CA DMV Restriction Code List: Class C, CDL, and Interlock

California DMV license restriction codes are the letters and numbers printed in the “Restrictions” field on the front of your driver license, and each one names a condition you must meet whenever you drive. Some are simple, like needing your glasses. Others limit you to certain hours, certain equipment, or certain classes of commercial vehicle. Driving against any of them violates Vehicle Code 14603, and the penalty depends on which restriction you broke and why it was put there in the first place.¹

Class C Restriction Codes

Most Californians drive on a Class C license, and the restrictions attached to Class C licenses generally cover vision, physical ability, or required vehicle equipment. The DMV adds them after a vision screening or a Driver Safety evaluation, and they stay on the license until you show the underlying condition has changed.²

The most common Class C restrictions:

Corrective lenses. Assigned when you can’t clear the vision standard without them. California requires 20/40 with both eyes together, plus 20/40 in one eye and at least 20/70 in the other. Drive without them once this code is on your license and you’re in violation.³
Outside mirrors. Required for drivers with limited peripheral vision or a hearing impairment; the vehicle must have mirrors on both sides.²
Daylight driving only. Used for conditions like night blindness or advanced cataracts. You may not drive at night.
Prosthetic device required. Added after an individual evaluation for drivers who need a prosthetic to control the vehicle safely.
Mechanical turn signals. For drivers who cannot perform standard hand signals; the vehicle must be equipped with signals.

The DMV assigns a specific numeric code to each of these, and the exact code turns on what the evaluation showed. If a code on your card isn’t clear to you, any field office can look it up.

Provisional License Restrictions for Drivers Under 18

Provisional license restrictions aren’t printed as ability codes. They’re built into the license by law under Vehicle Code 12814.6, and they apply automatically for the first 12 months. During that year, unless a licensed parent, guardian, or driver age 25 or older is in the car, a provisional licensee cannot drive between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. and cannot carry any passenger under age 20.⁴

The exceptions are narrow: medical necessity, school activities, employment, or family transportation. A signed statement explaining the reason has to be kept in the driver’s possession. Emancipated minors are exempt. After 12 months, the restrictions drop off on their own.

Commercial Driver License Restriction Codes

CDL codes are federally standardized and use letters. Each one tells you what commercial vehicle you may not operate.⁵

E — No manual transmission. Applied when you took the skills test in an automatic. No commercial vehicle with a manual gearbox.
K — Intrastate only. Applied when you self-certify as intrastate; you cannot drive in interstate commerce. Some records also show this as Restriction 40.
L — No air brakes. Applied if you didn’t take or didn’t pass the air brake knowledge test, or tested in a vehicle without them. No commercial vehicle equipped with air brakes of any type.⁶
M — No Class A passenger vehicle. Applied when a passenger endorsement was earned in a Class B passenger vehicle.
N — No Class A or B passenger vehicle. Applied when the endorsement was earned in a Class C passenger vehicle.
O — No tractor-trailer. Applied when the Class A skills test used a combination connected by pintle hook or other non-fifth-wheel coupling. No fifth-wheel combinations.
P — No passengers in a CMV bus. Applied to commercial learner’s permit holders with a passenger endorsement; you may carry only examiners, inspectors, and trainees.
V — Medical variance. Documents an FMCSA medical exemption or variance. Appears on the CDL card and the CDLIS record.
X — No cargo in a tank vehicle. Applied to CLP holders with a tank endorsement.

Restriction 88 also appears on some Class A licenses, limiting the driver to combinations with a gross combination weight rating under 26,001 pounds where the towed vehicle exceeds 10,000 pounds.⁵ Inspectors check these codes at the roadside, and under the 2026 North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria a driver operating outside a CDL restriction can be placed out of service on the spot.

DUI-Related Restrictions and the Ignition Interlock Device

A DUI arrest sets off two separate cases: a DMV administrative action and a criminal court case. Both can leave restrictions on your license.

For a first offense with no injury, the DMV offers two restricted license options during the administrative suspension.⁷ The employment and treatment program restriction is available after 30 days of suspension and limits you to driving to, from, and during work and to and from your DUI program; it lasts up to five months. The ignition interlock device (IID) restriction is available immediately, lets you drive anywhere at any time, but every vehicle you drive must have the IID installed; it lasts up to four months. Both options require proof of DUI program enrollment, an SR-22, and a $125 administrative fee. The IID option also requires Form DL 920 confirming installation.

An IID is wired to the ignition and requires a breath sample before the engine will start.⁸ Installation runs about $50 to $150, and monthly monitoring around $90. The driver pays.

On the conviction side, a court may order an IID for up to six months on a first offense. IID terms become mandatory on repeat convictions: 12 months for a second, 24 months for a third, and 36 months for a fourth or later. DUI with injury runs longer, up to 48 months for repeat offenders.⁹ A CDL holder who wants any restricted license option has to downgrade to a non-commercial license first.⁷

What Happens If You Drive Against a Restriction

Vehicle Code 14603 makes it a violation to drive a vehicle in a way any restriction on your license prohibits.¹ That covers everything from forgetting your glasses to driving after dark on a daylight-only restriction. The immediate consequence is a citation and a fine; repeat violations can lead the DMV to suspend the license outright.

Penalties climb sharply when the license was already suspended or revoked for a DUI. Vehicle Code 14601.2 carries a mandatory minimum of 10 days in jail and a $300 to $1,000 fine for a first offense, and at least 30 days in jail and a $500 to $2,000 fine for a second offense within five years.¹⁰ Courts must impose the minimum jail time even on probation.

For CDL holders, the enforcement path is the roadside inspection. Under the 2026 out-of-service criteria, driving a commercial vehicle outside your CDL restrictions can put you out of service where you sit, and the violation goes on your driving record.

Removing a Restriction

Restrictions aren’t permanent. The path to removing one depends on what put it there.

Vision Restrictions

If your eyesight has improved through surgery or a new prescription, ask an ophthalmologist or optometrist to complete a Report of Vision Examination, Form DL 62. You fill out the top; the specialist completes the rest.¹¹ They must confirm your acuity meets the 20/40 standard with or without correction.³ Submit the form; if it supports removal, the restriction won’t appear on your next license.

CDL Medical Restrictions

Interstate commercial drivers have to be examined by a provider on the FMCSA National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners.¹² If you qualify, the examiner issues a Medical Examiner’s Certificate on Form MCSA-5876.¹³ Make sure the name and personal information on the form match your DMV record exactly; mismatches are a common cause of delay. For a V restriction, the underlying FMCSA vision or hearing exemption has to be granted first through the agency’s Driver Exemption Program, and the FMCSA has up to 180 days to decide.¹⁴ That program is only open to interstate drivers; FMCSA has no authority over purely intrastate operations.

Fees

If your license was suspended along the way, reinstatement carries fees on top of whatever conditions ended the suspension. California charges $55 for a standard reissue, $125 for an administrative per se (DUI) reissue, and a $15 DMV administrative fee that applies to certain restriction changes.¹⁵ The DMV’s virtual office accepts these online.

1
California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 14603 – Violation of License Provisions
2
California Department of Motor Vehicles. Section 12: Driver Safety
3
California Department of Motor Vehicles. Vision Conditions
4
California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 12814.6
5
California Department of Motor Vehicles. Commercial Driver Handbook – Section 1: Introduction
6
California Department of Motor Vehicles. Commercial Driver Handbook – Section 5: Air Brakes
7
California Department of Motor Vehicles. DUI First Offenders Alcohol Involved – Non-Injury
8
California Department of Motor Vehicles. Statewide Ignition Interlock Device Pilot Program
9
California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 23575.3
10
California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 14601.2 – Driving When Privilege Suspended or Revoked for DUI
11
California Department of Motor Vehicles. Forms – Report of Vision Examination DL 62
12
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners
13
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Medical Examiners Certificate MCSA-5876
14
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Driver Exemptions
15
California Department of Motor Vehicles. Reissue Fees