What Are The Driving Age Requirements In California?

Published on 2022-04-04 in Driver License

If you are wanting to get behind the wheel in California and start your driver's license journey, you may be wondering what are the driving age requirements in California? Coastline Academy takes on that question, so find out the California teen driving laws right here!

First Up: Instruction Permit

The first step to getting your driver's license in California is to obtain your Instruction Permit. For this, the requirements are based on your age:

If you are 15 1/2 years old, but less than 17 1/2 years old, then the State of California requires you to:

  • Attend and complete a DMV-approved 30-hour Drivers Ed course.
  • Once successfully completed, you must bring your certificate of completion to your local DMV office and take the written knowledge test.

If you are at least 17 1/2 years old, then:

  • You may obtain an instruction permit without completing driver education or driver training. However, to get a DL, you must provide proof that you have completed driver education and driver training or wait until you are 18 years old.

Driving Lessons and Driving Practice

Now that you have your learner's permit, the next step to getting your driver's license in California is to take six hours of professional driving lessons, which will need to be done in increments of 2-hour lessons. Coastline Academy offers driving lessons throughout the state of California, so book here. In order to begin driving with an instructor, you have to be 15 1/2 years old.

Once you have completed your first driving lesson with an instructor, they will sign off on your permit and you are now allowed to drive with a parent, guardian, or an adult who is at least 25 years old and has a valid driver's license. In addition to the six hours of driving lessons with a professional driving instructor, you will need to complete at least 50 hours of supervised driving with a parent, guardian, or adult at least 25 years old with a valid driver's license. Of those 50 hours, 10 of them need to be completed at night.

Driving Test

Once you have met the driving criteria listed above, you have held your learner's permit for over six months and are at least 16 years old, you can now schedule your behind-the-wheel driving test at the California DMV. For this test, you will want to make sure you bring all the necessary documents to the DMV office with you.

Driver's License Issued

Once you pass the driving test, the California DMV will issue you an interim California driver's license, which is valid for 90 days. Your provisional driver's license will be mailed to you within those 90 days. With this provisional license, you will be able to drive alone without supervision, but you will have certain restrictions to follow for the first 12 months:

  • You are not allowed to drive between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
  • You are not allowed to have any passengers in the car under the age of 20, unless you have a licensed driver over 25 with you.

There are exceptions to these restrictions, which include a medical emergency or immediate need of a family member and school or work-related necessities. As long as you maintain a clean driving record during this time, you will be released from the provisional driver's license once you turn 18 years old and issued a full driver's license, even if your 18th birthday comes before those 12 months are completed.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to our friendly support staff. If you want to start your driver's training journey with Coastline Academy, make sure to sign up for Drivers Ed and book your driving lesson today.


About the Author

Nigel Tunnacliffe

Nigel Tunnacliffe is the co-Founder and CEO of Coastline Academy, the largest driving school in the country, on a mission to eradicate car crashes. An experienced founder and technology executive, Nigel and his team are shaking up the automotive industry by taking a technology-centric approach to learning and driver safety. Having served over 100,000 driving students across 500+ cities, Coastline was recently named the 6th fastest-growing education company in America by Inc. Magazine. Nigel is a frequent podcast guest and quoted driving education expert for major publications such as Yahoo!, GOBankingRates, and MSN.