Before your Washington driver's license expires, you need to renew it with the Department of Licensing (DOL) to be able to continue driving legally in Washington.
On this page you'll find information on renewing your driver license online, by mail, and in person.
A Washington Identification Card uses the same number as the driver’s license for someone who does not or cannot drive. This online program by Alan De Smet will calculate a drivers license number for you if you want a good guess at what someone’s license number would be. His site also has the best explanation I could find of how the system. Your next Washington state driver’s license will look a little different. Beginning Sept. 4, all newly issued or renewed Washington state driver’s licenses will be given a new license number. Calculate your Florida Driver's License number from your information. How it works. Reverse analyze an existing number. About Unique ID. The Unique ID Drivers License Calculator is another tool in the arsenal that works well. This Unique ID drivers license Calculator will verify your Washington Driver's License number or you can create and verify someone else's drivers license number when you have their full name and DOB. Visit Unique ID: Drivers License Calculator: 'Washington.
As of August 11, 2014 driver's license will be valid for 6 years instead of 5 years. Your driver's license will still expire on your birthday.
The Washington DMV issues two types of licenses:
Before your driver's license expires, the WA DOL will mail you a renewal notice that will inform you whether you can renew:
You should receive your new driver's license within 30 days. If you haven't received it within this time, you can contact the Washington DMV by email at onlineserviceshelp@dol.wa.gov to check its status.
Requirements may vary based on whether your current Washington driver license is:
If you hold a valid drivers license, you can renew it in person up to 1 year before the expiration date.
You can only renew your driver's license by mail once you receive your renewal notice.
If your driver's license is expired, you can still renew, but if it has been expired for more than 60 days, you'll need to pay a $10 late fee in addition to the renewal fee. See the “Fees to Renew Your WA Driver's License' section below.
If your Washington driver license is suspended, you'll need to reinstate your driving privileges before you can renew it.
For more information, please see our Suspended License in Washington page.
If your Washington drivers license is lost, stolen, or damaged, you can still renew it as long as you know your WA driver's license number.
Do not drive without a valid driver's license in Washington. If you'd like a replacement, please see the Replacing a Lost License in Washington section below.
You can renew your driver license online or through License eXpress if you are 24 to 70 years old. If you're outside of this age range, please contact the WA DOL officesdirectly.
To renew online, visit the Washington DOL website to see if you're eligible. You'll need:
If you have a License Express account, you can sign up or log in to renew online.
NOTE:The WA DOL system will notify you if you are not eligible to renew online.
If you've received a renewal notice, you can renew your Washington driver's license by mail.
Follow the instructions on your renewal notice and include a check or money order with your renewal fee. See the “Fees to Renew Your WA Driver's License' section below.
If you are out of state or out of the country when your license expires, you can renew by mail or request an extension.
To renew your Washington driver license in person, visit your local Washington DMV office in person. You'll need to:
NOTE: A convenience fee will be charged for in-person renewals completed with credit/debit cards.
Notice for Military Members Stationed in Germany
If you are currently stationed in Germany, please be aware that some states require you to have a valid U.S. driver's license in addition to your USAREUR license. Read our article for more information.
The WA DOL no longer issue licenses with a 'Military' expiration date. These licenses and ID cards have an expiration date. However, even if they expire, they remain valid for 90 days after your honorable discharge.
In order to qualify for this license if you must be:
Active duty military personnel in Washington can obtain a DOL Authorization card for them self, their spouse and dependents. To apply, visit your local driver licensing office with:
Residents currently out of state may mail the above, PLUS a completed Driver License Renewal Request While Out of State (Form DLE-520-008), to the address on the form. Make sure to indicate on the form that you wish to update your military status.
If you will be out of state when your drivers license expires, you can renew it by mail OR request an extension for 12 months if:
To apply for a driver's license extension for 12 months in Washington:
Complete a Driver License Extension Request (form DR-500-019).
Send the above to the WA DMV address specified on the form.
If you'd like to renew your drivers license while outside of Washington, A license renewed by mail won't contain your photograph or signature. This license can be used to legally drive but cannot be used for identification and will be marked 'identity not verified'. You can renew by mail if:
To renew your Washington driver license while out of state, you'll need a:
Mail the above to:
Department of Licensing
PO Box 9048
Olympia, WA 98507
NOTE: Your new Washington driver license will not include a photo or a signature and cannot be used to prove your identity.
To renew your driver's license in Washington, it will cost you:
If you renew your driver's license more than 60 days late, it will cost you:
Your cost may vary depending on your situation and how you renew.
Washington DOL driver licensing offices accept payment by:
* A convenience fee will be charged for in-person transactions completed with credit/debit cards. Credit/debit cards are not accepted at the following offices:
Online transactions must be made by one of the following credit/debit cards:
Applications by mail must be paid for by check or money order made payable to “Department of Licensing.'
This form is provided by your state's agency/department.
Please select one of the below to continue:
Email the link to this formJoin 1,972,984 Americans who searched for Car Insurance Rates:
Verify your Washington State Drivers License number using this online calculator. The Unique ID Drivers License Calculator is another tool in the arsenal that works well. This Unique ID drivers license Calculator will verify your Washington Driver's License number or you can create and verify someone else's drivers license number when you have their full name and DOB. Visit Unique ID: Drivers License Calculator: 'Washington State'
Driver license
Instruction permit
ID card
Motorcycle endorsement or permit
Commercial driver license (CDL)
Commercial driver instruction permit
This is a simple search and the result will only show as a:
Yes - meaning it's current.
No - meaning it's expired, suspended, revoked, cancelled, denied or the driver never had one.
Personal or private information and driving records. To find out about collisions, violations, convictions, or license suspensions, you'll need to purchase a driving record - Fees apply. License reinstatement status. Use our 'learn how to reinstate your license application' - it's free.
Washington state encodes your last name, first and middle initial, and your date of birth in your driver's license number. These license numbers look like the following:
LLLLLFMYYXmb
WOO**JT547KA
WALKECR577DU
The above licenses are for 'John T. Woo,' born on May 1st, 1946, and 'Christopher R. Walken,' born on March 31st, 1943
LLLLL - Last Name, truncated - The first five characters are the first five letters of the last name. If the name is shorter than five characters, the extra space is padded with asterisks (*).
F - First Initial
M - Middle Initial
YY - Year of birth, encoded - This is 100 minus the the two digit year of birth. So someone born in 1998 will be 2 (100-98), as will someone born in 1898. I assume if the birth year is a 1900 or 2000 that the result is 00, not 100, but I don't know.
X - Checksum - This cannot be calculated until you know the rest of the license.
Once you have all of the rest of the license characters the following equation will determine the checksum. a1 is the first character (the first letter of the last name), a2 is the second letter, and so on.
checksum = (a1 - a2 + a3 - a4 + a5 - a6 + a7 - a8 + a9 - a11 + a12) mod 10;
For non digits, you can find the number to use in the equation here:
* 4
A 1
B 2
C 3
D 4
E 5
F 6
G 7
H 8
I 9
J 1
K 2
L 3
M 4
N 5
O 6
P 7
Q 8
R 9
S 2
T 3
U 4
V 5
W 6
X 7
Y 8
Z 9
m - Month of birth, encoded. Look up your birth month on this table. There are two options. In general the state will use the first column. If another person has generated the same license number as you, they'll use the second column. (I have no idea what they do after that.)
Jan 1 B S
Feb 2 C T
Mar 3 D U
Apr 4 J 1
May 5 K 2
Jun 6 L 3
Jul 7 M 4
Aug 8 N 5
Sep 9 O 6
Oct 10 P 7
Nov 11 Q 8
Dec 12 R 9
d - Day of month of birth, encoded - Look up the code for your birth's day of month.
1 A
2 B
3 C
4 D
5 E
6 F
7 G
8 H
9 Z
10 S
11 J
12 K
13 L
14 M
15 N
16 W
17 P
18 Q
19 R
20 0
21 1
22 2
23 3
24 4
25 5
26 2
27 7
28 8
29 9
30 T
31 U
Much of this information (notably the tables for birth day encoding and the checksum algorithm) was derived from Mathematics and Writing in Action.
Adobe pdf plugin for firefox. Original Source: http://www.highprogrammer.com/alan/numbers/dl_us_wa.html and http://www.highprogrammer.com/cgi-bin/uniqueid/dl_wa