License

Updated November 2012

Learner Stage Drivers may only drive while supervised.

State Minimum age Mandatory holding period Minimum hours supervised driving
Alabama 151 6 months1 30 hours1 (none with driver education)
Alaska 14 6 months 40 hours, 10 of which must be at night or in inclement weather
Arizona 15, 6 months2 6 months 30 hours, 10 of which must be at night (none with driver education)
Arkansas 143 6 months3 none
California 15, 6 months4 6 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Colorado 155 12 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Connecticut 166 6 months6 (4 months with driver education) 40 hours6
Delaware 167 6 months7 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night7
District of Columbia 168 6 months 40 hours in learner’s stage; 10 hours at night in intermediate stage
Florida 159 12 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Georgia 15 12 months 40 hours, 6 of which must be at night
Hawaii 15, 6 months 6 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Idaho 14, 6 months10 6 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Illinois 1511 9 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Indiana 1512 6 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Iowa 14 6 months 20 hours, 2 of which must be at night13
Kansas 1414 12 months 25 hours, in learner phase; 25 hours before age 16; 10 of the 50 hours must be at night14
Kentucky 1615 6 months15 60 hours, 10 of which must be at night15
Louisiana 1516 6 months 50 hours, 15 of which must be at night
Maine 1517 6 months17 35 hours, 5 of which must be at night17
Maryland 15, 9 months 9 months 60 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Massachusetts 1618 6 months18 40 hours19
Michigan 14, 9 months20 6 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Minnesota 1521 6 months22 30 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Mississippi 15 12 months23 none
Missouri 15 6 months 40 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Montana 14, 6 months24 6 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Nebraska 1525 6 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night (none with driver education)
Nevada 15, 6 months 6 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
New Hampshire 15, 6 months26 none 40 hours, 10 of which must be at night
New Jersey 1627 6 months27 none
New Mexico 1528 6 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
New York 1629 6 months 50 hours, 15 of which must be at night
North Carolina 1530,31 12 months31 60 hours, 10 of which must be at night, learner phase; 12 hours, 6 of which must be at night, intermediate phase
North Dakota 14 <16: 12 months; 16: 6 months or until age 18, whichever comes first <16: 50 hours; ≥ 16: none
Ohio 15, 6 months 6 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Oklahoma 15, 6 months32 6 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night33
Oregon 15 6 months 50 hours34(100 hours without driver education)
Pennsylvania 16 6 months 65 hours, 10 of which must be at night and 5 of which must be in inclement weather
Rhode Island 1635 6 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
South Carolina 15 6 months 40 hours, 10 of which must be at night
South Dakota 1436 6 months (3 months with driver education) none36
Tennessee 1537 6 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night37
Texas 1538 6 months 20 hours, 10 of which must be at night39
Utah 1540 6 months 40 hours, 10 of which must be at night40,41
Vermont 15 12 months 40 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Virginia 15, 6 months42 9 months42 45 hours, 15 of which must be at night
Washington 1543 6 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
West Virginia 1544 6 months44 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night (none with driver education)
Wisconsin 15, 6 months45 6 months45 30 hours, 10 of which must be at night45
Wyoming 15 10 days 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night

1In Alabama, the supervising driver must be a parent, guardian, or driving instructor. At age 16, permit holders may drive with a licensed driver who is at least 21 years old.

2In Arizona, a driver education instructor can authorize an enrolled student who is age 15 to drive only while supervised by the authorizing instructor.

3In Arkansas, people age 14 can drive with an instruction permit after passing a written test. After passing a road test they are eligible for a learner’s license. Unsupervised driving is not permitted by holders of either the instruction permit or learner’s license. The combined holding period for the permit and restricted license is 6 months.

4In California, students enrolled in driver education may drive while supervised by an instructor. License applicants who do not take driver education must wait until age 18 for a license. They are not required to go through an intermediate license stage.

5In Colorado, the minimum permit age varies. Fifteen year-olds who are enrolled in driver education may apply for an instruction permit. Their supervising driver must be a parent, stepparent, grandparent, guardian, or driving instructor. A person age 15, 6 months may apply for an instruction permit which allows driving while supervised by a parent, stepparent, grandparent, or guardian. Although driver education is not required at this age, applicants for this permit must have completed a 4-hour driver awareness program. At 16, young drivers may apply for a permit that allows driving while supervised by a licensed driver age 21 or older.

6In Connecticut, either driver education or home training is required for license applicants younger than 18. Permit holders may not carry any passengers aside from the person providing instruction, parents, or guardians. Time spent practice driving with a professional instructor counts toward the 40-hour certification requirement. Before an applicant who is less than eighteen years of age may take the driver’s test, parents or guardians must attend two hours of instruction regarding teen driving laws and related issues with such applicant.

7In Delaware, a driver education student does not need a permit to drive with a driver education instructor. After completing the on-road requirements of driver education, a driver education student who is at least age 15 years, 10 months may apply for a Driver Education Learner’s Permit, which allows the student to drive while supervised by an experienced driver. Upon completion of driver education, and if the student passes both the road and written tests, the student receives a Level 1 permit that for the first 6 months allows driving only while supervised. There also is a passenger restriction during the first 6 months of the Level 1 permit. No more than 1 passenger (family members excepted) is permitted in addition to the supervising driver. The Level 1 permit for the second 6 months is the equivalent of an intermediate license. During that period, holders may drive unsupervised between 6 am and 10 pm and may only carry 1 passenger. Applicants for a driver’s license who are younger than 18 must have held a Driver Education Learner’s Permit and/or a Level 1 permit for at least 12 months. Driver education is required for all license applicants younger than 18.

8In the District of Columbia, the learner’s stage is mandatory for all license applicants, regardless of age. A nighttime restriction (9 pm-6 am) applies in the learner stage.

9In Florida, for the first three months, learners permit holders may not drive after sunset and thereafter may not drive after 10 p.m.

10In Idaho, license applicants younger than 17 must have completed driver education. There are 3 classes of learner’s permits–a training instruction permit for persons 14, 6 months taking driver education; a supervised instruction permit for practice driving with a nonprofessional supervisor; and an instruction permit for persons younger than 17 who have completed driver education and supervised driving or for persons 17 and older without either driver education or supervised driving.

11In Illinois, enrollment in driver education is required for permit applicants age 15; without driver education, a permit applicant must be age 17, 3 months.

12In Indiana, driver education determines the minimum age for permits and the intermediate license. People enrolled in or who have completed driver education must be age 15 to have a permit; otherwise, they must be age 16. The minimum age for an intermediate license is 16, 6 months with driver education; age 16, 9 months, without.

13In addition to the certification in the learner stage, Iowa requires a certification of 10 hours of supervised driving, 2 of which must be at night during the intermediate stage.

14In Kansas, drivers age 15 but not yet 16 may be granted a restricted license if they have completed driver training. Restricted license holders younger than 16 may not drive unless supervised other than to and from school or work via the most direct route and may not carry minor passengers other than siblings. To get a restricted license, applicants must have driven at least 25 of the 50 hours required for a full license and must have held an instruction permit for 12 months.

15The Kentucky law prohibits learner’s permit holders from driving between midnight and 6 a.m. or from carrying more than 1 passenger younger than 20 unless supervised by a driving instructor.

16In Louisiana, driver education is required for a permit and an intermediate license if the applicant is younger than 18. People 18 and older must have completed a prelicensing training course including a minimum of 8 hours of behind the wheel instruction.

17In Maine, driver education is required for a permit and a license if the applicant is younger than 18. The learner’s permit holding period and the certification of practice driving applies to license applicants younger than 21. The period of license restrictions may extend beyond the person’s 18th birthday.

18In Massachusetts, the night driving restriction for permit holders younger than 18 is midnight to 5 am, unless they are accompanied by a licensed parent or guardian.

19In Massachusetts, the requirement for supervised driving is 30 hours for applicants who have successfully completed a driver skills development program in a closed, off-road course licensed by the Registrar of Motor Vehicles.

20In Michigan, permit applicants younger than 18 must have completed the first segment of driver education.

21In Minnesota, permit applicants younger than 18 must be enrolled in driver education.

22In Minnesota, the permit holding period also applies to license applicants 18 and older unless they have completed driver education.

23In Mississippi, license applicants 17 and older are exempt from the 12 month learner’s permit holding period.

24In Montana, enrollment in or completion of driver education is required for permit applicants younger than 15.

25In Nebraska, 14 year-olds who live 1.5 miles or more from school and who either live outside or attend school outside a metropolitan area may be issued a learner’s permit (called an “LPE permit”) and a limited license (called a “school permit”). The LPE permit authorizes supervised driving for the purpose of preparing for the school permit, which allows driving to and from school or anyplace while supervised by a parent or guardian.

26New Hampshire does not issue learner’s permits. At age 15, 6 months a person can drive while supervised by a licensed driver 25 or older. License applicants who are younger than 18 must take driver education.

27In New Jersey, the permit becomes an intermediate license after 6 months. The graduated licensing law applies to adults, except that the night driving and passenger restrictions are waived for new drivers 21 and older. If the applicant has not completed driver education, the minimum permit age is 17 and the minimum intermediate license age is 17, 6 months. Learner’s permit holders may not drive between 11 pm and 5 am and may carry only 1 passenger in addition to the supervising driver or any parent, guardian or dependant.

28In New Mexico, permit applicants younger than 18 must be enrolled in driver education.

29In New York, the minimum age for an unrestricted driver’s license is 18 (17 if the applicant has completed driver education). Effective, September 1, 2003, New York enacted a passenger restriction that applies to permit holders and license holders younger than 18 (17 if the applicant has completed driver education).

30In North Carolina, driver education is required for permit applicants younger than 18.

31In North Carolina, learner’s permit holders may not drive between 9 pm and 5 am for the first 6 months.

32In Oklahoma, fifteen year-olds may drive, but only while supervised by an instructor.

33In Oklahoma, learner’s permit holders may only operate a motor vehicle between the hours of 5:00 am and 10:00 pm.

34In Oregon, driver education is required of license applicants younger than 18. However, it is waived for applicants who certify an additional 50 hours of supervised driving.

35In Rhode Island, driver education is required of permit applicants younger than 18.

36In South Dakota, learner’s permit holders may not drive between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless under the supervision of their parent or guardian who is occupying a seat beside them.

37Learner’s permit holders in Tennessee may not drive from 10 pm to 6 am.

38In Texas, people who are 15 years of age or older but less than 18 years of age must satisfactorily complete and pass the classroom phase of an approved driver education course to be issued a permit.

39In Texas, rules regulating supervised driving hours must be adopted by the commissioner of education no later than January 1, 2010 and implemented no later than May 1, 2010.

40In Utah, permit holders younger than 18 may only drive under the supervision of a driving instructor, a parent or guardian, or a responsible adult who accepted liability for the permit holder’s driving by signing the permit application. Permit applicants younger than 19 must be enrolled in driver education.

41In Utah, supervised driving in the learner stage may include up to 5 hours in a driving simulator.

42In Virginia, the night driving restriction and passenger restriction (no more than 1 passenger younger than 18) apply to learner’s permit holders.

43In Washington, permit applicants must be enrolled in driver education; otherwise the minimum permit age is 15, 6 months.

44In West Virginia, learner’s permit holders younger than 18 may not drive 10 pm-5 am and may not carry more than 2 passengers in addition to the supervising driver.

45In Wisconsin, enrollment in driver education is required for permit applicants younger than 18. During the learner’s stage, permit holders may carry 3 passengers if supervised by a driving instructor in a dual-control vehicle. Permit holders 16 and older may carry 1 passenger 25 or older who has been licensed at least 2 years.