You can replace your license or permit (including commercial, REAL ID or Enhanced) if

• it was lost, stolen or destroyed
• you updated your address
• you are turning 21 soon: If you replace more than 40 days before your 21st birthday, your license will still display “UNDER 21”. If you renew fewer than 40 days before your 21st birthday, your license will not display “UNDER 21”.

Note: When you replace your document

• you do not need a vision (eye) test
• your expiration date and ID number will not change

Online

You can replace your license or permit online if you:

• already have an Enhanced or REAL ID
• want to keep your Standard

Your document type will stay the same. 

Replace Online Now

By Mail

You can replace your license or permit by mail if you:

• already have an Enhanced or REAL ID
• want to keep your Standard

Your document type will stay the same. 

Complete an Application for Permit, Driver License or Non-Driver ID Card (PDF) (MV-44) (if you do not know your DMV ID number, enter your date of birth and name as it appeared on your old document) and return it with:

• photocopies of acceptable proof of identity
• payment of $17.50 (check or money order payable to "Commissioner of Motor Vehicles") 

At an Office and Get an Enhanced or REAL ID

Starting in May 2025, you will need an Enhanced or REAL ID to board a domestic flight (unless you have a passport).

You do not have to get an Enhanced or REAL ID. To replace a Standard document type, bring

• your current 'Standard' New York State license (unless you lost it)
• a completed Application for Permit, Driver License or Non-Driver ID Card (PDF) (MV-44)
• payment: by credit/debit card or a check or money order made out to Commissioner of Motor Vehicles

See Location, Instructions and Reservation Information for Your DMV

The fee is $17.50.

If you apply by mail or at a DMV office, you can pay by credit/debit card or a check or money order made out to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles.  To apply online, you must use a credit/debit card.

To get a free replacement for a driver license or learner permit that was stolen or lost due to a crime, you must get form MV-78B from a police agency. This form is available only from police agencies, not from the DMV.

Updating Your Address 

We send documents to the address we have on our records at the time of the order. If you moved, first change your address, then order a replacement. 

Please note: You may have different mailing and residential addresses. If you have a standard license it will show your mailing address. If you have a REAL ID or Enhanced license it will show your residential address.

Temporary Address

When you order by mail or at a DMV office, you can ask that your replacement document be sent to an address that is different from the address on your document.

By mail, include an additional note and clearly print the alternate address. Do not write the alternate address on form MV-44. The mailing address you write on form MV-44 must be the address that is listed on your photo document and your DMV record.

Sorry, you cannot use a temporary address when you order online.

Replace if You are Out of the Country

When overseas you must replace your license through the mail. Please submit

• a completed Application for Permit, Driver License, or Non-Driver ID Card (PDF) (MV-44)
• include payment of $17.50 

We also recommend that you send us a pre-addressed priority mail return envelope with your application (this will help ensure that we send your license to the correct address).

Temporary Visitors and International Students 

If someone with a "Temporary Visitor" status indicator on their license needs to replace their license, they must visit an office to replace it. You won't be able to replace your license online or through the mail while this indicator is on it.

When your Temporary Visitor status changes or gets extended, you must go to a DMV office with your updated paperwork from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). We will update our records to show your new Temporary Visitor expiration date so you can replace your license. Your new license will show that new date.