61-5-111. Contents of driver's license, renewal, renewal by mail, license expirations, grace period, and fees for licenses, permits, and endorsements -- notice of expiration.

     61-5-111. Contents of driver's license, renewal, renewal by mail, license expirations, grace period, and fees for licenses, permits, and endorsements -- notice of expiration. (1) (a) The department may appoint county treasurers and other qualified officers to act as its agents for the sale of driver's license receipts. The department shall adopt necessary rules governing sales. In areas in which the department provides driver licensing services 3 days or more a week, the department is responsible for sale of receipts and may appoint an agent to sell receipts.
     (b) The department may enter into an authorized agent agreement with the county treasurer of any county in which the department no longer maintains a driver examination station for the purpose of providing driver's license renewal services.
     (2) (a) The department, upon receipt of payment of the fees specified in this section, shall issue a driver's license to each qualifying applicant. The license must contain:
     (i) a full-face photograph of the licensee in the size and form prescribed by the department;
     (ii) a distinguishing number issued to the licensee;
     (iii) the full legal name, date of birth, Montana residence address unless the licensee requests use of the mailing address, and a brief description of the licensee;
     (iv) either the licensee's customary signature or a digital reproduction of the licensee's customary signature; and
     (v) if the applicant qualifies under subsection (7), indication of the applicant's status as a veteran.
     (b) The department may not use the licensee's social security number as the distinguishing number unless the licensee expressly authorizes the use. A license is not valid until it is signed by the licensee.
     (3) (a) When a person applies for renewal of a driver's license, the department shall conduct a records check in accordance with 61-5-110(1) to determine the applicant's eligibility status and shall test the applicant's eyesight. The department may also require the applicant to submit to a knowledge and road or skills test if:
     (i) the renewal applicant has a physical or mental disability, limitation, or condition that impairs, or may impair, the applicant's ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable control in the safe operation of a motor vehicle on the highway; and
     (ii) the expired or expiring license does not include adaptive equipment or operational restrictions appropriate to the applicant's functional abilities; or
     (iii) the applicant wants to remove or modify the restrictions stated on the expired or expiring license.
     (b) In the case of a commercial driver's license, the department shall, if the information was not provided in a prior licensing cycle, require the renewal applicant to provide the name of each jurisdiction in which the applicant was previously licensed to drive any type of motor vehicle during the 10-year period immediately preceding the date of the renewal application and may also require that the applicant successfully complete a written examination as required by federal regulations.
     (c) A person is considered to have applied for renewal of a Montana driver's license if the application is made within 6 months before or 3 months after the expiration of the person's license. Except as provided in subsection (3)(d), a person seeking to renew a driver's license shall appear in person at a Montana driver's examination station.
     (d) (i) Except as provided in subsections (3)(d)(iv) through (3)(d)(vi), a person may renew a driver's license by mail if the person certifies that the person is temporarily out of state and will not be returning to the state prior to the expiration of the license. A person may not renew by mail for a subsequent license term after a mail renewal, except that a spouse or dependent of a person stationed outside Montana on active military duty may renew a driver's license by mail for one additional consecutive term following a mail renewal.
     (ii) An applicant who renews a driver's license by mail shall submit to the department an approved vision examination and a medical evaluation from a licensed physician, licensed physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse, as defined in 37-8-102, in addition to the fees required for renewal.
     (iii) If the department does not have a digitized photograph or signature record of the renewal applicant from the expiring license, then the department may require the renewal applicant to submit a personal photograph and signature that meets the requirements prescribed by the department.
     (iv) Except as provided in subsections (4)(b) and (4)(c), the term of a license renewed by mail is 8 years.
     (v) The department may not renew a license by mail if:
     (A) the records check conducted in accordance with 61-5-110(1) shows an ineligible license status for the applicant; or
     (B) the applicant holds a commercial driver's license with a hazardous materials endorsement, the retention of which requires additional testing and a security threat assessment under 49 CFR, part 1572.
     (vi) If a license was issued to a foreign national whose presence in the United States is temporarily authorized under federal law, the license may not be renewed by mail.
     (e) The department shall mail a driver's license renewal notice no earlier than 60 days and no later than 30 days prior to the expiration date of a driver's license. Except as provided in 61-3-119 and 61-5-115, the department shall mail the notice to the Montana mailing address shown on the driver's license.
     (4) (a) Except as provided in subsections (4)(b) through (4)(e), a license expires on the anniversary of the licensee's birthday 8 years or less after the date of issue or on the licensee's 75th birthday, whichever occurs first.
     (b) A license issued to a person who is 75 years of age or older expires on the anniversary of the licensee's birthday 4 years or less after the date of issue.
     (c) A license issued to a person who is under 21 years of age expires on the licensee's 21st birthday.
     (d) (i) Except as provided in subsection (4)(d)(ii), a commercial driver's license expires on the anniversary of the licensee's birthday 5 years or less after the date of issue.
     (ii) When a person obtains a Montana commercial driver's license with a hazardous materials endorsement after surrendering a comparable commercial driver's license with a hazardous materials endorsement from another licensing jurisdiction, the license expires on the anniversary of the licensee's birthday 5 years or less after the date of the issue of the surrendered license if, as reported in the commercial driver's license information system, a security threat assessment was performed on the person as a condition of issuance of the surrendered license.
     (e) A license issued to a person who is a foreign national whose presence in the United States is temporarily authorized under federal law expires, as determined by the department, no later than the expiration date of the official document issued to the person by the bureau of citizenship and immigration services of the department of homeland security authorizing the person's presence in the United States.
     (5) When the department issues a driver's license to a person under 18 years of age, the license must be clearly marked with a notation that conveys the restrictions imposed under 61-5-133.
     (6) (a) Upon application for a driver's license or commercial driver's license and any combination of the specified endorsements, the following fees must be paid:
     (i) driver's license, except a commercial driver's license -- $5 a year or fraction of a year;
     (ii) motorcycle endorsement -- 50 cents a year or fraction of a year;
     (iii) commercial driver's license:
     (A) interstate -- $10 a year or fraction of a year; or
     (B) intrastate -- $8.50 a year or fraction of a year.
     (b) A renewal notice for either a driver's license or a commercial driver's license is 50 cents.
     (7) (a) Upon receiving a request from a person whose status as a veteran has been verified by the department of military affairs pursuant to 10-2-1301 and upon receiving the information and fees required in this part, the department shall include the word "veteran" on the face of the license.
     (b) After a person's status as a veteran is denoted on a driver's license, the department may not require further documentation of that status from the holder of the license upon subsequent renewal or replacement.

History: (1) thru (6)En. Sec. 19, Ch. 267, L. 1947; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 135, L. 1951; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 130, L. 1953; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 249, L. 1961; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 228, L. 1963; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 23, L. 1967; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 288, L. 1971; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 423, L. 1971; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 409, L. 1975; Sec. 31-135, R.C.M. 1947; (7)En. Sec. 13, Ch. 199, L. 1943; Sec. 31-113, R.C.M. 1947; R.C.M. 1947, 31-113, 31-135(part); amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 361, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 55, Ch. 421, L. 1979; amd. Secs. 1, 2, Ch. 276, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 277, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 503, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 33, Ch. 516, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 12, Ch. 443, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 10, Ch. 378, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 726, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 10, Ch. 195, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 26, Sp. L. November 1993; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 364, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 29, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 10, Ch. 309, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 7, Ch. 207, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 251, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 9, Ch. 428, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 558, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 104, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 7, Ch. 297, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 18, Ch. 428, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 478, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 111, Ch. 596, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 242, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 181, L. 2011; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 322, L. 2013.