The rule almost everywhere
Nearly every state wants 20/40 or better with both eyes for a full licence, and most will still licence you with a restriction down to about 20/70. Below that you see an eye doctor and retest. The differences sit in the details: per-eye versus both-together standards, field-of-vision degrees, and which form the doctor signs. Five states below, each checked against the statute or the agency page.
California: two thresholds, one form
California (Vehicle Code section 12804.9) reads 20/40 with both eyes together, plus 20/40 in one eye and at least 20/70 in the other. Miss it and you get 60 days on a temporary licence to return form DL-62 from an eye doctor. Fall short on the left eye and you may face a supplemental drive test with a freeway stretch. CA DMV vision conditions.
Texas: tiers, and the 45 mph surprise
Texas measures in bands. 20/40 passes clean. 20/50 passes with a specialist note. 20/60 to 20/70 with a note means a daylight-only licence capped at 45 mph. Worse than 20/70 fails until corrected. The eye-doctor paper is form DL-63, and note the agency is the DPS, not a DMV. Texas DPS driver licence.
Florida: the one-eye rule
Florida asks 20/70 in either eye or both together where vision cannot be improved, with a 130-degree field. The trap is monocularity: if one eye is 20/200 or worse, the other must reach 20/40. The doctor form is HSMV-72010. FLHSMV vision standards.
New York: two forms, do not mix them up
New York passes 20/40 in either or both eyes. Form MV-619 certifies a pass and is good for 12 months. Form MV-80L is for results between 20/40 and 20/70 or telescopic lenses, and it goes to the Medical Review Unit, not the counter. Bringing the wrong form to the office is the classic avoidable rejection. New York also runs an Online Vision Registry so approved providers can file results directly. NY vision requirements.
North Carolina: one good eye, and teens take note
North Carolina passes 20/40 or better in at least one eye for an unrestricted licence. The practical failure point is driver education: students who forget their glasses on screening day fail and cannot start behind-the-wheel training until they pass. Remote renewals use a self-attestation of no vision change.
What to bring in any state
Glasses or contacts, your current prescription, photo ID, and any failed-test form already signed by your eye doctor. Confirm the current rule with your own agency before you go, since standards change. Then practise the screening at home so the counter holds no surprises. This guide is practice information only. It is not medical advice, and state summaries can go out of date. Our about page states the limits plainly.