California Department of Motor Vehicles

In 1901, California law authorized all cities and counties to issue licenses for bicycles, tricycles, automobiles, horse-drawn carriages, and similar wheeled vehicles. In 1905 it became clear that California needed to implement a statewide vehicle registration system, so the task was given to the Secretary of State (SOS). SOS handled vehicle registration from 1905 to 1915 when Senator E. Birdsall passed the Official Vehicles Act of 1915 and established the Official DMV. In the state of California alone, the number of registrations rose to 191,000 this year. In 1921 the powers and responsibilities for motor vehicles were transferred to the Motor Vehicles Department, which was effectively part of the Treasury Department. This decision shows that the government is beginning to understand that the DMV can generate revenue. In 1931 the DMV became an independent department.

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