Call Kurtis: DMV field offices are out of drivers handbooks

People with upcoming written DMV and behind the wheel tests are having trouble getting their hands on a physical California driver’s manual.

We’ve heard of people driving from office to office trying to find one, only to hear DMV field office staff say they’ve been missing from the manuals for a while. A digital version is available online, but this poses a problem for people unfamiliar with a computer, especially the elderly.

Two days after we contacted the DMV, they responded with these statements.

While the DMV aims to get the latest version of the California Driver’s Handbook to our offices around the first of the year, the 2023 version has received a major overhaul, including the combination of the Parent-Teen Training Guide, the Senior Guide for Self-Driving, Preparing for your supplementary guides on driving performance evaluation and driving test criteria in one guide. It is important to note that the DMV Knowledge Test questions have not changed and the information contained in the 2022 version of the California Driver’s Handbook is still valid and will continue to be used to prepare for both the Knowledge Test and the Behind the Wheel Test be able .

Copies of the 2023 California Driver’s Handbook are currently being printed. Field offices throughout California will be receiving copies in the coming weeks.

The California Driver’s Handbook is also available on the DMV website in eight languages ​​including English, American Sign Language (ASL), Armenian, Chinese, Hindi, Punjabi, Spanish and Vietnamese.

The new 2023 California Driver’s Handbook combined the Parent-Teen Training Guide, Senior Guide for Self-Driving, Preparing for Your Supplemental Driving Performance Evaluation, and Driving Test Criteria manuals into one manual, reducing the total page count to 96 pages. This should save at least 20 tons of paper per year.

I spoke to the DMV about what they will do for those who have tests pending but cannot access a physical copy. We wait for your answer.