How the stages work
Every state issues licenses in stages. You begin with a learner's permit, earned by passing a vision screening and a written test on signs and traffic law drawn from the state driver's handbook. The permit lets you drive only with a licensed adult in the front seat. Drivers under eighteen must then log supervised practice, commonly forty to fifty hours with about ten at night, and hold the permit for six months to a year. After the road test, a teenager receives a provisional license that limits late-night driving and the number of young passengers for the first months. Adults usually skip the logged hours and the restrictions but still take the written and road tests. Your state's motor vehicle agency publishes the exact ages, hours and fees.
Documents to bring
Offices turn away more people for paperwork than for anything else. Expect to show proof of identity such as a certified birth certificate or a passport, your Social Security number, and two proofs of your address such as a bank statement and a lease. Bring originals, not photocopies. Those same documents qualify you for a REAL ID, the star-marked license now required to board a domestic flight without a passport, so get it on the first visit.
Passing the road test
The car you bring must be registered, insured and in working order, and the examiner will check the brake lights, the turn signals and the horn before you leave the lot. These are the errors that fail people.
- A rolling stop counts as running the stop sign, so come to a full halt behind the line.
- Changing lanes or pulling out without turning your head to check the blind spot loses points every time.
- Driving over the limit fails you, and crawling ten under it is marked as well.
- Striking the curb hard while parking, or any moment when the examiner has to intervene, ends the test.
After you pass
You will leave with a paper temporary license, and the card arrives by mail in two to four weeks. Call your insurer the same day, since a newly licensed driver in the household must be added to the policy. When you move to another state, you are expected to exchange your license, usually within thirty to ninety days.
Tip Practice on the streets around the test site during the week before. Examiners use a handful of set routes, and knowing where the odd stop sign and the school zone sit removes most of the surprise.
