This may sound like a given, but it is amazing how many people are not licensed to drive.  Once issued, a state driver’s license is good for eight years, and then it must be renewed.  You visit the DMV agency closest to you to renew your driver’s license and receive a new photo id.  Like your insurance card and registration card or sticker, you must carry your driver’s license at all times.   If you are 64 or older, you must pass a vision test when renewing your license.  For younger drivers there is the Teenage & Adult Driver Responsibility Act (TADRA), a graduated driver's licensing program for ages 15 to 18, established to reduce the number of fatal accidents for more inexperienced drivers.

Also each year, you must register your vehicle with the state department of motor vehicles (DMV).  State law requires the vehicle be covered by liability insurance and its up to your insurance company to send your coverage info to the Georgia State Dept. of Revenue registration database, so you yourself are not required to show proof of insurance for yearly renewals.  Registration fees are posted online and different counties have different times of year they register the vehicles in their area.  In return you receive a yearly sticker for your license plate and it’s important that you not only display this sticker but also keep the registration card in the car at all times.

Auto insurance policies cover the auto itself, regardless of who is driving it.  Typically insurance policies extend for six months or one year, and must be constantly maintained and active.   When you buy insurance, you receive a card or paper sheet from your insurance company with your policy information on it and you keep this in the car at all times.   You are required to show proof of insurance any time you are asked by authorities or want to re-register your car.  As clearly stated on http://dor.georgia.gov/insurance:  Anyone driving a motor vehicle without acceptable proof of Georgia liability insurance coverage will face fines and vehicle impoundment when discovered by law enforcement, or if the vehicle is involved in an accident. 

Your vehicle has to be inspected each year and in some areas this can include emissions testing, which tests how much of your exhaust is particulate matter, carbon molecules and petroleum vapors.  It’s your responsibility to know if you live in a district requiring emissions testing, and if you do, you must display an emissions sticker.  You can find the counties that require emission inspections here: http://www.cleanairforce.com/motorists/emissions-testing/.

Both mechanical inspections and emission tests are good for one year.  The inspection shop places a new sticker on your windshield that are tamper-proof and can only be removed and replaced by the inspection facility.