,” Brantley said. “The real benefit is five to eight years hence. … Everybody will be on the eight-year cycle at that point.”
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