DENVER — A new Colorado law will speed up the process for new immigrants to obtain their driver's licenses.
Colorado already allows undocumented immigrants to get driver’s licenses, but they currently must live in the state for at least two years before qualifying and provide a Social Security or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). SB24-182, which was signed into law by Governor Jared Polis in June of 2024, will drop those requirements.
Denver7 spoke with Maria Valdez, a driving instructor at American Driving Academy in Aurora, who said this new law will benefit everyone in the state by making the roads safer.
"This is going to be a really, really good thing for Colorado. Many people are already driving without driver's licenses, so this gives them the opportunity to be able to drive safely and legally," Valdez said.
According to the bill summary, the act changes the previous requirements by:
- Repealing the requirement that the applicant have filed a Colorado resident income tax return;
- Repealing the requirement that the applicant demonstrate residency in the state for the immediately preceding 2 years;
- Repealing the requirement that the applicant provide a documented Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number; and
- Allowing an applicant to present a passport, consular identification card, or military identification document from the applicant's country of origin that is unexpired or expired less than 10 years before the date of the applicant's application for a driver's license or identification document.
Alma Baez, an immigrant from Mexico, said she's excited about the new changes.
“Happy, this situation is beneficial because we’ve been waiting a long time," Baez said, in Spanish. “I feel relieved now that I’ll be able to obtain it.”
However, not everyone agrees with the new law.
Former Colorado Rep. Richard Holtorf, a Republican who represented the northeastern part of the state, has spoken out against the bill since it was first introduced. Holtorf said his biggest concern is public safety.
"It's the public aspect — public safety aspect of allowing all of these people from all over the world to come in and get licenses," he said. "With respect to labor, it'll help these immigrants to get to and from work, and also their families to and from, you know, school and other public services. But the underlying question is, you know, how many folks of that class should be in our country, and how did they get here?"
Now that it'll officially become law, Holtorf said he believes it'll take a lot of work.
"I think we have to focus on increased training, increased standards. We have to focus on making sure that training and testing is done in their native language, and that comes at great expense," he said. "The one good thing about this that most people haven't thought about is, now we're going to have a good database for all these undocumented immigrants."
But Valdez, the driving instructor, once again reiterated the good that'll come out of this new law.
"I do understand that there are going to be people who are upset or not sure how they feel about this, but overall, this is going to be such a great thing, like I said," Valdez added. "People are already driving without driver's licenses. This makes it so that they do have a driver's license, they are evaluated by a driving school and seen as safe to drive on the roads."
Applicants still need to pass a written exam, a vision test, and a driving test and pay a fee before obtaining their license.
The new law goes into effect on March 31.
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