What to Do If Your Driver's License Has Not Been Renewed for Over a Year?
3 Answers
Solution for renewing a driver's license that has been expired for one and a half years: The motor vehicle driver should bring the required materials and apply for renewal at the vehicle management office where the driver's license was originally issued. The vehicle management office will process the renewal within one working day after approval. The renewal materials include two copies of ID card, two 1-inch recent color photos without hats, original ID card, original driver's license, and a medical examination certificate from a county-level or above hospital. Renewal and inspection must meet the following conditions: Holders of large passenger vehicle, tractor, city bus, medium passenger vehicle, or large truck driver's licenses have no points recorded in the current scoring cycle, or holders of other types of driver's licenses have less than 12 points recorded in the current scoring cycle; Holders of large passenger vehicle, tractor, city bus, medium passenger vehicle, or large truck driver's licenses who have points recorded in the current scoring cycle, as well as holders of other types of driver's licenses who have been involved in a traffic accident resulting in death and bear equal or greater responsibility without having their driver's license revoked, have participated in the inspection education; The applicant has no pending road traffic safety violations or traffic accidents; The applicant's physical condition meets the driving license requirements; The motor vehicle driver's license is not under circumstances of being seized, detained, temporarily suspended, revoked, canceled, or annulled by law.
Last time, I didn't realize my driver's license had been expired for over a year until it was too late, and I panicked. I rushed to the DMV to ask, and they told me that if it's overdue for more than a year, I'd have to retake the written test (Subject 1). The process wasn't complicated: first, I scheduled the exam date on a mobile app, then took some time to review traffic rules—there's plenty of free material online. On the day I passed, I could get my new license. If I hadn't taken care of it, driving would have counted as unlicensed, and if stopped by the police, not only would I face fines, but my car could also be impounded. I had to take time off work to deal with it, but luckily, the test went quickly and didn't cause much disruption. I recommend setting a calendar reminder to renew your license on time.
As a retiree, I forgot to renew my driver's license last year and only realized it after a whole year. Poor memory, you know. When I went to the DMV, I found out I had to retake the test. The staff guided me step by step: bring the old license to schedule the theory test (Subject 1), review the rules (it's quite simple), and ask the community center for help downloading study materials. After passing, I got my new license with peace of mind. Never procrastinate on this, or driving without a valid license becomes illegal – if caught, you could face fines or even insurance issues. We seniors must pay extra attention to safety and regularly check our documents.
