Driver's License Exams in U.S. Started Later Than License Laws

I remember my Dad telling me when he started driving he did not have to pass any kind of a Driver's License Examination. He was born in 1916.

The first Minnesota Driver's License Law was passed in 1933 requiring driver's to be licensed, but Driver License Exams didn't start until the year KDHL Radio hit the airwaves in 1948.

Before 1948 virtually all vehicles were stick shifts also. Kind of scary to think people didn't have to know what they were doing and could drive a vehicle.

I remember when I was a young lad my folks had a 1948 Studebaker with a 3 on the tree shifter. The front passenger side door would fly open on occasion and I was riding with my Dad one time down a Spring Valley street when I rolled out the door.

My dad went a block or so and turned around. I was probably about 6 or 7 years old and skinned my knee and was crying a little bit and I could tell my Dad was holding back a laugh. It probably was pretty funny when he knew I was okay. No broken bones or anything. He asked me to get back in the vehicle and not lean against the door.

It wasn't long after that the vehicle got traded in for a station wagon I think.

In 1899 Chicago and New York City were the first places to require a registration to operate a motor vehicle. Chicago also required all drivers to pass an exam. Interesting that Illinois did not pass a state Driver's License Law until 1939 and require exams until 1953.

In 1903 Missouri and Massechusetts became the first states to issue and require people to have a driver's license in order to operate a vehicle. It was simply an identification card. By 1935 39 states had the requirement in place.

Rhode Island was the first state to require driver's to take a test before obtaining their license. They passed the law in 1908.

By 1959 all states required a license and test before operating a motor vehicle.

When I moved from Minnesota to Missouri for my first radio job in 1980 I had to take a road exam to obtain my Missouri license. I don't recall needing to pass tests when moving to Nebraska, Iowa and then back to Minnesota following my next moves.

If you are wondering the 1948 Oldsmobile was the first model to use a true automatic transmission.

The first automatic transmission was invented in 1921 by Canadian steam engineer Alfred Horner Munro. His device used compressed air instead of hydraulic fluid so it lacked power and never became sold commercially.

General Motors then developed the first automatic transmission using hydraulic fluid in the 1930's, introducing the "Hydra-Matic" transmission in 1940.

If you guessed South Dakota to be the last state to require a license and an exam you would be right.

Below is a listing of each state, when they adopted a Driver License Law and when they passed a Driver License Examination requirement.

State Driver License Law Driver License Exam Law

Alabama 1935 1939
Alaska 1941 1956
Arizona 1927 1951
Arkansas 1935 1937
California 1913 1927
Colorado 1931 1936
Connecticut 1907 1914
Delaware 1909 1924
Dist. of Columbia 1925 1925
Florida 1939 1941
Georgia 1937 1939
Hawaii 1915 1921
Idaho 1935 1951
Illinois 1939 1953
Indiana 1929 1929
Iowa 1931 1932
Kansas 1931 1949
Kentucky 1934 1939
Louisiana 1946 1947
Maine 1937 1937
Maryland 1910 1910
Massechusetts 1903 1920
Michigan 1919 1931
Minnesota 1933 1948
Mississippi 1938 1946
Missouri 1903 1952
Montana 1935 1947
Nebraska 1929 1937
Nevada 1941 1941
New Hampshire 1905 1912
New Jersey 1906 1913
New Mexico 1927 1927
New York 1924 1924
North Carolina 1935 1935
North Dakota 1935 1947
Ohio 1936 1936
Oklahoma 1937 1938
Oregon 1920 1931
Pennsylvania 1909 1924
Rhode Island 1908 1908
South Carolina 1930 1933
South Dakota 1954 1959
Tennessee 1937 1938
Texas 1936 1937
Utah 1933 1936
Vermont 1905 1926
Virginia 1932 1933
Washington 1921 1937
West Virginia 1917 1931
Wisconsin 1929 1956
Wyoming 1947 1947