Keep it current in the New Year

AUSTIN, December 28, 2006 - The DPS wants to remind you to make one more New Year’s resolution—update the address on your driver license. Keeping a current address on your license provides DPS with the ability to communicate important information to you regarding your driver license. Plus, updating your driver license address is important because it’s the law.

DPS routinely sends out reminders to drivers when their license is about to expire, information on how to renew their license and even notification when there is a change in driver license status, such as when your license is being suspended or revoked. Updating your address can also help you avoid a situation in which law enforcement cannot identify your residence to contact a family member or a loved one in the event of an emergency.

“It’s impossible for DPS to send drivers updates on their license status, if the Department does not have a current address for each driver on file,” said Director of the DPS Col. Thomas A. Davis Jr. “Update your address to avoid unnecessary cost and possible charges if you’re driving on an invalid license.”

There are several reasons why it is important for DPS to have your current address

• Do you know when your license expires? Many people don’t. DPS sends a reminder out to drivers reminding them that their driver license is about to expire and provides information on how to renew your license by mail, over the Internet, by telephone or even the old-fashioned way...in person. While some people (such as CDL holders) cannot renew by mail or over the Internet, many others can.

• Another reason it is important for you to keep your address current is so that DPS can notify you if your license is suspended or revoked. If your address is not current, you may not receive this notification. If you are stopped for any reason and found to be driving on a suspended license, you can be arrested. Licenses are often suspended or revoked for driving with no insurance, driving while intoxicated, for failing to appear in court for a citation or for failure to comply with the requirements of the Driver Responsibility Program.

• In the event that you are involved in a car crash or some other type of emergency in which you are unable to identify yourself, law enforcement must rely on your license to determine who you are. If your address is current, they will at least have a starting point in trying to notify your family about what has happened to you.

• Finally, you should keep a current address on your license because it’s required by law. You have 30 days to change your address on your driver license when you move, or you could face a citation.

You can change your address online, through the mail or at your local driver license office. To change your address online, go to www.texasonline.com or you can download the form you’ll need to renew by mail at ftp://ftp.txdps.state.tx.us/forms/dl-64.pdf. The fee to change your address is $10. If you have a commercial driver license, you cannot change your address online or through the mail, which means you must go to a driver license office.

If you have questions concerning your license or how to change your address, please call the Driver License Customer Service office at 512-424-2600.

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