When a driver’s license application asks for hair color, pick the standard category closest to what someone would see looking at you right now. Most states offer the same short list: black, brown, blonde, sandy, red, gray, white, and bald. Choose the one that fits, and move on.
The Options You’ll See
State DMVs draw from a shared set of categories maintained by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.1American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA). D20 Traffic Records Systems Data Dictionary Your form may list all or most of them:
- Black: very dark hair with no visible brown tones.
- Brown: the broadest category, from dark chocolate to light chestnut.
- Blonde: light hair from platinum to dark golden.
- Sandy: a light brown or dark blonde that doesn’t clearly fit either category. Not every state offers it.
- Red: natural auburn, copper, and ginger tones.
- Gray: predominantly gray or silver.
- White: hair that has lost virtually all pigment.
- Bald: no hair or almost none.
You may also see “unknown” in rare administrative situations, but it isn’t something you’d normally pick for yourself.
Picking a Category When Your Hair Doesn’t Fit Neatly
Dyed or Fashion-Colored Hair
If you dye your hair a natural shade like dark brown or blonde, pick that color. The DMV doesn’t distinguish between natural and dyed hair that falls inside a standard category. For fashion colors like blue, purple, or pink, most states don’t offer those options, and clerks typically ask you to use your natural or root color instead. The practical reason: identification works best with a description that won’t change in six weeks.
Highlights, Ombré, and Multi-Toned Hair
Go with the base color, or whatever shade covers the most ground. Brown hair with blonde highlights is brown. If it’s roughly half and half, pick whichever is more visible from a normal distance. Nobody will scrutinize whether you should have picked blonde instead of brown. The description just needs to be in the right neighborhood.
Hair That’s Going Gray
This is where people overthink it. If gray is clearly what a stranger would notice first, select gray. If you’re just seeing some gray at the temples but the rest is still solidly brown, stick with brown. There’s no percentage threshold. Use your judgment about what someone meeting you for the first time would say.
If You’re Bald
Most applications include bald as an option. If yours doesn’t, select the color of whatever hair is most visible, whether that’s remaining hair around the sides or your eyebrows. If you shave your head by choice but have visible stubble or regrowth, either bald or the color of that stubble works. Both serve the identification purpose.
Changing Your Hair Color Later
Your hair color isn’t locked in forever. If you go gray, shave your head, or make any other lasting change, you can update the descriptor. In most states this means requesting a replacement or duplicate license, which generally costs somewhere between $10 and $40 depending on the state. Some states let you handle it online or by mail; others require an in-person visit, especially if a new photo is also warranted. Check your state’s DMV website for the process and fee.
A minor shift in shade rarely justifies the hassle and cost of a replacement card. The update matters most when your current description would genuinely confuse someone comparing your face to your card, like going from brown to fully gray, or growing hair back after years of being bald.
Does Accuracy Actually Matter?
Hair color is one of the least scrutinized fields on a license. Nobody gets turned away at an airport because their card says brown and their hair looks more like dark blonde. The field is one piece of a larger identification picture that also includes your photo, height, eye color, and date of birth.
That said, every state’s application includes a certification that the information you provide is true and correct. Deliberately falsifying information on a license application can result in cancellation of your license, and in some states a suspension of your driving privileges. The risk isn’t really about picking brown when you’re arguably dark blonde. It’s about the fact that your application is a legal document. Pick honestly, and don’t lose sleep over the gray areas.