Vehicle Code 12500a VC - Driving Without a License in California

Have you recently received a citation for a Vehicle Code 12500a VC violation? If so, you might have a few questions about what it means and what you can expect during your court appearance. Below, we’ll go over all of the basics, including:

• What Vehicle Code 12500a VC is
• What it means to have violated it
• What you can do about the violation
• Other possible Vehicle Code violation connections
• How to avoid being cited with a Vehicle Code 12500a VC violation

What is Vehicle Code 12500a VC?

For the sake of clarity, let’s start with the legislative definition of a Vehicle Code 12500a VC according to the California legislature. This reads: “A person may not drive a motor vehicle upon a highway, unless the person then holds a valid driver’s license issued under this code…” This is refreshingly straightforward. If you don’t have a valid California license, you are not allowed to drive a motor vehicle. The tricky part of this particular violation is in its various exceptions since there are several ones. Then, of course, there is the distinction between an invalid license and a suspended one!

What does it mean to have violated Vehicle Code 12500a VC?

Understanding eligibility for a Vehicle Code 12500a VC violation, and its exceptions, is best explained using several examples to guide us. We will put our fictional California resident, Olivia, into these situations to help us out. In the first situation, Olivia knows how to drive after her parents taught her, but never ended up getting a DMV-issued driver’s license since she already knew how to drive. She is driving her mother’s car to go to a friend’s house and gets pulled over for a burnt-out taillight. When asked to hand over her license to the peace officer, she doesn’t have one to give them, and she’d be guilty of a Vehicle Code 12500a VC since she is knowingly driving without a license. Similarly, let’s say that Olivia is worried about her upcoming doctor’s appointment, so she accidentally leaves her license at home. When she is pulled over for failing to stop at a crosswalk pedestrian, she realizes that she is driving without a license and can’t show it to the peace officer. She’d be guilty of a Vehicle Code 12500a VC violation, even though it was accidental. Sometimes a peace officer will issue only a warning, especially if she’s got a great driving record otherwise, but this isn’t always the case! In another situation, Olivia has accidentally or intentionally let her valid license expire. She is driving to work one day and a peace officer pulls her over for speeding. When she hands over her knowingly expired driver’s license, she is guilty of a Vehicle Code 12500a VC violation because her license is no longer valid. Let’s say that Olivia has moved to California from Texas and is driving around using her Texas license. Because she is an official California resident now, she needs to exchange her license for a valid and current California one. Since she has failed to do this, she would be guilty of a Vehicle Code 12500a VC violation when pulled over. This would also be the case if Olivia had an international driver’s license and did the same thing. The main exception to this pretty straightforward violation is that Olivia actually does have a valid driver’s license. Let’s say that she was nervous about being pulled over, so she grabs her Texas license and hands it over instead of her California one (which she can’t find at that moment even though it’s in the car with her). In this case, all she would need to do is show that she does, in fact, have a valid and current California driver’s license, and she’d be exempted from the violation. This one can be a bit tricky, however, since it can be challenging to prove that her California license was in the car when tricky. So, the exemption may only apply in a situation where she finds and shows the peace officer the California license after they’ve already presented the ticket. Similarly, Olivia is not required to have a California license if she doesn’t have a home in California. If she is just passing through, her Texas or international license would be okay, because she is not claiming to be a California resident. The main thing to understand with a Vehicle Code 12500a VC violation is that these examples (and exemptions) apply to invalid or expired licenses. This violation does not cover false or fake driver’s licenses or suspended licenses.

What can I do about this violation?

Receiving a Vehicle Code 12500a VC violation can either be charged as a non-criminal infraction or as a misdemeanor. Quite often it will depend on the peace officer and court who are issuing the citation. In most cases, it’s going to the infraction. Interestingly, a Vehicle Code 12500a VC violation is seen as the most common issued ticket in California! The punishment for this is paying a $250 fine. If it does end up being a misdemeanor (common if this is your second or third, etc citation for a Vehicle Code 12500a VC violation), you can expect to spend up to 6 months in county jail and pay a fine of up to $1, 000. As well, their car is often impounded for up to 30 days. While avoiding a Vehicle Code 12500a VC violation (more on that later) is definitely the main goal, the good news with receiving this as an infraction means that it’s a minor offense, all things considered. However, the second time can be much more serious, so you’ll want to use this as a very serious warning! When guilty, in either case, it’s important to plead as such in court and immediately accept the punishment. If you think that you are innocent by qualifying for the exemptions listed above, you can plead your case with legal counsel in court.

Other possible Vehicle Code violation connections

While this particular ticket is pretty focused, there are a few traffic citations that can relate to a Vehicle Code 12500a VC violation. The two most popular ones include:

• Vehicle Code 12951 VC: This citation would imply that you do have a current California license, but you refuse to show it when asked.
• Vehicle Code 14601a VC: This citation means that you are driving on a suspended license rather than being an unlicensed driver.

There are also a few penal code (PC) violations that can be charged to you in court, but since our focus is on traffic code violations, we will keep this focused on only the possible traffic violations. One or both of these citations may be added to your current citation for a Vehicle Code 12500a VC in court. Or, one or both of these may be used in place of a Vehicle Code 12500a VC, depending on the situation surrounding your violation and the peace officer and/or court’s decision.

Is this ticket eligible for traffic school?

Some traffic citations are eligible for a driving school to help mask the ticket on your driving record (and help you relearn bad driving behaviors). Unfortunately, this ticket is not eligible for driving school. Eligibility for any accredited driving school, including MM TRAFFIC SCHOOL, means that you must pass a few requirements to be eligible. The first is that you must receive a moving citation. This would mean that your violation relates specifically to an infraction based on how you drive your car (aka your driving technique). One of the other requirements, however, is that you must have a valid license to qualify for driving school. Since a Vehicle Code 12500a VC violation is specifically related to being caught driving without a valid California license, this would make you ineligible. Do you want more information, or have some questions on this? We’re happy to help Simply contact us and we’ll be happy to explain it more in detail for you. You can also consider contacting the court which issued your ticket, as they’ll be more familiar with your personal case.