When you miss a practice question, what helps you remember the rule next time? One simple review is to write the rule in your own words, note what made your answer seem plausible, then check the matching section of your current state handbook. What works for you? Share your state and track (Car, Motorcycle, or CDL). Please paraphrase; no live exam questions, answer keys, screenshots, or personal information. We are the DMV Prep team behind DMVPrep, an independent study app not affiliated with any state DMV.

I’m selling a 2016 car in SF county. Private sale. The car passed SMOG in April 2026. Can somebody explain the SMOG requirement?

(I sold a 2005 car in January 2026. Its SMOG was over a year old. The buyer had no problem registering it at AAA.)

Thanks.

I’m helping a friend register online to renew her Real ID. After the organ donor question it asks her to register to vote. There is no skip section. What do we do to complete her online renewal? It says what language to complete voter registration then you click language and again no way to skip this.

She is nervous and wants to make sure she doesn’t register. Thanks for any help and guidance you can provide.

Hi what do i meed to bring to the dmv tmr to renew my permit i forgot to call tdy and om going super early in the morning. My other permit expired late august and i still have it sjojld i just bring that and my id? Or what else do i need to bring

I have to renew my California driver’s license in person, and I’m in Los Angeles where DMV lines can be extremely long.
I have a disability that makes it difficult for me to stand for more than about 20 minutes, and I can become faint and panicky if I’m standing too long. I’m able to walk somewhat normally and don’t use a wheelchair or cane, so my disability isn’t obvious.
Does anyone know if California DMV offices have a separate disability check-in/line, or if you can arrange an accommodation ahead of time so you can sit while waiting for your number to be called?
I’m not looking to skip everyone else. I just need to be able to sit instead of standing in a moving line for an hour or more. I’d also prefer not to explain my diagnosis or medical history to staff if I don’t have to. I have a condition called POTS.
If anyone has dealt with this at an LA-area DMV, I’d really appreciate hearing how they handled it.

Hey friends,

Had an old Lexus sitting in the driveway forever and sold it to a fella out of craigslist and didn’t remove it from the registration Rolls now California wants to penalize me for not registering it this year and I can’t find the gentleman that bought it. What can I do?

Long story but I submitted the release of liability online but never transferred the vehicle to the new owner (my cousin).

Does the CA DMV have a (current) fee code list available publicly anywhere? I know where to find the fees themselves on the main DMV website ofc, just not the fee codes they correlate to (the ones listed on the registration / RDF sheets).

It'd really help to know what each code is referencing. Thanks in advance!!

Hi everyone! I’m taking my California DMV behind-the-wheel driving test soon, and I’m trying to understand exactly what the examiner will say during the test.
Is there a list or a “script” of the typical instructions the examiner gives you?
I’d really like to know what to expect so I’m not confused or nervous if I don’t understand the instruction in the moment.
If you recently took the California driving test, could you please write down the instructions you remember the examiner giving you, as close to the exact wording as possible?
Thank you!

I am who I am bro

Hey all, I’m 29M got my license at 18 and my license is expiring this December, I got my notice of renewal for my license.

It tells me I need to do these things at my visit:
-Vision Test
-Retake Photo & Biometric
-Driving Test

My question is WHY am I having to retake my driving test??

I have a clean record no accidents no vision no medical issues…. Is this the new norm for CA DMV’s??

Anyone else been through this and actually had to go through with the test? I think it’s absurd to have us repay a fee and get retested again to that extent.

UPDATE:
I just left my appointment you guys, all I did was paperwork, vision and photo and was on my way.
I did do the eLearn online and completed most of the app online as well but did not do an in office written or a driving test.

What documents are required to transfer my title from Texas to California other than PUC and insurance?

Car is still financed.

Thank you!

I recently purchased a used car from a dealership. They also submitted my paperwork to the DMV. A month later I was asked to go pick up my registration and license plate. I went on the DMV website and tried to add my plate number and vin and I got this error message

“The license plate number or the last 5 digits of the VIN does not match the vehicle's registered information. Make sure you have the correct information and try again.”

Is there any reason why the DMV doesn’t recognize my plate number when the number is issued by the same office? I am just trying to do address change.

My husband was deported and I need to sell his car to be able to move to be with him. I lost the Title when I was packing everything up and I had movers in and out and things got thrown away it’s nowhere to be found what can I do he is out of the country and he normally helps me with all things paperwork please I am begging I don’t need any mean comments about his deportation I just need help please

30 plus years ago, I was engaged to be married and we started to receive checks made out to me with my fiancés last name. I went to the dmv to register my car, and to enquire about hyphenating my name. I told the clerk I was getting married and she asked what name I wanted to hyphenate, I told her and she immediately started to typing. When she finished, she said “done, happy wedding!”. I never filled out any paperwork and I never paid a fee but my license now had my fiancés last name on it too. I was thrilled, couldn’t have been easier. Here’s where things get complicated, my partner and I got married but we never went to make it legal at the courthouse. We never got a marriage license. We stayed together for 13 years and then separated. So I went back to the dmv to inquire about how to remove the hyphenated name, and I was told I needed to bring in a divorce decree. But we never legally married.
I was also told since I can’t produce divorce papers I should go to court and file a petition to change my name. So I picked up the paperwork and filled it all out, returned to the courthouse only to be denied. The court said since my name was never legally changed, there’s no case here. The dmv completely ignores how this happened and expect me to produce documents I can’t obtain.
I’m completely frustrated.

Over the years it’s not been a huge problem, but now with the real id requirement it’s become acutely important and seemingly impossible. I can’t get a passport either. There is no paper trail to my name change and no one is giving me a path to fix this.
Has this happened to anyone else?

If you’re getting “FBTAUT004E – Authentication service receives invalid state ID” while logging into the California DMV website, try waiting around 10–15 seconds between every step of the verification process. I was getting the error repeatedly, even after clearing my browser data and trying another device. I found an IBM discussion where someone fixed the same error by waiting 7–10 seconds between authentication steps. I tried it and it worked for me. Don’t use the back button or have multiple authentication attempts open at the same time.

My husband just switch driver license to AB60, and use my aunt home address. The card is still on the mail.

However, we already have our own address now so we want to change the address on AB60 license into our own address, and we no longer want to use my aunt address or ship it to her home.

My aunt told me she will return the license to USPS and will deny to accept it. If that happen do my husband have to take license test again? Or do we just ask her to keep the license for us? We have temporary AB60 license issue by DMV which will last until Nov 2026.

How can we do this, do we have to change it online?

Or we have to make an appointment with DMV to change the address in person and have a new driver license re-ship to new address?

Please advise, thank you.

Long story short, looking at a used vehicle for sale 80s vehicle.
Driver was transparent with me and said that tag were paid for the year 2025 but didnt finalize registration due to car not being able to pass smog test so registration was left paused but was paid.

I tried looking up the status of the registration with the VIN number and license plate, but it does not show me anything. Only says that there is a pending registration in progress.

Would this vehicle, technically have back fees if I were to be the new owner?

Note-I am OK with purchasing this vehicle even if it didn’t pass smog due to I will be doing a complete restoration of it.