Do You Have To Take Drivers Ed To Get Your Permit In Texas?

Published on 2021-08-19 in Drivers Ed

Are you in Texas and wanting to get behind the wheel and drive? Well, before that can happen, you might be asking yourself if you have to take Drivers Ed to get your permit in Texas? We discuss your options below!

The Answer: Yes!

In Texas, the Texas Department of Public Safety requires you to take a 32-hour driver education course in order to get a permit. This permit is also known as the learner license and is part of Phase 1 in the Graduated Driver License Program.

The Learner License

When it comes to the learner license, this allows you to practice driving with a licensed adult before graduating to the next level. To obtain a learner license, you must be between 15 and 17 years of age and you also must have completed the first six hours of the driver education classroom instruction if you are using the concurrent method or all 32 hours of classroom instruction if you are using the block method.

Driver's Ed Course

To start the GDL Program, teens will have to complete a driver's ed course. You can begin taking this course as soon as you turn 14. However, you must wait until you are 15 years of age to be eligible for a learner license.

The learner license will allow you to drive a vehicle with the sole purpose of learning to drive. You must have your learner license in order to drive with a licensed passenger aged 21 or older.

As always, if you have any questions, please reach out to our friendly support staff and make sure to sign up for Drivers Ed today, if you haven't already!


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.