Graduated licensing — Kentucky Permit Test

Kentucky drivers under 18 must go through three phases of licensing: a learner's permit, an intermediate license and then a full unrestricted license.

Nobody under eighteen goes straight to a full license. Each stage lifts one restriction at a time.

Drivers under 18 must go through three phases of licensing: a Learner’s Permit, an Intermediate License, and then a Full Unrestricted License.

Kentucky's graduated licensing laws work by controlling a young driver's exposure and moving them into more complex driving before full licensure.

A new driver meets hard situations a few at a time instead of all at once on the first night alone.

Kentucky has Graduated Licensing laws to improve traffic safety and reduce traffic accidents, injuries, and fatalities by controlling a young driver's exposure and progressively moving the driver into more complex driving experiences before full licensure.

A driver under 18 cannot apply for a permit or license without the signature of a parent or legal guardian accepting responsibility.

Without that signature there is no application at all, however much else the teenager has ready.

Drivers under the age of 18 cannot apply for a permit or license without the signature of a parent or legal guardian accepting responsibility.

By signing the application form, a parent or legal guardian becomes jointly liable with the applicant for any damages.

The signature is not a formality. It puts the adult on the hook for what the teenager does with the car.

The parent/legal guardian is jointly liable with the applicant for any damages by signing the application form.

A parent or legal guardian may withdraw their responsibility at any time, and the minor's permit or license is canceled until another application is signed.

The adult can end it, and when they do the teenager stops driving that day rather than at the next renewal.

Once this is received and entered, the minor’s permit or license will be canceled until another application is signed.

It is up to parents and legal guardians to decide when their teenager is ready to drive.

The state sets the earliest date. Whether the teenager is actually ready is a judgment nobody else can make.

It is up to the Parents/Legal Guardians to decide when their teen is ready to drive.

How many phases of licensing must a Kentucky driver under 18 go through?

Three phases. Nobody under eighteen goes straight to a full license. Each stage lifts one restriction at a time. Kentucky Driver Manual, p.5: “Drivers under 18 must go through three phases of licensing: a Learner’s Permit, an Intermediate License, and then a Full Unrestricted License.”