WHAT YOU REALLY NEED TO SEE TO DRIVE LEGALLY

Maybe you are new to driving or are just coming up on that renewal and are curious to know just what is necessary in order to pass, visually speaking. We’ve got you covered!

California DMV Vision requirements

The vision evaluation can be required at a few different stages. Most often, we hear about those first timers and those who have hit the 70 year old renewal. Other times, you may be required to complete a vision screening more regularly like once a year or once every 3 or 5 years if there has been a history of certain eye conditions or other professionals have deemed it likely that you are unsafe on the road. Whatever the case may be, here in California, the vision requirements are pretty straight forward… in order to have an unrestricted license, you are required to see at least 20/40 or better in just one eye, with at least 20/70 vision in the worst eye. This can be with or without glasses. However, if corrective contacts or glasses were required to reach this benchmark at the time of the DMV screening, that will be noted on your license to ensure you have appropriate correction when driving. There are certain conditions that may allow you to drive with a restricted license, meaning you can only drive during the daytime, with other different requirements that we will not be touching on here.

Example of the current front side of the two-sided CA DMV Vision Exam Form

What if I don’t pass at the DMV, now what?

We have had some patients ask us what may happen if they are unable to pass at the DMV vision screening. Sometimes it is as easy as bringing in a form for us to fill out saying that in our office, your vision was sufficient for driving, reaching that 20/40 or better in one eye with the worse eye being at least 20/70. This is often the case for patients that just forgot their glasses when they went to the DMV or have monovision contacts, meaning one eye sees the distance while one eye is used for near reading. Other circumstances may require a special hearing to determine if you are fit to be a California driver.

I’m now 70 years old, so how often will i have to do this vision screening?

If all goes smoothly on your renewal at age 70, you will have to renew every 5 years following age 70 with both a written/electronic test as well as a vision screening. This is to ensure that you are still safe to drive as there are a number of eye conditions that can deteriorate the vision as we age. Our previous blog post here spotlights a few of those conditions and gives a visual of what it is like to see with each condition.

Driving requires not only good vision, but the physical and mental ability to be aware of your surroundings to ensure the roads stay safe for other cars and pedestrians. Whether you are legally capable of driving and have met these vision requirements, please do not drive if it is no longer safe for you to do so. That being said, if you happen to need the DMV form completed, you are welcome to stop in and have our doctors help see if you are visually able to drive and complete that form for you!