In most U.S. states, you need at least 20/40 vision in one or both eyes to drive without restrictions. That’s the standard threshold for an unrestricted passenger vehicle license. If your vision falls between 20/40 and 20/70, many states will still issue a license but with conditions like daytime-only driving. Below 20/70, most states won’t issue a license at all.
What 20/40 Vision Actually Means
The numbers on a vision test refer to how far away you can read letters compared to someone with perfect eyesight. If you have 20/40 vision, you need to stand 20 feet away to read what a person with normal sight can read from 40 feet. It’s not terrible vision, but it’s noticeably less sharp than the 20/20 standard.
At the DMV, you’ll typically look into a screening machine or read a line on a Snellen chart mounted on a wall. The test takes seconds. You read the smallest line you can, and the examiner records your result. If you wear glasses or contacts, you’ll be tested with them on.
The Corrective Lens Requirement
If you pass the vision test only while wearing glasses or contacts, your license will carry a corrective lens restriction, usually printed as a code on the card (code “B” in New York, for example). This isn’t a suggestion. Driving without your corrective lenses when your license requires them is a traffic violation, and you can be cited for it during a routine stop. If you’ve had LASIK or another procedure that brought your uncorrected vision to 20/40 or better, you can ask the DMV to remove the restriction after retesting.
How States Handle Borderline Vision
States don’t all draw the line in the same place, and the restrictions they impose vary. Here’s a general picture of how it works across much of the country:
- 20/40 or better: Unrestricted license in every state.
- 20/40 to 20/70: Many states issue a restricted license. Common restrictions include daytime-only driving and mandatory use of outside mirrors. Iowa, Arizona, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Michigan all follow some version of this approach.
- Worse than 20/70: Most states will not issue a standard license. Florida sets its absolute cutoff at 20/70 in either eye or both eyes together.
In Louisiana, drivers with vision between 20/40 and 20/70 pass with a daylight restriction and are required to use a left outside rearview mirror. Arizona limits daytime-only driving to those between 20/40 and 20/50 in the better eye, or 20/40 to 20/70 using both eyes together. Maryland sends drivers with vision between 20/70 and 20/100 through additional review at a central office rather than handling it at a local branch.
Peripheral Vision Requirements
Sharpness isn’t the only thing that matters. You also need a wide enough field of vision to see cars, pedestrians, and hazards approaching from the side. Most states require somewhere between 90 and 140 degrees of horizontal visual field. Arkansas requires 140 degrees with both eyes or 105 degrees with one functioning eye. Michigan requires 90 degrees. Iowa sets the bar at 110 degrees with both eyes or 100 degrees with one eye.
If you’ve lost peripheral vision due to glaucoma, retinal detachment, or stroke, the DMV test will flag it. Some states allow restricted driving with reduced fields, while others treat it as a hard disqualification.
Driving With One Eye
You can drive with vision in only one eye in every state, but the rules tighten. For a standard passenger vehicle license, states typically require the functioning eye to meet a higher acuity bar. Florida, for instance, requires 20/40 or better in the seeing eye if the other eye is blind or 20/200 or worse.
Commercial truck drivers face stricter standards. Federal rules require 20/40 in each eye individually. Drivers with monocular vision previously needed a special federal exemption, but since March 2022 the process changed. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration replaced its exemption program with an alternative vision standard that medical examiners can apply directly during a physical qualification exam, removing the separate application process.
Bioptic Telescopic Lenses
If your vision is too poor for a standard license but not so poor that driving is impossible, some states allow you to drive using small telescopes mounted on your glasses, called bioptic lenses. These aren’t reading glasses. They’re miniature telescopic systems that let you briefly zoom in on signs, signals, and distant objects while using your regular peripheral vision for everything else.
The requirements are substantial. Pennsylvania, as one example, requires a complete vision exam documenting 120 degrees of horizontal visual field, proof that you’ve owned the bioptic system for at least three months, 10 hours of front-seat passenger training with a certified low vision specialist, 20 hours of behind-the-wheel training with an approved instructor, and another 45 hours of supervised driving including 5 hours in bad weather. That’s 65 hours of structured training before you can even take the skills test. Bioptic drivers in Pennsylvania with acuity below 20/50 through the lenses are limited to daylight hours. Those with acuity better than 20/40 can apply for nighttime privileges after one violation-free year.
Color Blindness
No U.S. state requires you to pass a color vision test to get a driver’s license. Color blindness affects roughly 8% of men and 0.5% of women, and the current evidence does not support excluding color-deficient drivers from the road. Traffic signals are designed with position cues (red on top, green on bottom) specifically so that color-blind drivers can read them. Some countries in Southeast Asia do impose color vision requirements, but this practice varies widely and isn’t backed by crash data showing increased risk.
What Happens if Your Vision Changes
Most states require a vision screening every time you renew your license, which for many drivers means every four to eight years. If your vision has deteriorated, you’ll find out at renewal. Some states shorten renewal periods for older drivers or require more frequent in-person testing after a certain age.
Outside of renewal, the question of who reports vision problems varies by state. The majority of states allow doctors to voluntarily report patients who may no longer be safe to drive, but don’t require it. A handful of states mandate physician reporting for specific conditions. California and Utah require reporting of dementia and cognitive impairments. Delaware, New Jersey, and Nevada require reporting for epilepsy. In California, failing to report can be grounds for disciplinary action by the state medical board. For vision loss specifically, most states rely on the driver or their family to self-report, or catch the problem at the next renewal screening.
Commercial Driving Standards
If you’re looking to drive commercially, the bar is higher. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rules require 20/40 vision in each eye individually, plus 20/40 binocular vision with both eyes together. That’s a stricter standard than most states apply to regular passenger vehicles, where 20/40 in just one eye is often enough. Commercial drivers are tested during their Department of Transportation physical, which is separate from the DMV screening.