Applying before 18 — Illinois Permit Test

An applicant under 18 must bring their instruction permit, acceptable identification, the Cooperative Driver Testing Certificate where one applies, and a 50-hour driving log with the proper signature.

The log is the only evidence the practice hours happened. Turning up without it means the application stops at the counter.

To apply for a driver’s license before age 18, you must bring the following documents to the DMV: • Instruction permit; • Acceptable forms of identification (see page 106); • Affidavit/Consent For Minor To Drive (if applicable); • Cooperative Driver Testing Certificate (if applicable); and • 50-hour driving log with proper signature.

A license is not issued to a driver under 18 until the Secretary of State has been told they completed driver education and the notation is on the driving record.

The record, not the certificate in your hand, is what the counter reads. If the school has not sent it, the license waits.

The Secretary of State’s office must have received notification of your successful completion of driver education, and the notation must appear on your driving record before a driver’s license is issued.

A student whose birthday falls on a spot-check date must pass a driving exam at a DMV even after passing a road test given by their driver education instructor.

Spot checks are how the state audits the schools it trusts to test. Passing at school is not a promise that the state will not look again.

Students whose birthdays fall on certain spot-check dates must pass a driving exam administered at a DMV, even if they have already taken and passed a road test conducted by their driver education instructor.

A driver who receives their license before the instruction permit expires pays no additional fee for it.

The permit fee has already paid for the paperwork. Finishing inside the permit’s own two years is what keeps it that way.

If you receive your driver’s license before the expiration of the instruction permit, you will not be required to pay an additional fee when applying for your driver’s license.

What does an Illinois applicant under 18 bring to the counter besides identification and the permit?

A 50-hour driving log with the proper signature. The log is the only evidence the practice hours happened. Turning up without it means the application stops at the counter. Illinois Rules of the Road 2026, p.16: “To apply for a driver’s license before age 18, you must bring the following documents to the DMV: • Instruction permit; • Acceptable forms of identification (see page 106); • Affidavit/Consent For Minor To Drive (if applicable); • Cooperative Driver Testing Certificate (if applicable); and • 50-hour driving log with proper signature.”