Graduated license — Idaho Permit Test

Anyone under 17 who has not held an Idaho license must complete an approved driver training program and meet the requirements of the Graduated Driver's License program.

The program is a staircase. Skipping a step is not a shortcut to the license, it is a reason to be refused one.

Anyone under 17 years of age who has not been issued a driver’s license in Idaho must successfully complete an approved driver’s training program and comply with the requirements of the GDL program.

The GDL supervised instruction period is a minimum of 6 months and must be violation-free.

The clock only counts clean months. A conviction does not shorten the period, it restarts it.

you will be required to complete a minimum 6-month, violation- free supervised instruction period

During the supervised instruction period the learner must be accompanied by a licensed driver at least 21 years of age occupying the front seat beside them, with no other passengers in the front seat.

The supervising driver has to be able to reach the wheel. A third person in the front seat is in the way of the one thing they are there for.

Be accompanied by a valid licensed driver at least 21 years of age who is occupying the front seat beside the driver

The learner must accumulate at least 50 hours of supervised driving time, ten hours of which must be at night.

Fifty hours is where the habits form, and the ten at night are the hours a learner will otherwise never practice.

Accumulate at least 50 hours of supervised driving time, ten hours of which must be at night

A conviction for any traffic law during the supervised instruction period cancels the permit, and the minimum 6 months of supervised driving starts over with the new permit.

The six months is a record of clean driving, not a wait. A conviction means there is no clean record yet to show.

Your minimum 6 months of supervised driving time starts over again with the issuance of a new permit

Once the GDL requirements are met, the learner must take and pass a knowledge test and a skills test before being issued a driver's license.

Finishing the supervised period earns the right to be tested, not the license itself.

you will be required to take and pass a knowledge and skills test before being issued a driver's license

A learner must also make sure every occupant is wearing a seat belt or child restraint where one is required.

The supervised period is where the habit is set, so the check is written into the program rather than left to the driver.

Ensure that all occupants are wearing seat belts or child restraints if required

Who must complete the Graduated Driver's License program?

Anyone under 17 who has not been issued an Idaho license. The program is a staircase. Skipping a step is not a shortcut to the license, it is a reason to be refused one. July 2026 Idaho Driver's Handbook, p.19: “Anyone under 17 years of age who has not been issued a driver’s license in Idaho must successfully complete an approved driver’s training program and comply with the requirements of the GDL program.”