Licensing & State Laws

When you turn 16, you may apply for a learner’s permit. You and a parent or guardian need to visit your local driver exam office and bring a certified copy of your birth certificate or a valid U.S. passport. A secondary form of identification is also required. Additional document requirements and fee information can be found on the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles website. Once you pass the written driver’s knowledge test and a vision test, you’ll be given your learner’s permit.

A learner’s permit lets you drive only with a licensed driving instructor giving instruction OR your parents or a legal guardian, at least one of whom must hold a valid driver’s license OR one person who is providing instruction and is at least 20 years old, has held a driver’s license for four or more consecutive years and whose license has not been suspended during the four years prior to training. You must practice driving for at least 40 hours with a parent or a legal guardian and take at least 22 hours of classroom training plus an 8-hour safe driving practices class from a licensed Connecticut driving school or secondary school before you’re allowed to get a license. Your parents or legal guardians must also complete a two-hour class on teen driving laws.

If you are 16 or 17 and have completed driver education through a commercial or secondary school you must wait 120 days after getting the learner’s permit before applying for a full license. If you were trained at home, you must wait 180 days. To apply, you must take a second written test and a road test. At the time of the road test, you must present a Connecticut learner’s permit and a valid registration and insurance card for the vehicle in which you will take the road test.

 

When you have your license, you are allowed to drive but must follow certain restrictions during the first six months. You may not drive between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. (Some exceptions are granted.) You are also prohibited from driving with any passengers EXCEPT for a licensed driving instructor, your parents or legal guardian, at least one of whom holds a valid driver’s license, or a supervising driver who is at least 20 years old, has held a driver’s license for four or more consecutive years and whose license has not been suspended during the previous four years.

 

During the second six months, the only additional passengers allowed in the vehicle are members of your immediate family

 

If you are 16 or 17 years old, you may NOT transport more passengers than the number of seatbelts in the vehicle, operate any vehicle that requires a public passenger transportation permit or a vanpool vehicle, use a cell phone, even if it’s hands-free or a mobile electronic device while driving; or transport any passenger on a motorcycle for six months after the issuance of a motorcycle endorsement. You and all passengers are required to wear safety belts.