Question: When did driver’s licenses become mandatory in the U.S.?
Answer: The first U.S. driver’s licenses were issued in 1903 by Massachusetts and Missouri, but no test was required. Rhode Island became the first state to mandate both a license and a driving exam in 1908. Adoption was gradual, and by 1930, only 24 states required a license, and just 15 required exams.
Bonus info: North Carolina joined in 1935 by passing the Uniform Driver’s License Act, requiring licenses for drivers age 16 and older, though without exams until 1948. South Dakota was the last state to require licenses (in 1954) and the final state to mandate driver’s exams (in 1959). Thus, driver’s licenses only became universally mandatory across all 50 states in 1959.
