(a) The Office of Driver Services shall not issue any license under this act to any person:
(1) As a noncommercial driver who is under eighteen (18) years of age, except that the office may issue an intermediate license as provided to any person who is at least sixteen (16) years of age and a learner's permit license to any person who is at least fourteen (14) years of age. This age restriction does not apply to a person who is at least sixteen (16) years of age and:
(A) Married;
(B) Possesses a high school diploma;
(C) Has successfully completed a General Educational Development test; or
(D) Is enlisted in the United States military;
(2) As a commercial driver who is under eighteen (18) years of age;
(3) As a commercial or noncommercial driver whose:
(A) License to operate a motor vehicle has been suspended, in whole or in part, by this state or by any other state, during the suspension;
(B) License has been revoked, in whole or in part, by this state or by any other state, until the expiration of one (1) year after the license was revoked;
(4) As a commercial or noncommercial driver who is a habitual drunkard, a habitual user of narcotic drugs, or a habitual user of any other drug to a degree which renders him or her incapable of safely driving a motor vehicle;
(5) As a commercial or noncommercial driver who has previously been adjudged to be afflicted with or suffering from any mental disability or disease and who has not at the time of application been restored to competency by the methods provided by law;
(6) As a commercial or noncommercial driver who is required by this act to take an examination, unless the person shall have successfully passed the examination;
(7) Who is required under the laws of this state to deposit proof of financial responsibility and who has not deposited the proof;
(8) Who is receiving any type of welfare, tax, or other benefit or exemption as a blind or nearly blind person, if the correctable vision of the person is less than 20/50 in the better eye or if the total visual field of the person is less than one hundred five degrees (105°);
(9) Whose operation of a motor vehicle on the highways the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles has good cause to believe would be inimical to public safety or welfare;
(10) Who is making an initial application for an Arkansas driver's license and who is not lawfully within the United States;
(11) Who is a noncommercial driver between sixteen (16) and eighteen (18) years of age who has not possessed a restricted license for at least six (6) months;
(12) Who is making an initial application for an Arkansas driver's license and cannot provide the information required under § 27-16-1105(a); or
(13) Who is seeking an initial application or renewal of an Arkansas driver's license or photo identification and cannot show either an Arkansas driver's license or identification, two (2) primary documents, or one (1) primary and one (1) secondary document prescribed by the Department of Finance and Administration and updated as needed.
(b) The office is authorized to secure from all state agencies involved the necessary information to comply with the provisions of this section.
(c) The department shall promulgate a list of documents acceptable under § 27-16-604(a)(12) or (13) and post the list in each revenue office in the state.
History. Acts 1937, No. 280, § 9; Pope's Dig., § 6833; Acts 1959, No. 307, § 13; 1967, No. 339, § 1; 1969, No. 142, § 7; A.S.A. 1947, § 75-309; Acts 1989, No. 193, § 1; 1993, No. 445, § 13; 1997, No. 208, § 33; 1997, No. 1099, § 1; 1999, No. 25, § 1; 2001, No. 1694, § 1; 2001, No. 1812, §§ 2, 3; 2007, No. 444, § 1.
A.C.R.C. Notes. Acts 1997, No. 208, § 1, codified as § 22-4-408, provided:
“Legislative intent and purpose. The General Assembly hereby acknowledges that many of the laws relating to individuals with disabilities are antiquated, functionally outmoded, derogatory, ambiguous or are inconsistent with more recently enacted provisions of the law. Consequently, it is the intent of the General Assembly and the purpose of this act to clarify the relevant chapters of Titles 1, 6, 9, 13, 14, 16, 17, 20, 22, 23, and 27 of the Arkansas Code Annotated of 1987.”
Acts 2001, No. 1812, § 1, provided:
“The purpose of this act is to clarify changes made by Act 1099 of 1997 in order to cure certain unintended consequences of the act which have had an adverse impact on individual citizens residing in the State of Arkansas.”
Publisher's Notes. Acts 2001, No. 1694, § 9, provided:
“This act shall be effective July 1, 2002.”
Amendments. The 1999 amendment added (a)(11); and made stylistic changes.
The 2001 amendment by No. 1694 rewrote the section.
The 2001 amendment by No. 1812 deleted “or” from the end of(a)(10); added (a)(12) and (a)(13) and made related changes; and added (c).
The 2007 amendment, in (a)(12), deleted “one (1) of the following documents” following “provide” and added “the information required under § 27-16-1105(a); or” at the end; and deleted former (a)(12)(A) through (a)(12)(H).
Research References
Ark. L. Rev.
Parent's Liability for Tortious Operation of Automobile by Minor Child, 5 Ark. L. Rev. 192.
Family Torts in Automobile Cases, 13 Ark. L. Rev. 299.
Case Notes
Alleged negligence of parent in allowing minor child to drive car without a license is for the jury, but such fact alone does not show negligence per se on the part of the parent. Richardson v. Donaldson, 220 Ark. 173, 246 S.W.2d 551 (1952), questioned, Vaught v. Ross, 244 Ark. 1218, 428 S.W.2d 631 (Ark. 1968).
Parent of minor child was guilty of negligence per se where he purchased automobile for him and allowed him to operate it in violation of this section. Carter v. Montgomery, 226 Ark. 989, 296 S.W.2d 442 (Ark. 1956).
Where a state police officer observed an automobile with out-of-state license plates which was traveling at a slow rate of speed on an interstate highway and which contained two occupants sitting low in the seat, he was justified in stopping the vehicle to investigate the reason for the slow speed and to determine the age of the operator. Perez v. State, 260 Ark. 438, 541 S.W.2d 915 (1976).
If a violation of this section by a defendant is not the direct and proximate cause of an accident, the defendant is not liable for the injury of which complaint is made. Carter v. Montgomery, 226 Ark. 989, 296 S.W.2d 442 (Ark. 1956).