DMV vision and license standards

The Vehicle and Traffic Law provides that an applicant for an original driver license must pass a vision test. The law also provides that the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles requires each person renewing a license to submit to a vision examination.

A driver license renewal is valid for eight years and a customer can renew up to one year before they expire. A customer can also renew their license up to two years after the expiration date before they need to reapply and retake a permit test and road test. Early or late renewal does not affect the expiration date of the document or the fees. If customers wish to upgrade their picture, they can visit a DMV office to have the document amended. If they are satisfied with the current picture, it will remain on their next license document.

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Vision results expire twelve months from the date of the test. An optometrist or ophthalmologist may determine that a test is valid for only six months from the date of the test but all tests that the remaining providers and their staff conduct are valid for twelve months.