DMV accepts additional documents for immigrant driver’s licenses

The California Department of Motor Vehicles announced Tuesday that it will begin accepting additional documents to verify the identity and residency of applicants under Assembly Bill 60.

AB 60 allows people who are in the country illegally to apply for driver’s licenses as long as they can provide identification from their home countries.

Since Jan. 2, the DMV has issued more than 381,000 new driver’s licenses under AB 60, and more than 640,000 have applied.

Local organizers estimated that about 9,000 people in Merced County would qualify apply for a driver’s license under AB 60.

The additional documents to be accepted include:

▪ California residency documents that are issued by any government agency within the U.S., not just the federal government.

▪ Consular cards from Ecuador and Colombia (in anticipation of the production of this card).

▪ Identification card from Ecuador.

▪ Passports from Tonga, Sri Lanka and South Korea.

The amended regulations eliminate the option of presenting birth certificates in conjunction with various other documents to prove identity. This change removes the need for document translation and simplifies the application process, according to DMV officials.

Applicants will continue using foreign birth certificates to prove identity during the secondary review process. According to the agency, the amended regulations also clarify that California residency documents must match the address listed on the driver’s license application.

The list of documents that applicants can provide to obtain a California driver’s license under AB 60 is posted on the DMV website. For more information on AB 60, including sample interactive tests, webcasts, and other information, visit www.ab60.dmv.ca.gov.

This story was originally published June 30, 2015 at 4:59 PM with the headline "DMV accepts additional documents for immigrant driver’s licenses."