How old must you be to get a learner's permit, state by state?
Every state’s answer, and the District of Columbia’s, from its own manual or code: 41 have a rule on this, quoted below with where it is written; 10 say nothing on it.
Statutes fetched on 8 October 2026; manuals fetched between 6 September and 4 October 2026. How the answers are made
| State | The rule | Where it is written | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Any person 15 years of age may obtain a restricted Learner License to learn to drive safely; the test for it is taken from the Alabama Driver Manual. | Alabama Driver Manual, p.9 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Alaska | In Alaska, you may obtain an instruction permit if you are 14 years of age or older. | Alaska Driver Manual, p.8 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Arizona | You may be issued a graduated or motorcycle instruction permit if you are at least 15 years and 6 months old. | Arizona Driver License Manual and Customer Service Guide, p.12 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Arkansas | To apply for an Arkansas instruction permit, you must be at least 14 years old. | Arkansas Driver License Study Guide, p.3 | 4 Oct 2026 |
| California | An applicant under 18 years old must be at least 15½ years old to apply for an instruction permit. | California Driver’s Handbook, p.3 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Connecticut | You must be at least 16 years old to get a Connecticut learner's permit. | Connecticut Driver's Manual, p.5 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Delaware | To get a Delaware GDL Level One Learner's Permit, an applicant must be at least 16 years old. | Delaware Driver Manual, p.28 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| District of Columbia | To get a DC learner permit you must be at least 16 years old and pass the knowledge test and vision screening. | DC Driver Manual, p.19 | 16 Sep 2026 |
| Florida | You must be at least 15 years old to get a Florida learner license. | Official Florida Driver License Handbook, p.8 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Georgia | Georgia lets you apply for a Class C instructional permit on reaching age 15 or at any time after. | Georgia Driver's Manual, p.65 | 18 Sep 2026 |
| Hawaii | You must be at least 15½ years old to get a Hawaii instruction permit. | State of Hawaii Driver’s Manual, p.11 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Illinois | An Illinois instruction permit is issued to a 15-, 16- or 17-year-old on proof that they are enrolled in, or about to start, an approved driver education course. | Illinois Rules of the Road 2026, p.16 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Indiana | To get a learner's permit before turning 16, you must be at least 15 and enrolled with a BMV-licensed driver training school. | Indiana Driver's Manual, p.3 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Kentucky | A Kentucky driver must be at least 15 years of age to take the vision and written knowledge tests and apply for a permit. | Kentucky Driver Manual, p.5 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Louisiana | You must be at least 15 years old to get a learner's permit. | Class D & E Driver's Guide, p.7 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Maine | In Maine you must be at least 15 years old to get a learner's permit. | Maine Driver’s License Manual, p.7 | 4 Oct 2026 |
| Maryland | An applicant younger than 25 must be at least 15 years and 9 months old to apply for a learner's instructional permit. | Maryland Driver's Manual, p.9 | 6 Sep 2026 |
| Massachusetts | You must be at least 16 to apply for a Class D or Class M learner's permit. | Massachusetts Driver's Manual, p.3 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Michigan | To apply for a Level 1 Learner's License you must be at least 14 years, 9 months old and visit a Secretary of State office with your parent or legal guardian. | What Every Driver Must Know, p.4 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Mississippi | You must be at least 15 years old to apply for a Regular Learner's Permit. | Mississippi Driver's License Manual, p.13 | 4 Oct 2026 |
| Montana | Without traffic education, a Montana learner permit (NCLP) applicant must be at least 16; with an approved driver education course, 15. | Montana Driver Manual, p.2 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Nebraska | The minimum age for a Learner's Permit (LPD) is 15. | Nebraska Driver’s Manual, p.3 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Nevada | You must be at least 15½ years old to get a Nevada instruction permit. | Nevada Driver Handbook, p.15 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| New Hampshire | A person at least 15 ½ years of age who holds no driver’s license may drive while being taught, when accompanied by a qualifying adult. | New Hampshire Driver's Manual, p.2 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| New Jersey | A New Jersey resident of at least 16 may obtain a special learner permit by enrolling in a behind-the-wheel driver training course. | New Jersey Driver Manual, p.19 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| New Mexico | The youngest age for an instructional permit in New Mexico is 15 years. | New Mexico Driver Manual, p.1 | 4 Oct 2026 |
| North Carolina | (b) Level 1. - A person who is at least 15 years old but less than 18 years old may obtain a limited learner's permit if the person meets all of the following requirements: (1) Passes a course of driver education prescribed in G.S. 115C-215 or a course of driver instruction at a licensed commercial driver training school. (2) Passes a written test administered by the Division. (3) Has a driving eligibility certificate or a high school diploma or its equivalent. | North Carolina law, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-11(b) | 8 Oct 2026 |
| North Dakota | To get a North Dakota instruction permit, you must be at least 14 years old. | North Dakota Noncommercial Driver License Manual, p.3 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Oklahoma | In Oklahoma, the youngest age to get a Class D learner permit is 15. | Oklahoma Driver Manual, p.10 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Pennsylvania | You cannot apply for a learner's permit before your 16th birthday, and the health care provider's part of the application must be completed no earlier than six months before it. | PA Driver's Manual, p.1 | 6 Sep 2026 |
| Rhode Island | In Rhode Island you cannot get a limited learner permit until you are 16. | Rhode Island Driver’s Manual, p.10 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| South Carolina | To get a beginner's permit you must be at least 15 years old. | South Carolina Driver's Manual, p.8 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| South Dakota | To obtain an instruction permit you must be at least 14 years of age and pass the vision and knowledge tests. | South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.8 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Texas | An applicant for a learner license must be at least 15 years old and no more than 18. | Texas Driver Handbook, p.1 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Utah | An applicant must be at least 15 to hold an entry-level learner permit. | Utah Driver Handbook 2026-2027, p.7 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Vermont | You must be at least 15 years old to take the Vermont Learner's Permit test. | 2025 Vermont Driver's Manual, p.12 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Virginia | A. The Department, on receiving from any Virginia resident over the age of 15 years and six months an application for a learner's permit or motorcycle learner's permit, may, subject to the applicant's satisfactory documentation of meeting the requirements of this chapter and successful completion of the written or automated knowledge and vision examinations and, in the case of a motorcycle learner's permit applicant, the automated motorcycle test, issue a permit entitling the applicant, while having the permit in his immediate possession, to drive a motor vehicle or, if the application is made for a motorcycle learner's permit, a motorcycle, on the highways, when accompanied by any licensed driver 21 years of age or older or by his parent or legal guardian, or by a brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, step-brother, or step-sister 18 years of age or older. The accompanying person shall be (i) alert, able to assist the driver, and actually occupying a seat beside the driver or, for motorcycle instruction, providing immediate supervision from a separate accompanying motor vehicle and (ii) lawfully permitted to operate the motor vehicle or accompanying motorcycle at that time. | Virginia law, Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-335(A) | 8 Oct 2026 |
| Washington | A learner enrolled in a driver training course may apply for an instruction permit as early as 15 years old. | Washington State Driver Guide, p.25 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| West Virginia | To obtain a Level 1 graduated instruction permit you must be at least 15 years old, pass a vision screening and a knowledge test, and have written consent from a parent or legal guardian. | West Virginia Driver's Licensing Handbook, p.9 | 6 Sep 2026 |
| Wisconsin | An applicant under 18 must be at least 15 years old to hold a class D instruction permit. | Wisconsin Motorists' Handbook, p.5 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Wyoming | In Wyoming, an instruction permit may be obtained at 15. | Wyoming Rules of the Road Driver License Manual, p.7 | 14 Sep 2026 |
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No rule found
No rule found in the manual or code of: Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee.
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