For years, the concepts of autopilot cars have been as much a fixture in science fiction as they have in the real world. Soon, though, self-driving automobiles will be officially (and legally) moving into the public, mainstream realm.

According to a report from CNET, the California Department of Motor Vehicles announced new regulations that will make the testing of “autonomous vehicles” legal in the state. Furthermore, the DMV also announced that it was working on a completely new set of rules and regulations that could allow for the public use of self-driving cars by as early as January 1, 2015. In other words, the future is here.

Immediately, the new DMV rules will not have an effect on many people. After all, how many vehicles are currently driving around California’s highways that have the ability to become completely autonomous? The ruling is big news for Google, however, as the company has been testing self-driving Lexus automobiles for months now – and doing so on the edge of legality. The testing of autonomous vehicles will not be officially legalized in California until September 16, leaving Google with a summer to continue working the grey area with its self-driving cars.

When California’s rules do go into effect, however, the state will be more lenient than others in the testing of autonomous vehicles. Nevada allows for similar testing, but only for cars licensed in the state. California’s DMV will allow the testing of self-driving cars registered in other states, but will require drivers to pass a “special driving course” in order to better learn about autonomous car technology and to be ready to take over control of their vehicles at any time.

These new laws will likely push more car manufacturers to look into developing self-driving technology. In addition to Google’s experiments with modifying cars to make them autonomous, actual car companies like Audi, Nissan, and Tesla have made statements about starting forays into self-driving automobiles.