Photo: Souvik Bhowmik, Pexels
Most US states require 20/40 vision in at least one eye, with or without glasses or contacts, to get a driver’s license without a vision restriction. A few set a different line, such as 20/50 in New Jersey and 20/60 in Georgia, and several also test your side (peripheral) vision. You take the screening at the DMV when you apply for your permit. This guide lists the published standards by state, what happens if you don’t pass, and how corrective lens, daylight-only and bioptic telescope rules work.
Key facts
- Typical standard: 20/40 in at least one eye or both eyes together, with or without lenses.
- Wear your glasses or contacts to the screening if you use them. Passing with them gives you a corrective lens restriction on your license.
- Fail the screening? Most states refer you to an eye doctor, who fills in a state form (California’s is the DL 62, the Report of Vision Examination).
- Field of vision is tested in some states: for example 140 degrees in Connecticut and Georgia, 120 in Massachusetts and Wyoming, 110 in Virginia.
- Lower acuity can still mean a license in some states, often restricted to daylight driving.
What does 20/40 mean?
It is a Snellen chart score. 20/40 means you can read at 20 feet what a person with standard vision reads at 40 feet. The bigger the second number, the weaker your distance vision. At the DMV you usually read letters on a chart or in a vision machine, and some states add a peripheral vision check.
Vision standards by state
This table shows only standards published on each state’s official pages or handbook. For states not listed, check with your DMV before your appointment.
| State | Acuity standard | Field of vision and other rules |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | 20/40 in each eye or both eyes together | Wear lenses if you normally do |
| Arkansas | 20/40 without lenses for no restriction; at least 20/70 corrected for a lens-restricted license | 140 degrees with two functional eyes, 105 with one |
| California | 20/40 with both eyes together, 20/40 in one eye and at least 20/70 in the other | Fail and you are referred for a DL 62; bioptic drivers have separate rules |
| Connecticut | 20/40, glasses allowed | 140 degrees binocular peripheral vision (DMV web page). If blind in one eye, the other eye must be 20/40 with a field of at least 100 degrees (Driver’s Manual) |
| Delaware | 20/40, with or without glasses | 20/40 to 20/50 may mean daylight-only driving |
| District of Columbia | 20/40 in the better eye, or 20/70 in the better eye with a 140-degree field | Check with DC DMV on restrictions |
| Georgia | 20/60 in at least one eye, with or without glasses | 140-degree field of vision |
| Idaho | 20/40 in at least one eye, with or without lenses | |
| Illinois | 20/40, with or without lenses | |
| Iowa | 20/40 in at least one eye without lenses for no restriction | |
| Kentucky | 20/40 to move on to the written test | Below that, an eye exam; 20/60 can qualify with a lens restriction; a Bioptic Driving Program exists |
| Louisiana | 20/40 in one or both eyes | |
| Massachusetts | 20/40 in the better eye, with lenses if worn | 120 degrees horizontal; 20/50 to 20/70 may qualify for daylight-only |
| Nevada | 20/40 in at least one eye | |
| New Jersey | 20/50, with or without lenses | Sight in one eye only: 20/50 in that eye plus a physician’s statement |
| New Mexico | 20/40 in at least one eye, with or without lenses | |
| New York | 20/40 in at least one eye, with or without lenses | Tested at the permit visit |
| North Carolina | 20/40 in at least one eye for no restriction | Worse than 20/40 in either eye or both: lens restriction |
| Tennessee | 20/40 | If new lenses will bring you to 20/40, come back once you have them |
| Vermont | 20/40, or referral to an eye doctor | |
| Virginia | 20/40 in one or both eyes | 110 degrees horizontal; daylight-only possible with 20/70 and 70 degrees |
| West Virginia | 20/40, with or without lenses | |
| Wisconsin | 20/40 in one eye, with or without glasses | 70-degree field from the center of each eye |
| Wyoming | 20/40 with both eyes, with or without glasses | 120-degree combined horizontal field; worse than 20/40 but at least 20/100 means a driving skills test |
What happens if you fail the DMV vision test?
- You are referred to an eye doctor. They examine you and complete your state’s vision report form. In California that is the DL 62. Alabama’s manual says you return the specialist’s report to the examiner, and if it shows you can see well enough, you go on to the rest of the test.
- New glasses often fix it. Tennessee says that if corrective lenses will bring you to 20/40, come back once you have them.
- You may get a restricted license instead: corrective lenses, daylight only, or a driving test to prove you can drive safely (Wyoming, for 20/40 to 20/100).
Corrective lens restriction
If you need glasses or contacts to pass, your license carries a restriction code and you must wear them every time you drive. Alabama says you must also wear them for the road test. The codes are explained in driver’s license restriction codes.
Bioptic telescopes
A bioptic telescope is a small telescope mounted on glasses, used by some people with low vision. Rules vary widely. California’s are a clear example:
- You can’t use the telescope to pass the vision screening.
- You need better than 20/200 best-corrected acuity in at least one eye, without the telescope.
- After the DL 62, you take a drive test using the lens. If you pass, your license is restricted to driving with it.
Kentucky runs a Bioptic Driving Program. If you use a bioptic, contact your state’s medical review or vision unit before you apply. See also learning to drive with a disability in the US.
How to prepare for the screening
- Get an eye exam first if you have not had one recently, or if you squint at signs or struggle at night.
- Bring your glasses or contacts, and wear the ones you drive in.
- Bring any eye doctor form your state sent you, already filled in.
- Night glare and halos? See night driving, headlights and high beams.
Our eyesight practice page is built around the UK number plate test, not the US Snellen standard, so treat it as a fun screening check only. It is not a substitute for the DMV test or an eye exam.
Common questions
What is the minimum vision for a driver’s license?
In most states, 20/40 in at least one eye with or without glasses. New Jersey uses 20/50 and Georgia 20/60. Several states allow lower acuity with restrictions.
Can you drive with one eye?
Often, yes. Many standards are written for “at least one eye”. New Jersey needs 20/50 in the seeing eye plus a physician’s statement. Arkansas sets a 105-degree field for one functional eye.
Is color blindness a problem?
None of the state standards listed here sets a color vision requirement for a regular license. Learn signals by position (red on top or left) as well as color. See traffic signals in the US.
When is the vision test?
At your first permit visit, before the knowledge test. See documents for your first permit.
Do I have to retake the vision test when I renew?
Many states screen again at renewal, especially in person. Rules differ by age and state.
Can I wear contacts instead of glasses?
Yes. The lens restriction covers either. Wear whichever you passed with, or the ones your eye doctor prescribed for driving.
Sources
- California DMV, “Vision Impairment and DMV Requirements” and “Report of Vision Examination (DL 62)” (dmv.ca.gov)
- California DMV, “California Driver’s Handbook: Getting an Instruction Permit and Driver’s License” (dmv.ca.gov)
- Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, “Alabama Driver Manual”: Vision Screening (alea.gov)
- Connecticut DMV, “Learn about DMV’s knowledge and vision test” and “Driver’s Manual” (portal.ct.gov)
- Georgia Department of Driver Services, “Drivers Manual” (dds.georgia.gov)
- Virginia General Assembly, “Code of Virginia section 46.2-311: Minimum standards of visual acuity and field of vision” (law.lis.virginia.gov)
- New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, “Knowledge Test” (nj.gov)
- Massachusetts RMV, “Learner’s Permit” (mass.gov)
- Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, “Kentucky Driver Manual” (drive.ky.gov)
- Driver manuals and licensing pages of Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, DC, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming (official state domains)