Teen Driving Laws (TADRA and Joshua's Law) and Other DDS Services: Renewals, Replacements, Address and Name Changes, Driving Records and Donations
Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the Georgia driver's license knowledge exam. The facts follow the official manual; the wording is ours.
Source: Georgia Driver's Manual 2023–2024, Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS), section 6 "Teen Driving Laws" (pp. 26–27) and section 4 "Other Services and Information" (pp. 14–16).
TADRA
The Teenage and Adult Driver Responsibility Act (TADRA), passed in 1997, set up graduated licensing for teens 15 to 18. Teens move through three phases: the Class C Instructional Permit, the Class D Provisional License, and the Class C License. Each step requires reaching an age, meeting requirements, and showing responsibility by avoiding violations during the current phase. TADRA also added the school enrollment rule and suspensions and revocations for dangerous behavior such as DUI and excessive speeding.
School enrollment
Under 18, present one of: a Certificate of School Enrollment (DS-1) from school staff, a high school diploma, a GED, a special diploma, a certificate of high school completion, a college or vocational transcript dated within 30 days, a Certificate of Adult Literacy showing pursuit of a GED, or a Declaration of Intent for home schoolers.
The responsible adult
A responsible adult is 18 or older, competent to verify the application and personally knows the applicant: a parent or legal guardian (with school, military, tax or license documents proving the relationship), a social worker who has worked with the applicant, a certified driver training instructor acting for the parent with notarized authorization, an employee of the homeless shelter where the applicant lives, a stepparent, or another person identified through a state agency, school records or federal documentation.
Joshua's Law
Joshua's Law requires approved driver education for a Class D license at 16 or 17 and for a Class M motorcycle permit at 16, and sets 17 as the minimum age for a Class M motorcycle license. The first stage of the graduated program is the Class C Instructional Permit at 15, held at least one year and one day before the Class D road test at 16. The Class D rules (midnight-to-5 a.m. ban, passenger limits, 12 clean months before Class C) are in the licensing chapter.
Teens moving to Georgia
A teen under 18 without a valid out-of-state license or permit follows all Georgia requirements. A teen with a valid out-of-state license or permit is normally eligible for a comparable Georgia credential, but school enrollment, driver education and ADAP are still required before the transfer.
Revoking a minor's license
The parent, guardian or responsible adult who signed the application may ask DDS to revoke the minor's permit or license at any time before the 18th birthday, on the DDS form with a notarized signature and a non-refundable $10 fee.
Suspensions for drivers under 21
A conviction for any of these suspends the permit or license of a driver under 21 for six months (first) or twelve months (second or later): hit and run or leaving a crash scene; racing; fleeing or attempting to elude an officer; reckless driving; aggressive driving; any offense worth four or more points, such as unlawfully passing a school bus, improper passing on a hill or curve, or speeding 24 mph or more over the limit; and, for drivers under 18, accumulating four or more points in 12 months. A limited permit is possible only for a speeding conviction of 24 to 33 mph over when the driver is at least 18.
First DUI, under 21: with a BAC of .02 or more but under .08, a suppressed test or no test, at least 6 months (12 months with a prior listed conviction); with a BAC of .08 or more or a refusal, at least 12 months; no limited permit. Second DUI: at least 18 months, with ignition interlock permit eligibility after 120 days.
Renewing from out of state
Renewal by mail is available to those on active military duty out of state, full-time students outside Georgia (and their spouses and dependents living with them), and physically incapacitated customers (ID card only). The renewal is for 8 years, after which you must appear in person; a license expired two years or more cannot be renewed by mail; no name or address changes by mail; and a mailed renewal does not produce a Real ID.
License numbers and voter registration
No Georgia license or ID may use a Social Security number as its number; a random number is assigned if yours matches, and you must tell insurers and others who track you by it. DDS does not register voters but transmits your information to the Secretary of State unless you check the opt-out box; county registrars finish the job. If no card arrives within 30 days, contact the county office, and register directly if an election deadline is near.
Lost or stolen cards
Replace a license or ID at a Customer Service Center or online for $10. Prove identity with one of: a certified birth certificate, a Certificate of Naturalization or Citizenship, an expired Georgia license, permit or ID, a valid U.S. passport or passport card, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, an expired Georgia interim credential, or for non-citizens a valid foreign passport with I-94, a permanent resident card or an employment authorization card with a pending adjustment application; or two of: Social Security card, marriage certificate, last year's tax return or W-2, a current insurance policy, auto registration receipt, voter card, military ID or orders, Georgia gun permit, TWIC or check stub. Changing the number on a replacement requires a police report of theft unless the number equals your Social Security number.
Address and name changes
Update your address with DDS within 60 days of moving, online (verified through USPS) or in person with proof; DDS mail is not forwarded by the Postal Service. Name changes are in person only, within 60 days of a marriage or other legal change, with a certified marriage license application or license, a state marriage certificate, or a court order; one free replacement per term. A hyphenated surname is allowed for marriages in Georgia on or after November 1, 1982, with the certified application showing that choice.
Driving records, Selective Service, donations
A Motor Vehicle Report (MVR) comes in 3-year ($6), 7-year ($8) or lifetime ($8) versions: non-certified online, certified in person with ID, or certified by mail with form DDS-18 or a letter to the Conyers address; someone else's record requires the DDS-18 signed by that licensee. At every transaction DDS must ask males aged 18 whether they have registered with the Selective Service. You may donate $1 to the Blindness Education, Screening and Treatment Program; join the Donate Life Georgia organ, tissue and eye donor registry (created in 2008; donation happens only after death is legally declared, the declaring physician may not take part in the transplant, the family pays nothing, funerals are not delayed, and recipients are chosen by need and compatibility, not sex, race or creed); and give $1, $5 or $10 to the Georgia Student Finance Authority for the children of public-safety workers killed or permanently disabled on duty.
Practise this with Georgia Driver License questions
More of this guide
The 30-day residency rule and exemptions, 20/60 vision, Classes C, D, M, E and F and permit fees, Real ID documents, the Class C permit at 15, the Class D provisional license at 16 with Joshua's Law driver education and 40 supervised hours, the Class C license, transfers for new residents, the road signs and road rules exams (15 of 20), and the road test maneuvers.
The three basic laws, who yields to whom, turns on red, the school bus rule and the median exception, how to pass on a two-lane road and where passing is prohibited (100 feet from a crossing or bridge, 200 feet from oncoming traffic), hand signals, right and left turns, U-turns, where you may never stop or park (15, 20, 30, 50 and 75 feet rules), parallel parking, keep right except to pass, and backing up.
Statutory speed limits, the $200 Super Speeder fee, driving too slowly, stopping 15 to 50 feet from the tracks, orange work zones and their $100 to $2,000 fines, controlled-access roads and Peach Pass, coasting, the .08 and .02 DUI limits, reckless, aggressive and stunt driving penalties, trailers, medians, headlight rules (500 and 200 feet), night driving, safety belts, child restraints under 8, distraction, litter, passing postal and sanitation vehicles, and hands-free penalties.
The seven sign shapes and their colors, regulatory, warning, guide, construction and service signs, express lanes, signal colors and arrows including the flashing yellow arrow, dark and flashing signals, lane control and pedestrian signals, the pedestrian hybrid beacon, stop and crosswalk lines, center, no-passing, double white, edge and lane lines, traffic striping, two-way left turn lanes, bicycle lanes and roundabouts.
The penny test, entering the car, 9-and-3 steering, low beams in fog, hydroplaning at 35 and 55 mph, steering into a skid, advisory speeds on curves, leaving the pavement without jerking the wheel, blowouts, winter driving, carbon monoxide, the two-second rule, stopping distance factors, entering and exiting expressways, gores, HOV and HOT lanes, highway hypnosis, jammed accelerators and brake failure, and metro Atlanta emissions testing.
When you must stop for pedestrians, unmarked crosswalks, right on red and pedestrians, the 10-foot rule on multi-lane roads, bicyclists' right to the full lane and the three-foot passing law, bicycle arm signals, giving motorcycles a full lane and three to four seconds, the school bus stop law and its penalties, 80,000-pound trucks and their side, rear and front No-Zones, the TACT project, and trailering.
Cancellation, revocation, suspension and commercial disqualification, mandatory suspension offenses, implied consent and the one-year refusal suspension, the points chart and the 15-point, under-21 and under-18 suspensions, the 7-point reduction and 20 percent fine reduction, the Safety Responsibility Law, habitual violators, limited driving permits, CDL major and serious violations, and what to do after a crash including the $500 reporting threshold, the Good Samaritan law, moving vehicles off the road and deer.