之前介绍过加州考驾照的流程，今天有读者问：「我去年报了名可是第一次笔试没过， 过几天就快到一年了。如果我在这几天内去考了笔试过了，那路考的有效期到多久？是笔试过后的一年还是只是报了名过后的一年啊？」
加州 DMV 并没有要求「路考的有效期」，也没有要求「笔试后多长时间之内必须路考」；相反，若你未满 18 岁、笔试之后拿到的是 Provisional Permit，至少等 6 个月才能参加正式的路考。
但是，每次申请（并不是笔试/路考）只在 12 个月内有效，参见 DMV 说明：
Your driver license application is valid for 12 months from the application date. If your application will expire before you have held your provisional instruction permit for six months, you must return to DMV and start a new application. You will need to pay the application fee and fulfill all application requirements. Take your instruction permit with you to DMV. You will be credited for the time you have held your instruction permit and receive cumulative credit towards your subsequent provisional instruction permit to meet the six-month requirement before taking your driving test.
You must keep the expired instruction permit with your new instruction permit until you pass your driving test. The new instruction permit and the expired permit is the only proof of credit that satisfies the six-month requirement. When a new application is started, DMV does not retain the previous application information. If you lose your expired instruction permit, without the necessary proof of a previous application, the full six-month waiting period will be required before you will be allowed to take your driving test.
也就是说，从你提交申请之日起，必须在 12 个月内完成所有环节、拿到驾照。回到这位读者的例子，一年前申请、第一次笔试没过之后就放下了、现在只剩下几天，若他年满 18 岁，也许可以迅速通过笔试、假如周边的 DMV 都不忙的话马上预约路考并通过，那么还有可能在几天功夫内拿到驾照；反之，若他未满 18 岁，就算通过了笔试还有 6 个月的等待期，怎么都不可能在几天之内完成，只能重新申请、交费。
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