14 Terms You May Not Know: Getting Your Driver's License in California

You may be working your way through the driver's license process in the state of California and have come across some words or phrases that don't make sense to you. What's the difference between a provisional and full license? Are practice driving hours the same as my lessons? There are many common terms or phrases that throw people off during the licensing process. We've done the research and come up a resource sheet of the top most commonly asked about terms so you don't have to! Learn more below.

1. DMV-Certified

Every Driver's Education Course and School course must legally be certified by the California DMV. If your course isn't certified, your completion certificates will not be considered valid and you will need to retake your coursework. Coastline Academy is a DMV-certified school. Search for our official listing on the California DMV website here.

2. Noncommercial Class C Driver's License

There are several different classes of driver's licenses in California, but the most common is the noncommercial Class C driver's license. This license will allow you to operate a standard vehicle or truck for personal use on California roadways.

3. REAL ID

REAL IDs are driver's licenses that are also a federally-accepted form of identification. The REAL ID can be used to board a domestic flight within the U.S. and allows the owner to enter secure federal facilities, like military bases and federal courthouses. A California REAL ID is marked with a golden bear and star in the top right corner. Note that REAL IDs will become mandatory to board domestic flights beginning in 2025. When applying for your license, make sure to get a REAL ID!

4. California Driver's Handbook

The California Driver's Handbook is a guide to all the rules and regulations of the roadways in California. This is a great resource to use when studying for the written knowledge test or just something to refer to if you have questions during the driver licensing process.

5. Written Knowledge Test

The written knowledge test is given to you by the California DMV after completing your Driver's Ed course. The test will cover a variety of topics you learned during Drivers Ed. The test consists of 46 questions and you can miss up to eight questions and still pass.

6. Provisional Instructor Permit

After taking your Driver's Ed course, you'll head to your local California DMV office. Once you pass the written knowledge test, you will be granted a provisional instructor permit, which is just a fancier name for your learner's permit. This is what you will use to practice your driving skills before taking your behind-the-wheel test.

7. Professional Instructor Driving Hours

After receiving your provisional instructor permit (learner's permit), you will be able to begin your professional instructor driving hours, other known as your behind-the-wheel lessons. In order to get your driver's license, you will need to complete six hours of driving lessons with a professional instructor. These lessons must be done in three separate driving sessions lasting 2 hours each. Coastline Academy offers driving lessons throughout the state of California.

8. Practice Driving Hours

In addition to the six hours of professional instructor driving hours, you will also need to complete at least 50 hours of practice driving with a parent, guardian or adult over the age of 25 with a valid driver's license. You may begin these 50 hours of practice after completing your first driving lesson with an instructor, as they will sign off on your permit allowing you to practice driving. Ten of these 50 hours must be done at night.

9. Certificate of Completion

After successfully completing your classroom Driver's Ed course, a pink certificate of completion will be mailed to you free of charge. If you need it faster than standard mail, you can pay for expedited shipping. You will need to bring this certificate with you when you go to the DMV office to get your learner's permit.

After successfully completing your six hours of driving lessons, you will be given a yellow or golden certificate of completion. You will need to take this with you to the DMV office when taking your behind-the-wheel driving test to show proof you completed the professional instructor driving hours.

10. Behind-The-Wheel Drive Test

Once you have completed all of your requirements, including classroom driver's education, the Written Test, and your driving lessons and practice, you'll be ready to schedule an appointment for your behind-the-wheel drive test at the DMV. The test will take between 10 and 20 minutes, and the DMV Examiner will test you on basic driving maneuvers in residential and commercial areas, including turning and lane changes.

11. Pre-Drive Checklist

Before you can begin the behind-the-wheel drive test, the DMV Examiner will conduct a pre-drive checklist. During this section of the test, you will need to locate and/or demonstrate the vehicle and driver safety items listed here. If certain items on the list do not pass the criteria requirement, you will have to reschedule your driving test. If you cannot locate and/or demonstrate certain items from the list, you may end up failing the test and be forced to choose another time.

12. DMV Examiner

The DMV Examiner is an employee of the California DMV. They will be the person that conducts the behind-the-wheel drive test with you and will determine if you will receive your driver's license.

13. Provisional Driver's License

After completing all the requirements to obtain your driver's license in California - including passing your driving test - anyone under the age of 18 will be issued a provisional driver's license. This means you will be allowed to drive alone, but have certain restrictions on your license for the first 12 months.

14. Full Driver's License

Once you turn 18 years old, the provisional status is dropped and you are then issued a full California driver's license. This means you license has no restrictions, so you can drive whenever you want and with whoever you want, as long as you are being a safe driver and following the rules and laws of the road.

Getting your driver's can be stressful! If you ever have any questions about the process, feel free to reach out to our friendly Support Team for help.