Licence rules · easy
You move from Colorado to another state and become a resident there. What must you do about your driver licence?
- A Keep both licences so you can drive in either state
- B Wait until the Colorado licence expires and then renew it by mail
- C Surrender it and apply for a licence in your new home state within that state's deadline Correct
- D Nothing, provided the Colorado licence is still valid
Why C is correct
A driver licence belongs to the state where you actually live, not simply to the state that issued it. Establishing residency elsewhere starts a clock set by that state, and inside it you hand over the old licence and apply for a new one — often surrendering the Colorado document at the counter, which is why holding two generally is not possible. Your new state may waive parts of the testing because you arrive with a valid licence, but that is its decision to make, not an entitlement you can assume. The reciprocal recognition that lets you drive while visiting has nothing to do with residency; once you move, they expect you on their books.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Keep both licences so you can drive in either state
- States exchange information precisely to prevent this. One person, one licence is the operating principle, and surrendering the old document is a standard step in issuing the new one.
- B. Wait until the Colorado licence expires and then renew it by mail
- Renewing by mail from a state you no longer live in avoids the change of residency rather than making it. The new state still counts you as a resident from your move date, whatever the expiry says.
- D. Nothing, provided the Colorado licence is still valid
- Validity and entitlement are different things. The licence may still be unexpired, but the moment you become resident elsewhere your authority to keep using it ends on the new state's timetable.
On the road
A driver relocates in March, keeps the Colorado licence because the new job keeps him busy, and is pulled over in September. He discovers the new state's deadline passed in June and he has been driving unlicensed for three months without knowing it.
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Sources
- Section referenced: Colorado Driver Handbook — Driver Licence Information; Residency
- Colorado Driver Handbook, January 2025 (DR 2337) — English PDF · Spanish PDF
- Retrieved 2026-10-17 from Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles
Every question on this page is written in our own words and is not copied from the handbook. Reviewed by Ethan Wen on 2026-10-18.