{"id":314531,"date":"2026-03-06T17:05:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T01:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/?page_id=314531"},"modified":"2026-03-10T08:46:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T15:46:18","slug":"federal-government-requires-california-dmv-to-cancel-certain-nondomiciled-drivers-licenses","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/news-and-media\/federal-government-requires-california-dmv-to-cancel-certain-nondomiciled-drivers-licenses\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal Government Requires California DMV to Cancel Certain Non-Domiciled Driver\u2019s Licenses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Contact: &nbsp;Office of Public Affairs<br>2415 First Avenue<br>Sacramento, CA 95818<br>(916) 657\u20136437 |&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:dmvpublicaffairs@dmv.ca.gov\">dmvpublicaffairs@dmv.ca.gov<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/strong><br><strong>March 6, 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sacramento<\/strong> \u2014 Effective Friday, March 6, 2026, the federal government is requiring the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to cancel approximately 13,000 non-domiciled commercial driver\u2019s licenses (CDL). Not all non-domiciled CDL holders are affected by this action and all those affected had already received notice from DMV that their licenses are subject to cancellation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Non-domiciled individuals are those who do not have citizenship or lawful permanent resident status, and includes holders of various visas, refugees, and asylees. Federal law permits these individuals to obtain a CDL. Contrary to misleading statements by the Trump Administration, all the individuals issued non-domiciled CDLs by the DMV had been granted work authorization by the federal government and were legally present in the United States at the time their license was issued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While a recent court ruling now allows affected individuals to submit a new CDL application, the federal government is barring the DMV from processing these applications currently. Given that the DMV is compliant with state and federal law, it is incumbent upon the federal government to allow the DMV to process those applications and issue licenses to eligible drivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In order to continue driving passenger vehicles or light duty trucks, affected drivers must obtain a new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/driver-licenses-dl\/\">Class C California driver\u2019s license<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;This federal administration is using their war on immigration to remove qualified, hardworking commercial drivers from our workforce who meet language and safety rules,\u201d said DMV Director Steve Gordon. \u201cThere are no guarantees that additional solutions will become available to help these drivers and their employers but, in the meantime, there are immediate actions they must take to get a Class C license to be able to drive regular cars.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Federal Court Rejects California DMV Request for Emergency Stay<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The DMV previously sought to issue corrected CDLs to affected drivers, consistent with California and federal law, but was blocked from doing so by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Earlier this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied an emergency stay requested by the DMV that would have allowed DMV to reissue corrected non-domiciled CDLs to eligible individuals without the risk of retaliatory action by FMCSA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The licenses of non-domiciled CDL holders not affected will remain valid until their current expiration date. However, these CDL holders will not be able to renew, get a replacement, or make any changes to their driver\u2019s license.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Doe v. Department of Motor Vehicles<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a separate decision also issued on March 2, 2026, the Alameda County Superior Court issued a ruling in <em>Doe v. Department of Motor Vehicles. <\/em>The decision requires DMV to allow those non-domiciled CDL holders who received a cancellation letter to reapply for a CDL following cancellation of their license. Although the court ruling means the DMV must accept non-domiciled CDL <strong>applications<\/strong>, the department <strong>is prevented from issuing non-domiciled CDLs<\/strong> <strong>until FMCSA lifts its mandated \u201cpause<\/strong>.\u201d All applications <strong>will remain pending for a maximum of one year<\/strong> until the DMV determines it can act on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Impacted individuals who wish to apply for a CDL will be required to pay a non-refundable application fee. Those who choose to submit a CDL application will be issued a temporary non-commercial, Class C driver\u2019s license.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Impacted CDL Holders Must Apply for a New California Driver\u2019s License to Keep Driving their Regular Cars<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Impacted CDL holders who choose not to apply for a new CDL must apply for a regular, Class C driver\u2019s license to continue driving their regular cars. They should start their driver\u2019s license application <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/dl-id-online-app-edl-44\/\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/dl-id-online-app-edl-44\/\">online<\/a> and schedule their in-office appointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The DMV will offer priority appointments to impacted drivers by calling (916) 306-5153. They will need to pay the nonrefundable application fee, pass the vision test and have a new photo taken at their appointment. Customers who want to apply for a driver\u2019s license should check the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/dl-id-online-app-edl-44\/\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/dl-id-online-app-edl-44\/\">DMV website for a list of required documents<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Before Going to a DMV Office \u2014 Try Online First<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most DMV tasks do not require an office visit. The DMV encourages customers to use its&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/dmv-online\/\">online services<\/a>&nbsp;and other service channels to complete transactions, such as eligible driver\u2019s license and vehicle registration renewals. Customers can also use the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/make-an-appointment\/service-advisor\/\">Service Advisor<\/a>&nbsp;on the DMV website to learn about options to complete DMV tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">Go Paperless \u2014 To sign up for paperless vehicle registration and driver\u2019s license renewal notices, sign in or create a secure online account at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/\">dmv.ca.gov<\/a> to opt in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">###<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Contact: &nbsp;Office of Public Affairs2415 First AvenueSacramento, CA 95818(916) 657\u20136437 |&nbsp;dmvpublicaffairs@dmv.ca.gov FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMarch 6, 2026 Sacramento \u2014 Effective Friday, March 6, 2026, the federal government is requiring the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to cancel approximately 13,000 non-domiciled commercial driver\u2019s licenses (CDL). Not all non-domiciled CDL holders are affected by this action and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"parent":1542,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"dmv_page_popups":[],"dmv_ribbon_color":"","dmv_top_illustration":"","dmv_page_title":"","dmv_page_subtitle":"","dmv_exclude_from_search_results":false,"dmv_allowed_editors":[],"dmv_display_translate_button":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1627],"tags":[],"dmv_task":[10,65],"dmv_functional_page_type":[64,3],"dmv_content_type":[],"class_list":["post-314531","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-news-media","dmv_task-licensing","dmv_task-regulations","dmv_functional_page_type-informational","dmv_functional_page_type-press-release"],"featured_image_src":null,"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Federal Government Requires California DMV to Cancel Certain Non-Domiciled Driver\u2019s Licenses - California DMV<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/news-and-media\/federal-government-requires-california-dmv-to-cancel-certain-nondomiciled-drivers-licenses\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Federal Government Requires California DMV to Cancel Certain Non-Domiciled Driver\u2019s Licenses - California DMV\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Contact: &nbsp;Office of Public Affairs2415 First AvenueSacramento, CA 95818(916) 657\u20136437 |&nbsp;dmvpublicaffairs@dmv.ca.gov FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMarch 6, 2026 Sacramento \u2014 Effective Friday, March 6, 2026, the federal government is requiring the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to cancel approximately 13,000 non-domiciled commercial driver\u2019s licenses (CDL). 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