(1) When a license expires or is about to expire, the Department of Transportation shall renew the license under this section if the holder of the license qualifies for renewal of the license under this section and:

(a) Applies for renewal within two years of the expiration of a similar license under ORS § 807.130; or

(b) Applies for issuance of a license within six months after the applicant is discharged from the Armed Forces of the United States and was licensed by this state at the time of the applicant’s entry into the Armed Forces.

(2) To qualify for renewal of a license under this section, a person must meet all of the requirements under ORS § 807.040 for the class of license sought to be renewed, except that the department may waive the examination under ORS § 807.070 of a person applying for renewal of a license unless the department has reason to believe that the applicant is not qualified to hold the license or unless the applicant for renewal has not previously been examined.

(3) To receive a renewal under this section, the license renewal fee and the Student Driver Training Fund eligibility fee under ORS § 807.370 must be paid.

(4) If a person who applies for a renewal under this section is not qualified to renew the class of license sought to be renewed, the department may issue the person any lower class of license for which the person qualifies in lieu of renewing the person’s license for the class of license held by the person.

(5) A license that is renewed under this section may be used on or after the date of issuance. If the department issues a license renewal to a person under this section before the expiration of the license being renewed, the older license is invalid. A license that becomes invalid under this subsection shall be destroyed by the person to whom it was issued.

(6) If the address of the applicant has changed since the last time a license was issued to or renewed for the applicant, the department shall require proof to verify the address of an applicant for renewal of a license in addition to anything else the department may require of the applicant. The department shall adopt rules to identify what constitutes proof of address for purposes of this subsection. Verification of proof of address may include, but is not limited to, providing a utility bill, a tax return, a record from a financial institution, a proof of insurance card or a health benefits card, a selective service card, a mortgage document or a lease agreement. The applicant may provide the proof of address by submitting proof in the form of an original document or a copy of a document, use an electronic device to display proof of address, or provide proof through the use of a third party address verification system. [1983 c.338 § 310; 1985 c.16 § 131; 1985 c.597 § 10; 1985 c.608 § 19; 1991 c.709 § 2; 1993 c.751 § 42; 2001 c.668 § 9; 2015 c.716 § 8; 2021 c.12 § 7]