How to Check if My Driver’s License is Suspended in CA?
In California, your driver’s license can be suspended without you being notified right away. The legalities involved may take a long time for the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to get back to you and give you the dire news that your driving license, is in fact, invalid, and is a legal issue that you need to resolve.
Your traffic license can be suspended for a number of reasons. You may have been involved in moving violations like driving while drunk, wrecks, or non moving violations like having too many unpaid parking tickets on record or not paying the taxes.
The best way to prevent your license being suspended in the first place is paying the fine as soon as possible and then taking defensive driving to remove the points from your record.
Now, coming back to the original question:
How to check if your license is suspended in CA?
Before we move on, you need to have both these things on the checklist at hand:
- Driver License Number/ Identification Card Number
- Your last name
If the aforementioned checklist has solicited a chuckle from you, you will be surprised to know how many people don’t have either their I.D. card number or license number memorized, or misspell their own last name.
So, once you have the correct information ready, there are three ways you can check the status of your license:
Option # 1: Check the Website
If you are a Certified User on the DMV website, i.e., you have an account, you can easily check whether your driver’s license is suspended or not.
If you don’t have an account on the website, but wish to make one to check the status of your license, then simply enter the details in the required fields (email, date of birth, ID/license number and issue date, license plate number, last 4 digits of your SSN, VIN number). Additionally, you will also be asked for a payment option as you will be charged two dollars.
Once you have the account up and running, you can view the document online and if the letters SUS are on it, then it is exactly as you feared: your license is suspended.
Option # 2: Call DMV
If you don’t have an account on the DMV website and don’t want to make one, either, then you can call the DMV directly to inquire about the status of your driver’s license. They will be able to check and let you know the status.
Spoiler alert: Be prepared to wait for about half an hour and listen to lullaby-type tunes during the while.
Option # 3: Head Over to the DMV
You can visit the DMV office yourself, and have the records provided to you at the spot.
Spoiler alert: Yep. You gotta wait here in line, too.
