Checklist to Get Your Permit
Print this page and take it with you to the DMV.
Before you go
You must be at least 15½ and under 18 to apply for a provisional instruction permit. Book an appointment at your DMV office before you set out—walking in without one can cost you most of a day. Then work down this list at home, so nothing sends you back for a second visit.
Take this with you
- Prepare a completed license application signed by you and your parent(s)/guardian(s) — start the online application, or pick up the paper form DL 44 at a DMV office
- Present proof of completion of driver education — see which certificates count, below
- Present proof of identity and residency — the documents differ for a REAL ID, a Federal Noncompliant ID, and if you are unable to demonstrate proof of legal presence
- Pay the licensing fee (This fee entitles you to three exams within a 12-month period and pays for both the instruction permit and the driver license. If all requirements are not met within a 12-month period, the application becomes void and all steps must be completed again.)
- Pass a vision exam
- Take a photo
- Pass the DMV’s written exam (by correctly answering at least 38 of the 46 questions; if you fail an exam, you must wait seven days before taking it again)
Which certificate counts as proof of driver education?
To sit the written exam you must hand over one of these. Our course produces the first one, and we mail the original the business day after you finish.
- a Certificate of Completion of Driver Education; or
- a Certificate of Completion of Driver Education and Driver Training; or
- a Certificate of Enrollment in an Integrated Driver Education and Driver Training Program
Take the original certificate with you. If your appointment is close, expedited shipping is available—ask us before you book.
Haven’t completed driver education yet?
It’s the first thing on the list. Complete course $24.95, including one free practice test.
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