DPS NEWS

Utah Driver License Test Now Offered in Five New Languages

DPS Commissioner Anderson, State Senator Escamilla, and Division of Multicultural Affairs Director Pena Announce Implementation of SB216

In the 2022 legislative session, SB216 created a new statute through which the Utah Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Driver License Division (DLD) provides the driver license test in the top languages spoken throughout our state.

On Wednesday, DPS Commissioner Jess L. Anderson, Utah State Senator Escamilla, and Director of the Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs Nubia Peña announced that SB216 has been implemented, and as of January 2, 2023, the test for a standard driver license is available in Spanish, Tongan, Vietnamese, Mandarin Chinese, and Portuguese, in addition to English.

Commissioner Anderson reported that since the test has been available in multiple languages, over 840 people have taken advantage of the new testing opportunity. Spanish has been the language most requested and Mandarin Chinese has been the second most requested. Commissioner Anderson said that once the tests in multiple languages have been available for a few more months, DPS will have a better idea of how much demand there will be for them.

A Critical Piece of Legislation That Contributes to Public Safety

Utah State Senator Luz Escamilla sponsored SB216 and identified it as a critical piece of legislation.

“This is moving the needle to make sure people have the ability to be legally tested, trained, and insured on our roads which translates to better public safety,” she said.

A Great Opportunity to Include and Integrate

“We want to make sure our communities are aware of this expansion of services to be linguistically inclusive,” said Nubia Pena, Director of the the Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs. “We want to make sure that people are knowledgeable about the laws so that everyone in our state can get home safely to their loved ones.”

For raw video from the press event and still photos, click here.