Can Deaf People Drive? What Federal and State Licensing Rules Say

Can deaf people get a regular driver's license?

Ordinary licenses are issued by the states, and the state pages we read deal with hearing through restrictions and markers on the license itself. Oregon's DMV starts from the license: "an Oregon resident who is deaf or hard of hearing may voluntarily apply to have the International Symbol of Access for Hearing Loss added to their driver's license."

New York and Texas use a restriction. New York's DMV writes that "HEARING AID OR FULL-VIEW MIRROR" is added to the license, and that "if you wear a hearing aid and cannot pass the hearing test, you must use a" full view rearview mirror. Texas lists a restriction for an "outside rearview mirror or hearing aid." In both cases the license carries a condition on equipment, set by the state.

Optional deaf and hard of hearing markers

Three of the states offer a marker the driver chooses, mainly for contact with police. Oregon's symbol can go on a license, permit or ID card and is "visible to law enforcement through the DMV record." It can also be added to a vehicle registration to show that the owner or another driver of the car may be deaf or hard of hearing. Oregon says "no medical proof is required to add the designation."

Texas drivers who join the Texas Driving with Disability Program can have a "Deaf/Hard of Hearing" option printed on the front of the license or ID card. Virginia uses a code: drivers can "voluntarily request indicators be placed on your driver's license to identify a condition/impairment to law enforcement," and a "9" then shows in the restriction field, decoded on the back as hearing impairment.

Connecticut's Green Envelope for traffic stops

Connecticut takes a different route, with no change to the license. Its DMV's Green Envelope "is designed to assist drivers who are deaf or hard of hearing, facilitating better communication with police" during traffic stops. The envelope holds the license, registration and insurance card, with tips for the stop, and "these envelopes are available at local Connecticut DMV offices and police department lobbies throughout Connecticut." Other tools for drivers and households, such as visual alerts, are on our alerting devices for the deaf page.

The federal hearing standard for interstate truck and bus drivers

Commercial drivers in interstate commerce answer to a federal rule, 49 CFR 391.41(b)(11). A driver meets the hearing part if he or she "first perceives a forced whispered voice in the better ear at not less than 5 feet with or without the use of a hearing aid." The rule gives an audiometric alternative: the driver "does not have an average hearing loss in the better ear greater than 40 decibels at 500 Hz, 1,000 Hz, and 2,000 Hz with or without a hearing aid."

That audiometric test refers to an old reference: the device must be "calibrated to American National Standard (formerly ASA Standard) Z24.5—1951." Today's audiometer standards are on our hearing test device page. The rule describes the standard, and the medical examiner applies it; this page doesn't assess anyone against it.

The FMCSA hearing exemption and its limits

A driver who doesn't meet the hearing standard can ask FMCSA for an exemption. Its driver exemption page points to application packages for the seizure and hearing standards, 49 CFR 391.41(b)(8) and 49 CFR 391.41(b)(11), for drivers who "do not currently meet the seizure and/or hearing standard."

The exemption stops at state lines. FMCSA writes that it "does not have statutory authority to grant waivers/exemptions to drivers from states' intrastate requirements," so "the FMCSA waivers/exemptions do not permit regulatory relief for drivers who plan to limit their operations to intrastate commerce." A driver who stays inside one state deals with that state's commercial license rules.