Approximately 11,000 California drivers must retake their written driver’s exams because the Department of Motor Vehicles reportedly suspects them of cheating.
The DMV sent letters to those drivers last month, saying they found “testing anomalies” during a review of recent written exams.
Those drivers, who reports say took the written exams between July 2025 and April 2026, were instructed to retake and pass the exam within 30 days or have their licenses revoked.
The letters led to mass confusion, with drivers scrambling to book appointments and questioning what specific issues were found.
There was speculation online that the DMV’s flagging of certain tests was connected to the use of new AI tools or another technical error.
However, in a follow-up statement cited by the L.A. Times, the DMV refuted those claims, saying some individuals may have used various cheating methods to pass the exam.
“These irregularities are test taker related and not the result of an internal DMV technical issue, or involvement of artificial intelligence,” a department spokesperson said Tuesday.
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The spokesperson said through “routine internal monitoring,” the department identified patterns in test results that indicated “some individuals may have attempted to circumvent the testing process using various cheating methods.”
The DMV didn’t go into further detail about what patterns were identified but said an investigation is ongoing.
Receipt of the letter did not indicate that drivers definitively cheated, the spokesperson clarified, but an unspecified number of cases were reportedly referred to district attorneys for prosecution.
If drivers retake the test and fail, their licenses may be revoked immediately.
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