ARTICLE 1. Persons Required to Be Licensed, Exemptions, and Age Limits

Article 1 enacted by Stats. 1959, Ch. 3.

§§ 12500–12527 · 34 sections

§ 12500 (a) A person may not drive a motor vehicle upon a highway, unless the person then holds a valid driver’s license issued under this code, except those persons…
§ 12501 The following persons are not required to obtain a driver’s license: (a) An officer or employee of the United States, while operating a motor vehicle owned or…
§ 12502 (a) The following persons may operate a motor vehicle in this state without obtaining a driver’s license under this code: (1) A nonresident over the age of 18…
§ 12503 A nonresident over the age of 18 years whose home state or country does not require the licensing of drivers may operate a foreign vehicle owned by him for not…
§ 12504 (a) Sections 12502 and 12503 apply to any nonresident over the age of 16 years but under the age of 18 years. The maximum period during which that nonresident…
§ 12505 (a) (1) For purposes of this division only and notwithstanding Section 516, residency shall be determined as a person’s state of domicile. “State of domicile”…
§ 12506 The department may issue a temporary driver’s license to any person applying for a driver’s license, to any person applying for renewal of a driver’s license,…
§ 12508 When in the opinion of the department it would be in the interest of safety, the department may issue, in individual cases, to any applicant for a driver’s…
§ 12509 (a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (f) of Section 12514, the department, for good cause, may issue an instruction permit to a physically and…
§ 12509.5 (a) A person shall obtain an instruction permit issued pursuant to this section before operating, or being issued a class M1 or M2 driver’s license to operate,…
§ 12511 No person shall have in his or her possession or otherwise under his or her control more than one driver’s license.
§ 12512 Except as provided in Sections 12513, 12514, and 12814.6, no license to drive shall be issued to a person under the age of 18 years.
§ 12513 (a) Upon application, successful completion of tests and compliance with Sections 17700 to 17705, inclusive, the department may issue a junior permit to any…
§ 12514 (a) Junior permits issued pursuant to Section 12513 shall not be valid for a period exceeding that established on the original request as the approximate date…
§ 12515 (a) No person under the age of 18 years shall be employed for compensation by another for the purpose of driving a motor vehicle on the highways. (b) No person…
§ 12516 It is unlawful for any person under the age of 18 years to drive a school bus transporting pupils to or from school.
§ 12517 (a) (1) A person may not operate a schoolbus while transporting pupils unless that person has in his or her immediate possession a valid driver’s license for…
§ 12517.1 (a) A “schoolbus accident” means any of the following: (1) A motor vehicle accident resulting in property damage in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000), or…
§ 12517.2 (a) Applicants for an original or renewal certificate to drive a schoolbus, school pupil activity bus, youth bus, general public paratransit vehicle, or farm…
§ 12517.3 (a) (1) An applicant for an original certificate to drive a schoolbus, school pupil activity bus, youth bus, or general public paratransit vehicle shall be…
§ 12517.4 This section governs the issuance of a certificate to drive a schoolbus, school pupil activity bus, youth bus, general public paratransit vehicle, or farm…
§ 12517.45 (a) A person shall not operate a motor vehicle described in subdivision (k) of Section 545 while transporting school pupils at or below the 12th-grade level to…
§ 12517.5 A person who is employed as a driver of a paratransit vehicle shall not operate that vehicle unless the person meets both of the following requirements: (a)…
§ 12518 The provisions of Section 12504 shall apply to any nonresident who is under the age of 18 years and who is a member of the armed forces of the United States on…
§ 12519 (a) No person shall operate a farm labor vehicle unless the person has in his or her possession a driver’s license for the appropriate class of vehicle to be…
§ 12520 (a) No person employed as a tow truck driver, as defined in Section 2430.1, shall operate a tow truck unless that person has, in his or her immediate…
§ 12521 An operator of a tour bus shall, at all times when operating the tour bus, do all the following: (a) Use a safety belt. (b) Report any accidents involving the…
§ 12522 (a) Every person who operates a schoolbus or youth bus in the transportation of school pupils shall, in addition to any other requirement for a schoolbus or…
§ 12523 (a) No person shall operate a youth bus without having in possession a valid driver’s license of the appropriate class, endorsed for passenger transportation…
§ 12523.5 (a) No person shall operate a general public paratransit vehicle unless he or she has in his or her possession a valid driver’s license of the appropriate…
§ 12523.6 (a) (1) On and after March 1, 1998, no person who is employed primarily as a driver of a motor vehicle that is used for the transportation of persons with…
§ 12524 A class A, class B, or class C driver’s licenseholder shall not operate a vehicle hauling highway route controlled quantities of radioactive materials, as…
§ 12525 Mechanics or other maintenance personnel may operate vehicles requiring a schoolbus endorsement or certificates issued pursuant to Section 2512, 12517, 12519,…
§ 12527 In addition to satisfying all requirements specified in this code and in regulations adopted pursuant to this code, an applicant for an ambulance driver…