Summary of all US graduated driver licensing laws:

Learner stage

January 2009

Drivers in this stage may do so only while supervised.

OPTIMAL PROVISIONS FOR LEARNER STAGE
Minimum entry age: 16
Mandatory holding period: 6 months
Minimum amount of supervised driving: 30-50 hours

State Overall rating (all 3 stages) Minimum entry age Mandatory holding period Minimum amount of supervised driving
Alabama Fair 151 6 months1 30 hours1 (none with driver education)
Alaska Good 14 6 months 40 hours, 10 of which must be at night or in inclement weather
Arizona Fair 15, 6 months2 6 months 30 hours, 10 of which must be at night (none with driver education)
Arkansas Marginal 143 6 months3 none
California Good 15, 6 months4 6 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Colorado Good 155 12 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Connecticut Good 166 6 months6 (4 months with driver education) 40 hours6
Delaware Good 167 6 months7 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night7
District of Columbia Good 168 6 months 40 hours in learner’s stage; 10 hours at night in intermediate stage
Florida Fair 159 12 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Georgia Good 15 12 months 40 hours, 6 of which must be at night
Hawaii Good 15, 6 months 6 months none
Idaho Marginal 14, 6 months10 6 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Illinois Good 1511 9 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Indiana Fair 1512 2 months none
Iowa Fair 14 6 months 20 hours, 2 of which must be at night13
Kansas Marginal 1414 6 months14 25 hours, in learner phase; 25 hours before age 16; 10 of the 50 hours must be at night14
Kentucky Good 1615 6 months15 60 hours, 10 of which must be at night15
Louisiana Fair 1516 6 months 35 hours
Maine Good 1517 6 months17 35 hours, 5 of which must be at night17
Maryland Good 15, 9 months 6 months 60 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Massachusetts Good 1618 6 months18 40 hours19
Michigan Fair 14, 9 months20 6 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Minnesota Good 1521 6 months22 30 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Mississippi Marginal 15 6 months23 none
Missouri Good 15 6 months 40 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Montana Marginal 14, 6 months24 6 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Nebraska Good 1525 6 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night (none with driver education)
Nevada Good 15, 6 months 6 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
New Hampshire Fair 15, 6 months26 none 20 hours
New Jersey Good 1627 6 months27 none
New Mexico Marginal 1528 6 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
New York Good 1629 up to 6 months29 20 hours
North Carolina Good 1530,31 12 months31 none31
North Dakota Marginal 14 6 months none
Ohio Good 15, 6 months 6 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Oklahoma Good 15, 6 months32 6 months 40 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Oregon Good 15 6 months 50 hours33(100 hours without driver education)
Pennsylvania Good 16 6 months 50 hours
Rhode Island Good 1634 6 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
South Carolina Marginal 15 6 months 40 hours, 10 of which must be at night
South Dakota Marginal 1435 6 months (3 months with driver education) none35
Tennessee Good 1536 6 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night36
Texas Fair 1537 6 months none
Utah Good 1538 6 months 40 hours, 10 of which must be at night38,39
Vermont Fair 15 1 year 40 hours, 10 of which must be at night
Virginia Good 15, 6 months40 9 months40 45 hours, 15 of which must be at night
Washington Good 1541 6 months 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night
West Virginia Fair 1542 6 months42 30 hours (none with driver education)42
Wisconsin Good 15, 6 months43 6 months43 30 hours, 10 of which must be at night43
Wyoming Fair 15 10 days 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night

1The supervising driver in Alabama must be a parent, guardian, or driving instructor. At age 16, permit holders may drive while supervised by any licensed driver.

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

3People age 14 can drive with an instruction permit after passing a written test; after 30 days and after passing a road test, they are eligible for a restricted license. Unsupervised driving is not permitted by holders of either the instruction permit or restricted license. The combined holding period for the permit and restricted license is 6 months.

4Students enrolled in driver education in California 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.

5The 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.

7A 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.

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

9For 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.

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

12Driver education determines the minimum age for permits and the intermediate license in Indiana. 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, 1 month with driver education; age 16, 6 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, restricted license holders 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 6 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.

16Driver education is required in Louisiana for a permit and an intermediate license if the applicant is younger than 17. People 17 and older must have completed an educational program that does not require a behind-the-wheel component.

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.

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

19The 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.

20Permit applicants younger than 18 in Michigan must have completed the first segment of driver education.

21Permit applicants younger than 18 must be enrolled in driver education.

22The permit holding period also applies to license applicants 18 and older unless they have completed driver education.

23License applicants 17 and older are exempt from the 6-month learner’s permit holding period.

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

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.

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 not carry more than 1 passenger in addition to the supervising driver.

28Permit applicants younger than 18 must be enrolled in driver education.

29Currently, New York law does not have a minimum holding period for the learner's permit. The minimum age for an unrestricted driver's license is 18 (17 if the applicant has completed driver education). The exception is New York City where driving is prohibited unless the driver is 18 or older. 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). The law also created a new class of license, the limited DJ license. Permit holders who pass a road test and certify 20 or more hours of practice driving may be given a limited DJ license which allows unsupervised driving to and from school, school activities, work, medical appointments, and day care for family members. The night driving and passenger restrictions apply to this license. Permit holders may apply for the limited DJ license at any time. There is, however, a six month holding period for the regular DJ license which allows unsupervised driving anywhere but retains the night driving and passenger restrictions. For the purpose of determining if the six month holding period has passed, both the time spent in the learner’s permit phase and the time a person spends in the limited DJ phase is counted.

30Driver education is required for permit applicants younger than 18.

31Learner’s permit holders may not drive between 9 pm and 5 am for the first 6 months.

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

33Driver education is required of license applicants younger than 18