Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 13, § 15.00 - Information Required to Establish Legal Presence in the United States (U.S.) for Purpose of Determining Eligibility for an Original Driver's License or Identification Card

Except as otherwise provided by law, the department may not issue a driver's license or identification card to any person unless the person presents to the department proof of California residency, as specified in Section 15.01 of this Article, and proof of their legal presence in the United States.

(a) Proof of legal presence is established when a person presents any one of the following genuine documents bearing the applicant's true full name to the department:

(1) A certified copy of a United States birth certificate issued in or by a city, county, or state vital statistics department.

(2) A U.S. Certificate of Birth Abroad (FS-545, DS-1350) or a Report of Birth Abroad of U.S. Citizen (FS-240).

(3) A Proof of Indian Blood Degree issued by the federal government.

(4) A Certified Birth Certificate issued from:

(A) Puerto Rico, on or after July 1, 2010.

(B) Guam, on or after April 10, 1899.

(C) U.S. Virgin Islands, on or after January 17, 1917.

(D) Northern Mariana Islands, after November 4, 1986.

(E) American Samoa.

(F) Swain's Island.

(G) District of Columbia.

(5) A valid U.S. passport or passport card.

(6) One of the following unexpired U.S. Military Identification Cards and documents:

(A) DD-2 or Common Access Card for active duty, reserve or retired Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, or Navy.

(B) DD-1173 for dependents of active duty military personnel, Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, or Navy.

(C) AF-447, A-447, MC-447, N-447 for dependents of reserve duty military personnel, Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, or Navy.

(D) DD-1934 for Medical/Religious personnel.

(E) DD-214 Report of Separation for Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, or Navy personnel.

(7) Certificate of Naturalization (N-550, N-570, N-578).

(8) Certificate of Citizenship (N-560, N-561, N-645).

(9) Northern Mariana Card issued by DHS (I-551).

(10) American Indian Card issued by DHS (I-551).

(11) U.S. Citizen Identification Card (I-179, I-197).

(12) Resident Alien Card (I-551, AR-3, AR-3A, AR-103).

(13) Temporary Resident Identification Card (I-688).

(14) Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-151) valid until declared invalid by DHS.

(15) Permanent Resident Re-entry Permit (I-327).

(16) U.S. Border Crossing Identification Card and Visa (Known as the "Mica") with a valid I-94.

(17) A foreign passport stamped "Processed for I-551".

(18) Record of Arrival and Departure (I-94) stamped Temporary Evidence of Lawful Admission for Permanent Resident.

(19) A valid Canadian passport.

(20) A certified copy of a Canadian birth certificate.

(21) Non-Resident Alien Canadian Border Crossing Card (I-185, I-586).

(22) Mexican Border Crossing Card (I-186 with a valid I-94 or I-586 with a valid I-94).

(23) Record of Arrival and Departure (I-94 or I-94W) with a valid foreign passport.

(24) Record of Arrival and Departure (I-94) with one of the following types of unexpired foreign passports to Hong Kong residents:

(A) Certificate of Identity.

(B) Document of Identity.

(C) British National Overseas (BNO).

(D) Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).

(25) A certified order or judgment from a court of competent jurisdiction stating the true full name, date of birth and that the applicant was born in the U.S. or U.S. Territories or that the applicant's presence in this country is authorized by Federal law.

(26) Certification provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) which verifies the legal presence of the applicant.

(27) Employment Authorization Card (I-688A, I-688B, I-766).

(28) Record of Arrival and Departure stamped "Refugee, or Asylee, Parolee or Parole" (I-94) coded: Section 207 (Refugee), 208 (Asylum), 209 (Refugees), 212d(5) (Parolee), HP (Humanitarian Parolee) or PIP (Public Interest Parolee).

(29) An immigration Judge's Order Granting Asylum.

(30) Refugee Travel Document (I-571).

(31) Notice of Action (I-797) Approved Petition).

(32) Federal Release Identification Card issued by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Notes

Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 13, § 15.00

Note: Authority cited: Sections 1651 and 12801.5, Vehicle Code. Reference: Sections 12800 and 12801.5, Vehicle Code.

Note: Authority cited: Sections 1651 and 12801.5, Vehicle Code. Reference: Sections 12800 and 12801.5, Vehicle Code.

1. New section filed 11-29-93 as an emergency; operative 3-1-94 (Register 93, No. 49). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 6-28-94 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
2. Amendment of article heading filed 12-9-93; operative 1-10-94 (Register 93, No. 50).
3. Certificate of Compliance as to 11-29-93 order transmitted to OAL 6-24-94 with amendment of section and Note and filed 8-8-94 (Register 94, No. 32).
4. Editorial correction restoring text and deleting former History4 (Register 95, No. 9).
5. Editorial correction of article heading (Register 95, No. 28).
6. Amendment of section heading and section filed 9-27-95; operative 10-27-95 (Register 95, No. 39).
7. Repealer of subsections (a)(4)(H)-(I), amendment of subsections (b)(7) and (d)(6), and new subsections (d)(6)(A)-(D) filed 6-5-2000; operative 7-5-2000 (Register 2000, No. 23).
8. Change without regulatory effect redesignating article 2 to article 2.0 and amending article heading filed 7-23-2003 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2003, No. 30).
9. Amendment redesignating article 2.0 as article 2 and amending article heading filed 9-9-2004 as an emergency; operative 9-9-2004 (Register 2004, No. 37). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 1-7-2005 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
10. Certificate of Compliance as to 9-9-2004 order transmitted to OAL 12-20-2004 and filed 1-26-2005 (Register 2005, No. 4).
11. Amendment of subsections (a)(9)-(10), (b), (b)(3), (d) and (e)(1)-(2), repealer of subsection (e)(3) and subsection renumbering filed 10-2-2008; operative 11-1-2008 (Register 2008, No. 40).
12. New first paragraph and amendment of subsections (a)(4)(A), (a)(5), (a)(6)(A), (c)(1), (d)(1) and (e)(5) filed 2-16-2017; operative 4/1/2017 (Register 2017, No. 7).
13. Amendment of section heading and section filed 12-22-2017; operative 12/22/2017 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2017, No. 51).
14. New subsection (a)(32) filed 1-7-2025; operative 4/1/2025 (Register 2025, No. 2).