Texas, moving from another state

Moving to Texas: do you have to retake the written test?

If you are 18 or over, no, as long as your out-of-state license is valid or has not been expired over two years. TxDPS's Moving to Texas guide says that license exempts you from the knowledge and skills exams, the Impact Texas Drivers course and adult driver education, and its driver license FAQ adds that a license expired two or more years means taking the knowledge and driving tests in Texas. Under 18, a valid license or learner license from another U.S. state, a U.S. territory or a Canadian province waives the knowledge exam only: the same guide says all applicants under 18 must take the skills exam, and you still complete Impact Texas Teen Drivers first. Which Texas card a teen then gets is a point DPS disagrees with itself on. The guide says a surrendered license or permit is swapped for the Texas equivalent, and the Texas Driver Handbook DL-7 says a 16- or 17-year-old with a valid out-of-state license gets a provisional license after the driving test, but DPS's Graduated Driver License page says out-of-state transfers must get a learner license and hold it six months, or wait until 18. For an adult, a valid, unexpired license from one of the five countries Texas lists for reciprocity (France, Germany, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Taiwan) can have both exams waived. Checked in September 2026.

Source: TxDPS, Moving to Texas: A Guide to Driver Licenses and IDs; TxDPS Driver License FAQ; TxDPS, Graduated Driver License (GDL) and Hardship License; Texas Driver Handbook DL-7 (rev. January 2026), checked September 25, 2026.

Which TX test do you needTX

EExam simulatorFull TxDPS format: 30 questions, 21 to pass, every answer keyed to a statute.1Warm up runA shorter 20 question run pulled from across the TX bank, for a first look before the full sitting.SSigns and lane markingsSigns, signals and lane markings on their own: 61 questions, the group that costs the most points.LState statute questionsThe 24 rules that belong to Texas alone, each carrying the statute number it was drafted against.

Every Texas test and ruleNo account needed

How long can you keep driving on the license you already hold?

Up to 90 days after you enter Texas as a new resident, if you are 16 or older and carry the license issued by your previous state or country. That is Transportation Code s. 521.029(a). DPS's Moving to Texas page gives the same 90 days to a valid, unexpired license from another U.S. state, a U.S. territory, a Canadian province, or a qualifying country.

Spend those days on paperwork: Texas residency documents, Texas registration for each vehicle you own, and a DPS appointment. The clock matters if you are stopped. Under s. 521.029(b), if you are prosecuted for driving without a license and the state alleges you have lived in Texas more than 90 days, you must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that you have not.

New-resident clock after you arrive

Day you enter Texas
90-day clock starts
Drive only if you are 16 or older and carry the license from your previous state or country (s. 521.029).
Before the DPS visit
Register each vehicle you own
DPS asks new residents to register vehicles with TxDMV first. At the office you show Texas registration for each vehicle, plus insurance or a statement that you own none.
Up to 6 months ahead
Book the DPS appointment
txdpsscheduler.com takes bookings from new and existing Texas customers, so you do not need a Texas license to schedule.
At the office
Surrender the old license
Transportation Code s. 521.182. DPS sends the surrendered card, or a notice that it was surrendered, to the state or province that issued it.
2 to 3 weeks later
Card arrives by mail
You leave with a temporary license, which DL-7 says you may use for 45 days or until the card arrives.

Transportation Code ss. 521.029 and 521.182; TxDPS Moving to Texas; TxDPS Apply for a Texas Driver License; TxDPS Appointments; Texas Driver Handbook DL-7.

If the out-of-state license is already expired, do you still skip the written test?

Yes, if you are 18 or older and it has been expired no more than 2 years. DPS's Moving to Texas page and its FAQ both put the line at a license not expired over two years. The same FAQ then says a license which expired two or more years ago means taking the knowledge and driving tests in Texas, so at exactly 2 years DPS's own wording points both ways.

DPS applies that cutoff to the whole adult waiver on its Moving to Texas page: knowledge exam, skills exam, Impact Texas Drivers, and adult driver education. Form DL-60 (rev. 03-2026) uses it for the drive test and adds that DPS may require a drive test at any time. A license that lapsed 23 months before your appointment qualifies. One that lapsed 25 months before does not.

Written-test waiver when you surrender an out-of-state credential

What you hold	Knowledge exam	Skills (drive) exam	Driver ed and ITD
18 or over, valid out-of-state license	Waived	Waived	Both waived
18 or over, expired no more than 2 years	Waived	Waived	Both waived
18 or over, expired more than 2 years	Required	Required	ITAD before the drive test. Adult driver ed if under 25, since s. 521.1601(b) exempts only a valid license
Under 18, valid license or learner license from a U.S. state, territory, or Canada	Waived	Required: DPS says all applicants under 18 take it	ITTD before the drive test. TDLR: no Texas driver ed with a valid license from another state. DPS is silent on a learner-only transfer
Under 18, license from outside the U.S. and Canada	Required (see the reciprocity note below)	Required	Driver ed required: the s. 521.1601(b) exemption covers only another state's license

TxDPS Moving to Texas; TxDPS FAQ item 5; form DL-60 (rev. 03-2026); TDLR Do I Need to Take Driver Education?; Transportation Code s. 521.1601(b).

Does a teenager who already passed another state's written test have to take Texas's?

Not if the teen surrenders a valid driver license or learner license from another U.S. state, a U.S. territory, or a Canadian province. DPS says that group does not take the knowledge exam, and that a surrendered valid license or permit is replaced with the equivalent Texas version.

The drive test is not waived. DPS's Moving to Texas page says all applicants under 18 must take the skills exam. Transportation Code s. 521.165(d) points the same way, although it sits in the section on testing by certified outside entities: the director may not waive the driving test for an applicant under 18.

The Texas learner license also carries its own clock. DPS states that anyone issued a Texas learner license must hold it at least 6 months or until age 18, and handbook DL-7 says a new resident who presents an out-of-state instruction permit must hold the Texas learner license six months from its date of issuance. Months on the other state's permit do not shorten that.

A teen who already holds a full license from another state meets a real conflict between DPS publications. The Moving to Texas page says a surrendered valid license or permit is replaced with the equivalent Texas version, and DL-7 says a 16- or 17-year-old with a valid out-of-state driver license is issued a provisional license after passing the driving exam. DPS's Graduated Driver License page says out-of-state transfers must get a Texas learner license and complete the six-month hold regardless of prior licensure, or wait until 18. Transportation Code s. 521.204(b) requires six months on a learner or hardship license before any non-hardship Class C license under 18 and does not say whether another state's license counts. Ask DPS which rule the office applies before you book the drive test.

Worked example

Hannah Brooks, 17, Houston, New Mexico learner permit in August 2026

1Hannah was born on May 14, 2009. New Mexico issues her a learner permit on February 10, 2026. She moves to Houston on August 8, 2026, age 17, with the permit valid and unexpired.
2She books the first open slot. Section 521.029 speaks of a driver's license from the previous state, and DPS does not say whether a learner permit counts for the 90-day grace, so she does not lean on it.
3On August 25, 2026 she surrenders the permit at a Houston driver license office with a parent, two residency documents, and a VOE. DPS waives the knowledge exam, she passes the vision check, and she is issued the equivalent Texas learner license.
4Counting 6 months from the Texas issue date gives February 25, 2027, almost 3 months before her 18th birthday. She completes ITTD on February 8, 2027, so the certificate is still inside its 90 days when she takes the drive test on March 1, 2027.

Outcome. Hannah skips the written test but not the drive test, which DPS requires of every applicant under 18. On a 6-month count from the Texas learner license, her earliest drive test date is February 25, 2027. Whether she must also finish a Texas driver education course is the open question covered in the next section.

Under 18, the drive test is never optional

DPS's Moving to Texas page says all applicants under 18 must take the skills exam, even when the knowledge exam is waived. Plan a skills-test appointment, an ITTD certificate dated within 90 days of it, and a vehicle that will pass the pre-test inspection listed on form DL-60.

Do you still have to take Texas driver education or the Impact Texas Drivers video?

Not if you are 18 or older and surrender a valid out-of-state license, or one expired no more than 2 years. DPS puts ITD and adult driver education on the same waiver line as the exams. The statute backs the driver education half: s. 521.1601(b) says the under-25 driver education requirement does not apply to a person who holds a valid driver's license issued by another state.

If you are 18 to 24 without that license (never licensed, or expired more than 2 years), the adult course is back, and so are both exams, although an adult course provider can give the knowledge exam inside the course. At 25 or over there is no driver education requirement, but without a qualifying license you take the knowledge and skills exams at DPS.

For teens, TDLR's driver education checker says a person under 18 with a valid, unexpired driver's license from another state does not need a Texas driver education course but must still take the skills exam. It says nothing about a learner permit. DPS waives the knowledge exam for a valid out-of-state learner license without saying the Texas course is waived, and Transportation Code s. 521.204(a)(2) asks every applicant under 18 for a Class C license to submit a TDLR driver education certificate. DL-7 adds only that out-of-state applicants must meet all other requirements for a first-time (original) applicant. A learner-only transfer should confirm with DPS or TDLR before assuming no course is needed.

What do you actually do at the DPS appointment when you hand over the old license?

You surrender every license issued by another state or Canadian province that is in your possession, pass the vision check, and, if you are in the waiver group, skip both exams. Transportation Code s. 521.182 bars DPS from issuing a Texas license until those cards are surrendered, and s. 521.164 lets DPS issue the equivalent class after a vision test and the fees.

Adult new-resident visit, qualifying out-of-state license

1
Register the vehicles first
DPS asks for Texas registration for each vehicle you own, plus insurance or a statement that you own none. Form DL-67 notes that active-duty military are not required to present proof of registration.
2
Book the right service
The scheduler accepts new residents. If the service you need is not in the list, DPS says to choose Service Not Listed. If you already hold a Texas ID card, it is surrendered too (s. 521.183).
3
Bring the card itself
Section 521.182 requires you to surrender each out-of-state license in your possession before DPS may issue yours, so bring the physical card.
4
Vision, photo, thumbprints, fee
You still pass the vision check. In the adult waiver group you sit neither exam. You leave with a temporary license, and DPS says the card typically arrives by mail within 2 to 3 weeks.

Welcome to Texas sign beside US Highway 87 near Texline, TexasPhoto: Bradley Gordon, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

What if the license is from another country, or you are in the military?

Texas lists license reciprocity with France, Germany, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and Taiwan. A valid, unexpired license from one of those five does not require the knowledge or skills exam unless you choose to keep the out-of-country license. Foreign licenses not in English or Spanish must be translated by a translation service or your consulate before you arrive in Texas.

A valid, unexpired learner license from another U.S. state, a U.S. territory, Canada, or one of those five countries: knowledge exam waived. You still complete ITD and pass the skills exam.
Under 18 from a country other than the U.S. or Canada: DPS's minors section requires the knowledge exam. For a teen with a learner license from one of the five reciprocity countries, that conflicts with the learner rule above, and DPS does not reconcile the two, so confirm with the office.
Members of a NATO force or civilian component who present validating orders: exempt from the knowledge and skills exams.
U.S. military on active duty, or discharged within the last 90 days, with an expired license from another state: may be exempt from both exams with a valid military ID and proof of the issuing state's military extension policy.

Transportation Code s. 521.164 is the power behind the waiver: DPS may, by rule, issue a license of the equivalent class to the holder of a license from another state or Canadian province after a vision test and the fees, without the complete s. 521.161 examination. The two-year expiration cutoff is not in the statute. It comes from DPS's own pages.

Papers DPS names for a new-resident original license

Out-of-state or qualifying foreign license, in hand, to surrender
Proof of U.S. citizenship or lawful presence
Proof of Texas residency
Two documents from the DPS list. Form DL-67 says the 30-day residence period is waived when you surrender a valid, unexpired license from another U.S. state, but the proof itself is still required.
Proof of identity
Social Security number (verified electronically)
Texas registration for each vehicle you own, if you are surrendering an out-of-state license
Insurance for each vehicle, or a statement that you own none
ITD certificate only if you will take a driving test
Ages 18 or over with a qualifying license skip ITD. Under 18 needs ITTD within 90 days of the skills test.

TxDPS Apply for a Texas Driver License, Moving to Texas, and form DL-67. The REAL ID Document Check tool lists identity documents.

What does TxDPS not publish on this?

Two teen transfer questions. DPS's own pages disagree on whether a teen with a full out-of-state license gets a provisional license or starts on a six-month learner license, and DPS does not say directly whether a teen transferring only a learner permit must still finish a Texas driver education course: DL-7 says only that out-of-state applicants must meet all other requirements for a first-time applicant.

Sources

Ready to practice for the Texas test?

How this works in other states

Florida may skip both exams, Texas skips them at 18 or older, California still gives the knowledge test, and New York residents must exchange within 30 days. Read the guide.

Written by Vikas. Checked against the source above on September 25, 2026. TxDPS does not run this site and does not endorse it.

Moving to Texas: do you have to retake the written test?

How long can you keep driving on the license you already hold?

If the out-of-state license is already expired, do you still skip the written test?

Does a teenager who already passed another state's written test have to take Texas's?

Hannah Brooks, 17, Houston, New Mexico learner permit in August 2026

Do you still have to take Texas driver education or the Impact Texas Drivers video?

What do you actually do at the DPS appointment when you hand over the old license?

What if the license is from another country, or you are in the military?

What does TxDPS not publish on this?

More questions about this in Texas

Can you book the DPS appointment before you have a Texas address on paper?

Does surrendering the old license cancel it in the other state the same day?

If you keep a French, German, South Korean, UAE, or Taiwan license, do you take the tests?

Do you have to retake the written test to add a Texas Class M motorcycle license after you move?

What if another state has withdrawn your driving privilege?

Sources

Other questions about Texas

Ready to practice for the Texas test?

How this works in other states