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If you know how to drive a car, one of the best ways to earn an income on the side or change careers is to become a Lyft driver. This service is available in many cities all across the United States and Canada, so if it operates in the place where you live, you should check if you fit the requirements and start your adventure in the ridesharing business with the Lyft driver app!

If you’re completely new to Lyft, take a look at our article on how to use the Lyft app.

What do I Need to Know Before Applying to be a Lyft Driver?

Lyft tries to maintain the highest standard of service, so they have some requirements that every candidate (and their car) must meet. First, there is an age requirement you have to be at least 21 years old, with no exceptions here. Also, your driver’s license must be valid for a year or more before you send your application to be a Lyft driver.

What’s more, it must be issued in the same state where you plan to be working. Therefore, if you, for example, recently moved to Georgia, but you still have a Californian license, you should visit the DMV as soon as possible and get the local one. You may worry that in this way you will not be able to prove that you have been driving for over a year already – this problem can be solved by taking a photo of both your old and new licenses and attach them to your Lyft application.

Also, you need to have a clean driving record – it does not have to be perfect, Lyft understands that a simple infraction can happen to anyone at sometime. However, there should not be more than three moving violations in the last three years (that includes, for instance, traffic lights violations or road accidents).

Furthermore, you should not have any extreme infractions in the past seven years (such as felonies with a car involved, or hit-and-runs). Candidates for a Lyft driver cannot have any driving under influence incidents in the past seven years as well.

Apart from that, you will have to agree for a criminal background check. Your personal auto insurance is also very significant, and it must meet or exceed the state requirements. Your car must also meet all the criteria set by Lyft, and they can differ from state to state, so you need to check how your local vehicle inspection works.