The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) today announced nearly half-of-a-million Californians have applied for a driver license under Assembly Bill 60 (AB 60) since January 2, 2015, double the number of applications DMV had projected to receive at this point in the year.

“The interest in this program is far greater than anyone anticipated,” said DMV Director Jean Shiomoto. “We projected receiving 500,000 applications by July 2015, but have already reached that level and are on track to continue at double the anticipated number of applications. I appreciate every applicant who has been working with us in commitment to helping make California a safer place for all motorists.”

Before AB 60 went into effect, DMV estimated approximately 1.4 million new customers would apply for a driver license over the next three years. The actual demand for new licenses under AB 60 has been much higher across the board than projected, with 493,998 applicants having already applied for a driver license. The great majority of these applicants, 448,693 (91%), are providing the necessary identity and residency documents to obtain a license without further review.

Here is a breakdown of the status of the various license applications as of March 27, 2015:

493,998 Total number of applications for a driver license.

448,693 (90.8%) Applicants with the necessary documents to obtain a license without further review. To date, approximately 203,000 have obtained a license through this process.

28,163 (5.7%) Applications potentially requiring additional review such as clearing up duplicate records or other administrative process before license application may proceed.

17,142 (3.5%) Applicants without the necessary documents who then have the option to schedule a Secondary Review Referral to obtain a license. To date, approximately 4,000 applicants have contacted DMV to make such an appointment and 416 applicants have completed the review and been referred to a field office to take exams.

It takes more time to obtain a license through Secondary Review Referral because qualified DMV employees must personally interview the applicant and review documentation that is not immediately electronically verifiable. California is the first state in the nation to offer this opportunity to obtain a license even when the applicant lacks the necessary documentation.

DMV took steps to prepare for increased demand by hiring 900 new employees, adding Saturday office hours, extending current office hours, opening four new offices and doubling the appointment window from 45 to 90 days. All DMV employees working on AB 60 applications also went through a sensitivity training for working with diverse communities. Employees working on secondary review processing also received 72 hours of additional training on topics including document review, fraud detection, verification methods, and customer service. DMV is also adding staffing and additional phone lines for making DMV appointments.

DMV customers are currently waiting on average 11 minutes if they have an appointment and on average 30 minutes without an appointment—wait times that are now consistent with what was experienced before AB 60 went into effect.

The DMV reminds customers that many transactions do not require visiting a DMV field office at all including: renewing registration and driver licenses, completing change of address, and reporting a vehicle sale. These transactions can be completed online at www.dmv.ca.gov, by calling 1-800-777-0133, or by mail. DMV encourages anyone who must visit a DMV office to make an appointment before doing so.

Visit the AB 60 information webpage, ab60.dmv.ca.gov, for a complete list of acceptable documents that can be used to verify identity and residency, a copy of the driver handbook, sample knowledge tests, appointment information, and other useful materials.