HB296: HB296 Motor vehicles; presentation of a driver's license in a certain electronic format; provisions

Currently Georgia law does not clearly distinguish between physical and electronic versions of a driver's license for different purposes. This bill sorts that out. For voting at the polls, and for buying a hunting, fishing, or trapping license (including the lifetime sportsman's license), the bill requires a driver's license in physical format; an electronic version on a phone will not count for those purposes. For the general requirement that drivers carry their license while operating a vehicle, the bill goes the other way: it allows a driver's license displayed in electronic format on a phone to satisfy that requirement if the officer has equipment to verify it. Officers cannot force a driver to hand over their phone, and by July 1, 2027 all law enforcement officers must have equipment that can check electronic licenses. The bill also creates a new payment option, letting owners of certain heavily modified rental vehicles and for-hire charter buses pay half the title ad valorem tax fee up front and the rest within 12 months.

• Requires voters to present a Georgia driver's license in physical (not electronic or app-based) format as identification at polling places.
• Requires anyone buying a hunting, fishing, or trapping license, or a lifetime sportsman's license, to show a physical driver's license rather than a phone-based version.
• Allows drivers to satisfy the requirement to carry a license while driving by showing an electronic version on a phone, if the officer has equipment to verify it.
• Bars police from forcing a driver to hand over their phone or display an electronic license, and requires all officers statewide to obtain verification equipment by July 1, 2027.
• Creates a new installment option for the title ad valorem tax fee on certain modified rental vehicles and for-hire charter buses or motor coaches, letting owners pay 50 percent at filing and the remaining 50 percent within 12 months.

Georgia voters, hunters, anglers, and trappers who must show ID; everyday drivers who carry a license on their phone; law enforcement officers, who must acquire new verification equipment; and businesses that own specially modified rental vehicles or for-hire charter buses subject to the title ad valorem tax.

Georgians who rely on a phone-based digital driver's license would find it accepted for routine traffic stops but rejected at the polls or when buying a hunting or fishing license, meaning they would still need to carry a physical card for those situations. Drivers also gain a legal shield against being pressured to unlock their phones for officers.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 21-2-417 to require a Georgia driver's license in physical format as valid voter identification at polling places.
• Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 27-2-2 to require a physical-format driver's license (or equally reliable ID) before a license agent can sell a hunting, fishing, or trapping license.
• Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. § 27-2-3.1 to require a physical-format driver's license or state ID card as proof of residency for a lifetime sportsman's license.
• Section 4 revises O.C.G.A. § 40-5-29 so an electronic-format license can satisfy the requirement to carry a license while driving, bars officers from compelling release of a driver's wireless device, and sets a July 1, 2027 deadline for officers to acquire verification equipment; violations remain punishable by a fine of no more than $10.00.
• Section 5 amends O.C.G.A. § 48-5C-1 to let owners of qualifying for-hire charter buses, motor coaches, or specially modified rental vehicles pay title ad valorem tax fees in two installments, 50 percent at filing and 50 percent within 12 months.
• Section 6 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2025-05-14Effective Date 2025-07-01
2. 2025-05-14Act 256
3. 2025-05-14House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-10House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-04-04House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
6. 2025-04-04Senate Passed/Adopted As Amended (Senate)
7. 2025-04-04Senate Third Read (Senate)
8. 2025-04-04Senate Taken from Table (Senate)

• Houston Gaines (R, HD-120)Primary sponsor
• John Corbett (R, HD-174)
• Trey Kelley (R, HD-016)
• Shaw Blackmon (R, HD-146)
• Marcus Wiedower (R, HD-121)
• Scott Hilton (R, HD-048)
• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 3, 2025

   154 yea, 17 nay (6 not voting, 3 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #124

2. PassedSenate voteApril 4, 2025

   51 yea, 2 nay (2 not voting, 1 absent)

   Adoption Of Amendment #1 By The Senator From The 42nd: Senate Vote #481

3. FailedSenate voteApril 4, 2025

   13 yea, 39 nay (3 not voting, 1 absent)

   Adoption Of Amendment #2 By The Senator From The 46th: Senate Vote #482

4. PassedSenate voteApril 4, 2025

   51 yea, 3 nay (1 not voting, 1 absent)

   Passage As Amended: Senate Vote #483

5. PassedHouse voteApril 4, 2025

   163 yea, 3 nay (2 not voting, 12 absent)

   Agree To Senate Amendment: House Vote #448

• driver's licenses
• voter identification
• hunting and fishing licenses
• vehicle taxes
• digital ID