Licensing
Learner's permit rules by state: who rides with you, night driving, passengers and phones
12 min readFact-checked against official state and federal sources
Reviewed by Chad HenryAfter 25 years of teaching driver education
Every state here uses graduated driver licensing (GDL): you earn driving privileges in steps. On a learner's permit you drive only with a supervising adult. After the road test comes an intermediate, provisional or junior license that still limits late-night driving, young passengers and phone use. Those limits end after a set time or at a set age.
The details vary. South Dakota starts at 14 with an instruction permit, then a restricted minor's permit, then an operator's license at 16. Kentucky permit holders aged 15 to 20 keep the permit at least 180 days before the road test. Maine issues every first license under 21 as a two-year provisional license. New Jersey makes GDL drivers show red decals on both plates and fines any GDL violation $100.
The tables pull the clearest rules from each state's official driver manual or statute. Two notes:
- Rules change. Several facts below rest on laws passed between 2021 and 2025 (Mississippi's curfew, Michigan's, Illinois's and Colorado's phone laws). Each fact was checked against the linked source, and your state page shows the date it was last verified. If the manual the DMV gave you differs, trust the manual.
- A missing state is not a missing rule. It means we have not verified that rule for that state yet. The state page and its study sheet list what we have.
Who rides with you on a permit
A permit means a licensed adult in the car, usually in the front seat and usually 21 or older.
| State | Who must be in the car | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | Licensed driver 21+; all passengers belted | Manual p.3 |
| Idaho | Licensed 21+ beside you; nobody else in front | Manual p.19 |
| Louisiana | Licensed parent, adult 21+, or sibling 18+ | Statute |
| Michigan | Level 1: licensed parent, guardian, or designated adult 21+ | Manual p.18 |
| New York | Junior permit: only the supervisor may sit in front | Manual p.14 |
| South Carolina | Licensed 21+ with a year's experience in front; 6 a.m. to midnight | Manual p.8 |
| South Dakota | Instruction permit (from age 14): always under adult supervision | Manual p.8 |
Logged practice hours
Some states will not schedule the road test until a parent certifies supervised hours, some of them after dark.
| State | Logged practice before the next stage | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Idaho | 50 hours over 6+ months, 10 in darkness | Manual p.19 |
| Kentucky | 60 hours, 10 at night, in a parent-signed log; permit held 180 days | Manual p.5 |
| Vermont | 40 hours, 10 at night | Manual p.15 |
Night-driving limits and their exceptions
Most states lift the night rule for work and school, or when a parent or qualifying adult rides along. Hours and ages vary.
| State | Hours off-limits without a supervisor; exceptions | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | 1-5 a.m.; parent, guardian or 21+ aboard, or direct trip to work | Manual p.6 |
| Connecticut | 11 p.m.-5 a.m.; work, school, religious, medical, Safe Ride | Manual p.10 |
| Hawaii | 11 p.m.-5 a.m.; licensed parent aboard, work or school activity | Manual p.14 |
| Idaho | Under 16: daylight only (5 a.m.-10 p.m.) unless a 21+ sits in front | Manual p.16 |
| Illinois | 10 p.m. Sun-Thu, 11 p.m. Fri-Sat, until 6 a.m. | Manual |
| Iowa | 12:30-5 a.m. | Statute |
| Louisiana | Under 17: 11 p.m.-5 a.m.; qualified adult or sibling aboard | Manual p.7 |
| Maryland | Midnight-5 a.m.; job, volunteering, school and athletic events | Manual p.47 |
| Massachusetts | Permit under 18: midnight-5 a.m.; parent licensed a year aboard | Manual p.25 |
| Minnesota | First 6 months: midnight-5 a.m., limited exceptions | Manual p.17 |
| Mississippi | First 6 months under 18: free 6 a.m.-10 p.m. Sun-Thu, to 11:30 p.m. Fri-Sat; else parent or 21+ beside you, or direct trips to work or school | Statute |
| Montana | First year: 11 p.m.-5 a.m., limited exceptions | Manual p.18 |
| Nebraska | Midnight-6 a.m.; home to work or school, or parent or 21+ aboard | Manual p.4 |
| New Hampshire | Under 18: 1-4 a.m. | Statute |
| New Jersey | 11:01 p.m.-5 a.m. | Manual p.18 |
| New Mexico | Midnight-5 a.m. | Manual p.1 |
| Oklahoma | 10 p.m.-5 a.m.; school, church, work, or licensed 21+ in front | Agency page |
| Oregon | Midnight-5 a.m., listed exceptions | Statute |
| Rhode Island | 1-5 a.m.; supervisor in front, work, or volunteer fire, rescue, EMS | Manual p.14.pdf) |
| South Dakota | Restricted minor's permit: 10 p.m.-6 a.m. needs a parent beside you; direct trips to school, church, work, farm | Manual p.8 |
| Tennessee | 11 p.m.-6 a.m.; parent, or a 21+ named in writing | Manual p.33 |
| Washington | 1-5 a.m.; parent, guardian or licensed 25+ aboard | Manual p.28 |
| West Virginia | Level 2: 10 p.m.-5 a.m. | Manual p.20 |
| Wyoming | Intermediate: 5 a.m.-11 p.m. only; waived with a fully licensed 18+ in front | Agency page |
Passenger limits
Usually one non-family passenger under a set age (18, 20 or 21), loosening after six to twelve months. Siblings are often exempt.
| State | Limit in the intermediate stage | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Stage II: one non-family passenger | Manual p.84 |
| Alaska | No passengers under 21 unless a parent, guardian or 21+ rides; siblings allowed | Manual p.6 |
| Arizona | First 6 months: one under 18; siblings exempt, or parent beside you | Manual p.12 |
| Arkansas | One unrelated minor unless a licensed 21+ is in front | Manual p.4 |
| Colorado | First 6 months: none under 21 without an adult; then one | Manual p.5 |
| Connecticut | First 6 months: instructor, parents, or one adult 20+ licensed 4 years; months 7-12 add immediate family | Manual p.10 |
| Illinois | First 12 months: one under 20; siblings and own children exempt | Manual |
| Iowa | First 6 months unsupervised: one unrelated minor | Statute |
| Kentucky | Under 18: one unrelated passenger under 20 | Manual p.6 |
| Maryland | First 151 days: none under 18 without a supervisor | Manual p.47 |
| Minnesota | First 6 months: one under 20 unless a parent rides | Manual p.18 |
| Montana | One unrelated under 18 for 6 months, then three | Manual p.18 |
| Nebraska | First 6 months: one non-family under 19 | Manual p.4 |
| Nevada | First 6 months: none under 18 except immediate family | Manual p.14 |
| New Hampshire | First 6 months: one non-family under 25 unless a 25+ rides | Statute |
| New Jersey | Dependents plus one, unless a parent rides | Manual p.18 |
| New Mexico | One non-family under 21 | Manual p.1 |
| New York | Junior license: one non-family under 21 | Manual p.16 |
| North Carolina | Level 2: one non-household under 21; a second only if a student going to school | Manual p.13 |
| Oklahoma | One passenger, or household only, or anyone with a 21+ in front | Agency page |
| Oregon | First 6 months: none under 20 except immediate family | Statute |
| Pennsylvania | First 6 months: one non-family under 18; then three | Manual p.4 |
| Rhode Island | First 12 months: one under 21; family and household exempt | Manual p.14.pdf) |
| South Carolina | Two under 21 unless a 21+ rides; family, school trips exempt | Manual p.11 |
| Tennessee | One passenger; a 21+ licensee or siblings going to school exempt | Manual p.33 |
| Utah | First 6 months: immediate family only, unless a 21+ sits in front | Manual p.18 |
| Vermont | First 3 months: alone, unless a parent, instructor or 25+ is in front | Manual p.16 |
| Washington | First 6 months: under-20s only if family; then three non-family under 20 | Manual p.28 |
| West Virginia | Level 2: no non-family under 20 for 6 months, then one | Manual p.21 |
| Wisconsin | First 9 months under 18: one besides family and a qualified adult | Manual p.10 |
| Wyoming | One non-family under 18; all belted | Manual p.14 |
Phone rules for permit holders
Even states that let adults talk hands-free mostly forbid new drivers any phone use except calling 911.
| State | Rule for permit and intermediate drivers | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Stage II: no handheld device | Manual p.84 |
| Arkansas | Intermediate: emergencies only | Manual p.3 |
| Colorado | Under 18: none, except to report an emergency | Agency page |
| Connecticut | Permit and ages 16-17: none, even hands-free | Manual p.10 |
| Delaware | GDL: none, even hands-free | Manual p.81 |
| Illinois | Hands-free only from age 19 | Manual |
| Indiana | Probationary under 21: none except 911 | Manual p.50 |
| Maine | Under 18: no phone or handheld device | Manual p.9 |
| Maryland | Permit or provisional under 18: none, even hands-free, except 911 | Manual p.47 |
| Massachusetts | Under 18: none, except to report an emergency | Manual p.1 |
| Michigan | Kelsey's Law, Levels 1-2: emergencies only | Manual p.19 |
| Minnesota | Permit or provisional under 18: none, even hands-free, except 911 | Manual p.82 |
| New Hampshire | Under 18: none; adults hands-free | Statute |
| New Jersey | GDL: no handheld or hands-free device | Manual p.18 |
| New York | Phone or texting conviction: 120-day junior suspension | Manual |
| North Carolina | Under 18: no cell phone | Manual p.41 |
| North Dakota | Ages 16-17: none while moving; emergencies excepted | Statute |
| Ohio | Under 18: none, even hands-free; emergencies and voice navigation excepted | Statute |
| Oregon | Under 18: none at all | Manual p.80 |
| Rhode Island | Under 18: none, even hands-free, except emergencies | Statute |
| Washington | Permit and intermediate: none, even hands-free, except emergencies | Manual p.70 |
| West Virginia | Level 1: no phone use or texting | Manual p.21 |
Holding a phone is also banned for every driver in Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia; hands-free use stays legal for adults there.
Under-21 alcohol limits
Every state in our data sets a lower alcohol line under 21 than the adult 0.08. Penalties appear where the manual gives them.
| State | Under-21 rule and the penalty the manual gives | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | Any drinking: mandatory revocation | Manual p.16 |
| Delaware | 0.02 BAC: revocation 2 months, then 6-12 months | Manual p.50 |
| Illinois | Any trace: 3-month suspension minimum | Manual p.52 |
| Maine | Any measurable alcohol: one year, plus 180 days with a passenger under 21 | Manual p.36 |
| Massachusetts | 0.02 BAC: 180 days at 18-20, one year under 18 | Manual p.76 |
| Michigan | Any bodily alcohol content (0.02 or any drinking) | Manual p.27 |
| New York | 0.02-0.07 BAC: six-month suspension | Manual p.58 |
| Oklahoma | Any measurable alcohol: 6-month revocation, 12 months second time | Manual p.66 |
| Pennsylvania | 0.02 BAC is DUI: one-year suspension, $500-$5,000 fine | Manual p.82 |
| Rhode Island | 0.02 to under 0.08: Driving While Impaired charge | Manual p.58.pdf) |
| Utah | Not-a-Drop: any measurable alcohol, six months without driving | Manual p.62 |
| Wisconsin | Absolute Sobriety: 0.00 | Manual p.53 |
Four more states write the rule as any alcohol at all: Arizona, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon. The rest draw the under-21 line at a BAC of 0.02: Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, Wyoming.
Before your test
Know your state's curfew hours, passenger age cut-off and phone exception, then try our hardest permit test questions and road signs guide.
Sources
- Alabama driver manual
- Alaska driver manual
- Arizona driver manual
- Arkansas driver manual
- Colorado agency page
- Colorado driver manual
- Connecticut driver manual
- Delaware driver manual
- Georgia driver manual
- Hawaii driver manual
- Idaho driver manual
- Idaho statute (1)
- Idaho statute (2)
- Illinois driver manual
- Indiana driver manual
- Indiana statute
- Iowa driver manual
- Iowa statute
- Kentucky driver manual
- Louisiana driver manual
- Louisiana statute
- Maine driver manual
- Maryland driver manual
- Maryland statute
- Massachusetts driver manual
- Michigan driver manual
- Minnesota driver manual
- Mississippi statute
- Montana driver manual
- Nebraska driver manual
- Nevada driver manual
- New Hampshire statute (1)
- New Hampshire statute (2)
- New Hampshire statute (3)
- New Jersey driver manual
- New Mexico driver manual
- New York driver manual
- North Carolina driver manual
- North Dakota driver manual
- North Dakota statute
- Ohio statute (1)
- Ohio statute (2)
- Oklahoma agency page
- Oklahoma driver manual
- Oregon driver manual
- Oregon statute
- Pennsylvania driver manual
- Rhode Island driver manual.pdf)
- Rhode Island statute
- South Carolina driver manual
- South Dakota driver manual
- Tennessee driver manual
- Utah driver manual
- Vermont driver manual
- Vermont statute
- Virginia driver manual
- Washington driver manual
- West Virginia driver manual
- West Virginia statute
- Wisconsin driver manual
- Wyoming agency page
- Wyoming driver manual