HIGHWAY SAFETY RESEARCH & COMMUNICATIONS

Summary table: young driver licensing systems in the U.S.

September 2012

State	Learner stage			Intermediate stage: restrictions on driving while unsupervised			Unrestricted stage: minimum age at which restrictions may be lifted
	Minimum entry age	Mandatory holding period	Minimum amount of supervised driving	Minimum age	Unsupervised driving prohibited	Restriction on passengers (family members excepted unless otherwise noted)	Nighttime restrictions	Passenger restrictions
Alabama	15¹	6 months¹	30 hours¹ (none with driver education)	16	midnight-6 am	no more than 1 passenger	17²	17²
Alaska	14	6 months	40 hours, 10 of which must be at night or in inclement weather	16	1 am-5 am	first 6 months—no passengers	16, 6 months	16, 6 months
Arizona	15, 6 months³	6 months	30 hours, 10 of which must be at night (none with driver education)	16	midnight-5 am secondary enforcement	first 6 months—no more than 1 passenger younger than 18 secondary enforcement	16, 6 months	16, 6 months
Arkansas	14⁴	6 months⁴	none	16⁵	11 pm - 4 am	no more than 1 passenger	18	18
California	15, 6 months⁶	6 months	50 hours, 10 of which must be at night	16⁶	11 pm-5 am secondary enforcement	first 12 months—no passengers younger than 20 (limited exception for immediate family) secondary enforcement	17	17
Colorado	15⁷	12 months	50 hours, 10 of which must be at night	16	midnight-5 am secondary enforcement	first 6 months—no passengers; second 6 months—no more than 1 passenger secondary enforcement	17	17
Connecticut	16⁸	6 months⁸ (4 months with driver education)	40 hours⁸	16, 4 months⁸	11 pm - 5 am	first 6 months—no passengers other than parents or a driving instructor; second 6 months—no passengers other than parents, driving instructor, or members of the immediate family	18	17, 4 months
Delaware	16⁹	6 months⁹	50 hours, 10 of which must be at night⁹	16, 6 months⁹	10 pm-6 am⁹	no more than 1 passenger⁹	17	17
District of Columbia	16¹⁰	6 months	40 hours in learner’s stage; 10 hours at night in intermediate stage	16, 6 months¹¹	September–June: 11 pm-6 am Sun.–Thur., 12:01 am-6 am Sat.–Sun.; July–August: 12:01 am-6 am	first 6 months—no passengers; thereafter, no more than 2 passengers	18	18
Florida	15¹²	12 months	50 hours, 10 of which must be at night	16	11 pm-6 am (age 16); 1 am-5 am (age 17)	none	18	no
Georgia	15	12 months	40 hours, 6 of which must be at night	16¹³	midnight-6 am secondary enforcement	first 6 months—no passengers; second 6 months—no more than 1 passenger younger than 21; thereafter, no more than 3 passengers secondary enforcement	18	18
Hawaii	15, 6 months	6 months	50 hours, 10 of which must be at night	16¹⁴	11 pm-5 am	no more than 1 passenger younger than 18 (household members excepted)	17	17
Idaho	14, 6 months¹⁵	6 months	50 hours, 10 of which must be at night	15¹⁵	sunset to sunrise	first 6 months—licensees 16 and younger can have no more than 1 passenger younger than 17	16	15, 6 months
Illinois	15¹⁶	9 months	50 hours, 10 of which must be at night	16¹⁷	starts 10 pm Sun.-Thur., 11 pm Fri.-Sat., ends 6 am	first 12 months—no more than 1 passenger younger than 20	18	17
Indiana	15¹⁸	6 months	50 hours, 10 of which must be at night	16, 6 months (16, 9 months without driver education)¹⁸	First 180 days, 10 pm - 5 am; thereafter, 11 pm-5 am Sun.–Fri.; 1 am-5 am Sat.–Sun.	first 180 days-no passengers	18	17 (17, 3 months without driver education)
Iowa	14	6 months	20 hours, 2 of which must be at night¹⁹	16²⁰^,¹⁹	12:30 am-5 am	none	17²¹	no
Kansas	14²²	12 months	25 hours, in learner phase; 25 hours before age 16; 10 of the 50 hours must be at night²²	16²²	9 pm-5 am	first 6 months - no more than one passenger younger than 18	16, 6 months	16, 6 months
Kentucky	16²³	6 months²³	60 hours, 10 of which must be at night²³	16, 6 months²⁴	midnight-6 am	no more than 1 passenger younger than 20 unless supervised by a driving instructor secondary enforcement	17	17
Louisiana	15²⁵	6 months	50 hours, 15 of which must be at night	16²⁵	11 pm-5 am	no more than one passenger younger than 21 between the hours of 6 pm-5 am; no passenger restriction from 5 am-6 pm	17	17
Maine	15²⁶	6 months²⁶	35 hours, 5 of which must be at night²⁶	16²⁶	midnight-5 am²⁶	first 9 months—no passengers²⁶ (effective 01/01/13)	16, 9 months (effective 01/01/13)	16, 9 months (effective 01/01/13)
Maryland	15, 9 months	9 months	60 hours, 10 of which must be at night	16, 6 months	midnight-5 am²⁷	first 5 months—no passengers younger than 18 secondary enforcement	18	16, 11 months
Massachusetts	16²⁸	6 months²⁸	40 hours²⁹	16, 6 months³⁰	12:30 am-5 am (between 12:30 am-1 am and 4 am-5 am the night driving and passenger restrictions are secondarily enforced; enforcement is primary at all other times)	first 6 months—no passengers younger than 18 (between 12:30 am–1 am and 4 am–5 am the night driving and passenger restrictions are secondarily enforced; enforcement is primary at all other times)	18	17
Michigan	14, 9 months³¹	6 months	50 hours, 10 of which must be at night	16³²	10 pm-5 am	no more than 1 passenger younger than 21	17	17
Minnesota	15³³	6 months³⁴	30 hours, 10 of which must be at night	16³⁵	midnight-5 am	first 6 months—no more than 1 passenger younger than 20; second 6 months—no more than 3 passengers younger than 20	16, 6 months	17
Mississippi	15	12 months³⁶	none	16³⁷	10pm-6am Sun.-Thur., 11:30pm-6am Fri.-Sat.	none	16, 6 months	no
Missouri	15	6 months	40 hours, 10 of which must be at night	16	1 am-5 am	first 6 months—no more than 1 passenger younger than 19; thereafter, no more than 3 passengers younger than 19	17, 11 months	17, 11 months
Montana	14, 6 months³⁸	6 months	50 hours, 10 of which must be at night	15³⁹	11 pm-5 am	first 6 months—no more than 1 passenger younger than 18; second 6 months—no more than 3 passengers younger than 18	16	16
Nebraska	15⁴⁰	6 months	50 hours, 10 of which must be at night (none with driver education)	16	midnight-6 am secondary enforcement	first 6 months—no more than 1 passenger younger than 19 secondary enforcement	17	16, 6 months
Nevada	15, 6 months	6 months	50 hours, 10 of which must be at night	16⁴¹	10 pm-5 am secondary enforcement	first 6 months—no passengers younger than 18 secondary enforcement	18	16, 6 months
New Hampshire	15, 6 months⁴²	none	40 hours, 10 of which must be at night	16	1 am-4 am	first 6 months—no more than 1 passenger younger than 25	18	16, 6 months
New Jersey	16⁴³	6 months⁴³	none	17⁴³	11 - 5 am	no more than 1 passenger (exception is limited to drivers' dependents)	18	18
New Mexico	15⁴⁴	6 months	50 hours, 10 of which must be at night	15, 6 months⁴⁵	midnight-5 am	no more than 1 passenger younger than 21	16, 6 months	16, 6 months
New York	16⁴⁶	6 months	50 hours, 15 of which must be at night	16, 6 months⁴⁶	prohibited at all times in NYC (5 Boroughs); all times in Nassau and Suffolk Counties except for limited (5 am-9 pm) travel to work, school and driver’s education, proof required; otherwise 9 pm-5 am	no more than 1 passenger younger than 21⁴⁶	17 (18 without driver education)⁴⁶	17 (18 without driver education)⁴⁶
North Carolina	15⁴⁷^,⁴⁸	12 months⁴⁸	60 hours, 10 of which must be at night, learner phase; 12 hours, 6 of which must be at night, intermediate phase	16⁴⁹^,⁵⁰	9 pm-5 am	no more than 1 passenger younger than 21; if a family member younger than 21 is already a passenger then no other passengers younger than 21 who are not family members	16, 6 months	16, 6 months
North Dakota	14	<16: 12 months; 16: 6 months or until age 18, whichever comes first	<16: 50 hours; ≥ 16: none	16; 15 for a parent requested restricted license	The holder of a restricted license may only drive a car belonging to a parent or guardian and may not drive between the later of sunset or 9pm and 5am	none	16	none
Ohio	15, 6 months	6 months	50 hours, 10 of which must be at night	16⁵¹	midnight-6 am (age 16), 1 am-5 am (age 17) secondary enforcement	no more than 1 passenger unless supervised	18	17
Oklahoma	15, 6 months⁵²	6 months	50 hours, 10 of which must be at night⁵³	16	10 pm-5 am	no more than 1 passenger⁵⁴	16, 6 months (17 without driver education)	16, 6 months (17 without driver education)
Oregon	15	6 months	50 hours⁵⁵(100 hours without driver education)	16⁵⁵	midnight-5 am	first 6 months–no passengers younger than 20; second 6 months–no more than 3 passengers younger than 20	17	17
Pennsylvania	16	6 months	65 hours, 10 of which must be at night and 5 of which must be in inclement weather	16, 6 months	11 pm-5 am	first 6 months— no more than 1 passenger younger than 18; thereafter, no more than 3 passengers	17	17
Rhode Island	16⁵⁶	6 months	50 hours, 10 of which must be at night	16, 6 months⁵⁷	1 am-5 am	first 12 months–no more than 1 passenger younger than 21	17, 6 months	17, 6 months
South Carolina	15	6 months	40 hours, 10 of which must be at night	15, 6 months	6 pm-6 am EST; 8 pm-6 am EDT	no more than 2 passengers younger than 21 unless transporting students to and from school	16, 6 months	16, 6 months
South Dakota	14⁵⁸	6 months (3 months with driver education)	none⁵⁸	14, 6 months (14, 3 months with driver education)	10 pm-6 am	none	16	no
Tennessee	15⁵⁹	6 months	50 hours, 10 of which must be at night⁵⁹	16	11 pm-6 am	no more than 1 passenger	17	17
Texas	15⁶⁰	6 months	20 hours, 10 of which must be at night⁶¹	16⁶²	midnight-5 am secondary enforcement	no more than 1 passenger younger than 21 secondary enforcement	17	17
Utah	15⁶³	6 months	40 hours, 10 of which must be at night⁶³^,⁶⁴	16⁶⁵	midnight-5 am	first 6 months—no passengers⁶⁶ secondary enforcement	17	16, 6 months⁶⁶
Vermont	15	12 months	40 hours, 10 of which must be at night	16⁶⁷	none	first 3 months-no passengers without exception; second 3 months-no passengers except family members	no	16, 6 months
Virginia	15, 6 months⁶⁸	9 months⁶⁸	45 hours, 15 of which must be at night	16, 3 months⁶⁹	midnight-4 am⁶⁸ secondary enforcement	first 12 months—no more than 1 passenger younger than 18; thereafter, no more than 3 passengers younger than 18⁶⁸ secondary enforcement	18	18
Washington	15⁷⁰	6 months	50 hours, 10 of which must be at night	16⁷¹	1 am-5 am secondary enforcement	first 6 months—no passengers younger than 20; second 6 months—no more than 3 passengers younger than 20 secondary enforcement	17⁷²	17⁷²
West Virginia	15⁷³	6 months⁷³	50 hours, 10 of which must be at night (none with driver education)	16	10 pm-5 am	first 6 months—no passengers younger than 20; second 6 months–no more than 1 passenger younger than 20	17	17
Wisconsin	15, 6 months⁷⁴	6 months⁷⁴	30 hours, 10 of which must be at night⁷⁴	16⁷⁵	midnight-5 am	no more than 1 passenger	16, 9 months	16, 9 months
Wyoming	15	10 days	50 hours, 10 of which must be at night	16⁷⁶	11 pm-5 am	no more than 1 passenger younger than 18	16, 6 months⁷⁶	16, 6 months⁷⁶

NOTE: Passenger restrictions vary with regard to their durations, the ages of passengers to whom they apply, and the availability of exceptions. Most states have exceptions for passengers who are related to the driver or are members of the driver's household, and there are exceptions when a supervising driver is in the vehicle.

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 Alabama, restrictions end after holding the intermediate license for at least 6 months and reaching age 17.

³In Arizona, a driver education instructor can authorize an enrolled student who is age 15 to drive only while supervised by the authorizing instructor.

⁴In 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.

⁵In Arkansas, applicants for an intermediate license must be 16 and must be crash/violation free for 6 months. Licensees younger than 18 are prohibited from from transporting passengers who are unrestrained.

⁶In 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.

⁷In 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.

⁸In 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.

⁹In 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.

¹⁰In 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.

¹¹In the District of Columbia, license applicants younger than 21 must go through the intermediate stage until they have completed it or until age 21.

¹²In Florida, for the first three months, learners permit holders may not drive after sunset and thereafter may not drive after 10 p.m.

¹³In Georgia, license applicants younger than 17 must have completed driver education.

¹⁴In Hawaii, license applicants younger than 18 must have completed driver education.

¹⁵In 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.

¹⁶In Illinois, enrollment in driver education is required for permit applicants age 15; without driver education, a permit applicant must be age 17, 3 months.

¹⁷In Illinois, license applicants 18 and older are not required to have driver education or to go through an intermediate license stage.

¹⁸In 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.

¹⁹In 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.

²⁰In Iowa, driver education is required for an intermediate license and for an unrestricted license if applicant is younger than 18.

²¹In Iowa, restrictions end after holding an intermediate license for at least 1 year and reaching age 17.

²²In 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.

²³The 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.

²⁴In Kentucky, license holders younger than 18 must complete a driver education course or a state-sponsored traffic school.

²⁵In 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.

²⁶In 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.

²⁷In Maryland, the nighttime driving restriction only applies to intermediate license holders younger than 18.

²⁸In 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.

²⁹In 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.

³⁰In Massachusetts driver education is required of license applicants younger than 18.

³¹In Michigan, permit applicants younger than 18 must have completed the first segment of driver education.

³²In Michigan, license applicants younger than 18 must have completed the second segment of driver education. Neither driver education nor an intermediate license is required for license applicants 18 and older.

³³In Minnesota, permit applicants younger than 18 must be enrolled in driver education.

³⁴In Minnesota, the permit holding period also applies to license applicants 18 and older unless they have completed driver education.

³⁵In Minnesota, license applicants younger than 18 must have completed driver education. Provisional license holders must be crash free to qualify for a full license.

³⁶In Mississippi, license applicants 17 and older are exempt from the 12 month learner’s permit holding period.

³⁷In Mississippi, license applicants 17 and older are exempt from the requirement to get an intermediate license.

³⁸In Montana, enrollment in or completion of driver education is required for permit applicants younger than 15.

³⁹In Montana, license applicants younger than 16 must have completed driver education.

⁴⁰In 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.

⁴¹In Nevada, driver education is required of all licensed applicants younger than 18 unless there is no driver education program offered within a 30-mile radius of the applicant's residence.

⁴²New 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.

⁴³In 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.

⁴⁴In New Mexico, permit applicants younger than 18 must be enrolled in driver education.

⁴⁵In New Mexico, license applicants younger than 18 must have completed driver education.

⁴⁶In 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).

⁴⁷In North Carolina, driver education is required for permit applicants younger than 18.

⁴⁸In North Carolina, learner’s permit holders may not drive between 9 pm and 5 am for the first 6 months.

⁴⁹In North Carolina, driver education is required for license applicants younger than 18.

⁵⁰In North Carolina, a person who is at least 16 years old but less than 18 years old must complete a minimum of twelve additional hours (six of which must be at night) of supervised driving to obtain a full provisional license.

⁵¹In Ohio, driver education is required of license applicants younger than 18.

⁵²In Oklahoma, fifteen year-olds may drive, but only while supervised by an instructor.

⁵³In Oklahoma, learner's permit holders may only operate a motor vehicle between the hours of 5:00 am and 10:00 pm.

⁵⁴In Oklahoma, a person who has been issued an intermediate Class D license shall not operate a motor vehicle with more than one passenger unless all passengers live in the same household as the custodial legal parent or legal guardian or a licensed driver at least twenty-one years of age is actually occupying a seat beside the intermediate Class D licensee.

⁵⁵In 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.

⁵⁶In Rhode Island, driver education is required of permit applicants younger than 18.

⁵⁷In Rhode Island, driver education is required of license applicants younger than 18.

⁵⁸In 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.

⁵⁹Learner’s permit holders in Tennessee may not drive from 10 pm to 6 am.

⁶⁰In 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.

⁶¹In 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.

⁶²In Texas, the minimum license age is 18 for applicants who have not completed driver education.

⁶³In 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.

⁶⁴In Utah, supervised driving in the learner stage may include up to 5 hours in a driving simulator.

⁶⁵In Utah license applicants who are younger than 19 must have completed driver education.

⁶⁶In Utah, passenger restrictions end when a driver has been licensed for 6 months or when the driver turns 18, whichever occurs first.

⁶⁷In Vermont, driver education is required for license applicants younger than 18.

⁶⁸In Virginia, the night driving restriction and passenger restriction (no more than 1 passenger younger than 18) apply to learner's permit holders.

⁶⁹In Virginia, driver education is required for license applicants younger than 19 (18 if applicant holds a valid license from another state). Virginia is introducing a 90-minute segment for parents of driver education students in Northern Virginia and nearby counties.

⁷⁰In Washington, permit applicants must be enrolled in driver education; otherwise the minimum permit age is 15, 6 months.

⁷¹In Washington, driver education is required for license applicants younger than 18.

⁷²In Washington, intermediate license holders with a crash or violation history are ineligible for an unrestricted license until age 18.

⁷³In 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.

⁷⁴In 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.

⁷⁵In Wisconsin driver education is required for license applicants younger than 18.

⁷⁶In Wyoming, all applicants for an unrestricted license who are younger than 17 must have completed driver education and must have held an intermediate license for at least 6 months.