Veh. Code, § 12800.5 · Article 3. Issuance and Renewal of Licenses
Veh. Code, § 12800.5
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
(a) (1) A license shall bear a fullface engraved picture or photograph of the licensee.
(2) Notwithstanding any other law, the department shall not, unless requested by the licensee, distribute or sell the licensee’s picture or photograph or any information pertaining to the licensee’s physical characteristics to any private individual, other than the licensee, or to any firm, copartnership, association, or corporation. This paragraph does not apply to a private business entity that contracts with the department for the production of driver’s licenses and identification cards, if the contract prohibits the unauthorized use and disclosure of the information.
(b) (1) A license, including a temporary license issued pursuant to Section 12506, shall bear the following notice: “This license is issued as a license to drive a motor vehicle; it does not establish eligibility for employment, voter registration, or public benefits.”
(2) In the next scheduled revision of the driver’s license on or after January 1, 2023, the notice specified in paragraph (1) shall be replaced by the following notice requirement:
(A) A Real ID driver’s license, as described in Section 681, shall bear a notice including, but not limited to, that the license is issued as a license to drive a motor vehicle, and that it does not establish eligibility for employment, voter registration, or public benefits.
(B) A driver’s license that is not a Real ID driver’s license, as described in Section 681, shall bear a notice including, but not limited to, that the license is issued as a license to drive a motor vehicle, it does not establish eligibility for employment, firearms purchases, voter registration, or public benefits, and that it is not acceptable for official federal purposes.
(c) The department may demand proof of age prior to the issuance of a license.
(d) This section shall become inoperative on the date the department notifies the Legislature that the driver’s license has been revised to include the notices specified in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), and is repealed on January 1 of the following year.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 482, Sec. 7. (AB 1766) Effective January 1, 2023. Conditionally inoperative as prescribed by its own provisions. Repealed conditionally by its own provisions. See later operative version added by Sec. 8 of Stats. 2022, Ch. 482.
Another version listed by the Legislative Counsel
Section conditionally operative by its own provisions.
(a) (1) A license shall bear a fullface engraved picture or photograph of the licensee.
(2) Notwithstanding any other law, the department shall not, unless requested by the licensee, distribute or sell the licensee’s picture or photograph or any information pertaining to the licensee’s physical characteristics to any private individual, other than the licensee, or to any firm, copartnership, association, or corporation. This paragraph does not apply to a private business entity that contracts with the department for the production of driver’s licenses and identification cards, if the contract prohibits the unauthorized use and disclosure of the information.
(b) (1) A Real ID driver’s license, as described in Section 681, shall bear a notice including, but not limited to, that the license is issued as a license to drive a motor vehicle, and that it does not establish eligibility for employment, voter registration, or public benefits.
(2) A driver’s license that is not a Real ID driver’s license, as described in Section 681, shall bear a notice including, but not limited to, that the license is issued as a license to drive a motor vehicle, it does not establish eligibility for employment, firearms purchases, voter registration, or public benefits, and that it is not acceptable for official federal purposes.
(c) The department may demand proof of age prior to the issuance of a license.
(d) This section shall become operative on the date the department notifies the Legislature that the driver’s license has been revised to include the notices specified in subdivision (b).
History (another version listed by the Legislative Counsel)
Repealed (in Sec. 7) and added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 482, Sec. 8. (AB 1766) Effective January 1, 2023. Section conditionally operative by its own provisions.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH§ionNum=12800.5.
- Text hash
- sha256 901db332a19daa02ef97ed23a91e5fccabc96fc7ff28bff84f4e8f3e821cfe05
- Composed by
- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
- the Legislative Counsel lists 2 versions of this section; the version shown is the one in force by its history, the other is under "Another version listed by the Legislative Counsel" (conditional)
- the version shown operates conditionally by its own provisions (its history says so)
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