License colors, Drive for Five and renewal

Key points

1. Applicants 15 to 17 get a vertical red license or permit, and those 18 to 20 get a vertical blue one.

   Source: PDF page 17

   “Applicants 15 to 17 years old are issued a driver's license or instruction permit that is vertical and color-coded red. Applicants 18 to 20 years old, are issued a vertical driver's license or instruction permit that is color-coded blue.”
   West Virginia Driver's Licensing Handbook, PDF page 17

2. The red and blue formats alert officers and retailers to the holder's age, and applicants 21 or older get a horizontal license with a landscape background.

   Source: PDF page 17

   “These two (2) distinctions immediately alert law enforcement officials and retailers of the cardholder's age. Applicants 21 years old or more will be issued a horizontal license with a landscape background.”
   West Virginia Driver's Licensing Handbook, PDF page 17

3. Under the handbook's Drive for Five program, licenses were valid for five years. Check the current license term with the DMV.

   Source: PDF page 22

   “Under this program, your license is valid for five (5) years.”
   West Virginia Driver's Licensing Handbook, PDF page 22

4. Licenses issued after January 1, 2001 expire on your birthday, not at the end of the month.

   Source: PDF page 23

   “New driver's licenses issued after January 1, 2001, expire on the applicant's birthday instead of at the end of the month.”
   West Virginia Driver's Licensing Handbook, PDF page 23

5. Licenses expiring on an 18th or 21st birthday have a 30 day grace period to get the right color license.

   Source: PDF page 23

   “Driver's licenses expiring on a licensee's 18th or 21st birthday will have a 30-day grace period to allow the bearer to obtain the appropriate color license.”
   West Virginia Driver's Licensing Handbook, PDF page 23

Numbers to know

3 questions from the West Virginia practice test

1. 1. What license format is issued to applicants who are 21 years old or older?

   1. A vertical license with a blue background
   2. A vertical license with a red background
   3. A horizontal license with a landscape background
   4. A horizontal license with a portrait background
   Show answer

   A horizontal license with a landscape background. Applicants who are at least 21 receive a horizontal license with a landscape background. The red vertical design identifies applicants ages 15 through 17, while the blue vertical design identifies those ages 18 through 20. A portrait background changes the handbook's description and is not the adult format. These visual distinctions help law enforcement and retailers recognize the cardholder's age. When reviewing a license sample, check both orientation and background rather than relying on color alone.

2. 2. Which designations can a West Virginia applicant choose to have shown on a driver's license?

   1. Diabetic, deaf, or hard of hearing
   2. Left handed, right handed, or ambidextrous
   3. Safe driver, careful driver, or defensive driver
   4. Registered voter, jury member, or taxpayer
   Show answer

   Diabetic, deaf, or hard of hearing. A West Virginia applicant may ask to have a designation for diabetic, deaf, or hard of hearing shown on the license or identification card. The applicant checks the option on the application, and the designation appears only if the licensee requests it. State law also allows organ donor and honorably discharged veteran designations. Handedness, driving habits, and voter or jury status are never printed as designations. Tell the DMV at application time, because adding or removing a designation on the face of the card later means getting a new card.

3. 3. A West Virginia driver is charged with not carrying a license but later shows a valid one in court. What is the result?

   1. The driver cannot be convicted of that charge
   2. The driver still serves a short jail term
   3. The driver loses driving privileges for a year
   4. The fine doubles and points are added
   Show answer

   The driver cannot be convicted of that charge. West Virginia requires a driver to have the license in immediate possession and to show it on demand to a law enforcement officer, magistrate, or DMV official. Failing to do so is a misdemeanor. The law protects a driver whose license was valid at the time of arrest and who produces it in court or at the arresting officer's office, and that driver cannot be convicted. The other choices add penalties the rule does not contain. Keep the license in your wallet every time you drive, so the question never reaches a courtroom.

Source: the West Virginia Driver's Licensing Handbook, Chapter I: Driver's License Information. This lesson is a plain English summary, not the law itself; where it differs, the manual and the statute govern. Last checked 2026-09-27.