Photo: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
To get a driver’s license in Virginia as a teen, you get a learner’s permit after 15 years and 6 months, hold it for at least 9 months, log 45 hours of practice, finish driver education and become eligible for a provisional license at 16 years and 3 months. Adults 18 and over follow a shorter route, which changes on January 1, 2027. This guide maps every stage for teens, parents and new adult drivers, with links to a detailed post on each step.
Key facts (Code of Virginia, as of November 2026)
- Learner’s permit: over 15 years and 6 months, after passing the knowledge and vision exams. Permit fee: $3.
- Under 18: hold the permit for 9 months (or until you turn 18, if sooner).
- Under 18: 45 hours of supervised driving, 15 of them after sunset, certified by a parent or guardian.
- Under 18: a state-approved driver education course is required.
- Earliest license: 16 years and 3 months. It is a provisional license until your 18th birthday.
- License fee: $2.40 per year of the license’s validity.
The Virginia licensing path at a glance
| Stage | Who | Main rules |
|---|---|---|
| Learner’s permit | Over 15 years and 6 months | Supervisor beside you; at most 1 passenger under 21 (family excepted); no driving midnight to 4 a.m. |
| Driver education | Required under 18 | 36 classroom periods, 14 in-car periods, plus a 90-minute parent/student component |
| Temporary license | Driver ed graduates 16 years and 3 months or older | Permit plus signed completion paperwork lets you drive alone until your plastic license arrives |
| Provisional license | Under 18 | Passenger limits and a midnight to 4 a.m. curfew, both ending at 18 |
| Full license | 18 and over | Provisional restrictions end; points rules for under 20s still apply |
Step 1: Get your Virginia learner’s permit
You must be a Virginia resident over 15 years and 6 months and pass the two-part knowledge exam and a vision screening. Applicants of compulsory school age must show good academic standing, or a parent or guardian must give written authorization on a DMV form. If you fail the knowledge exam and are under 18, you must wait at least 15 days to retest.
Full exam details, the supervisor rules and what to bring: Virginia DMV knowledge exam and learner’s permit.
Step 2: Practice for 45 hours and finish driver ed
Under 18, you need at least 45 hours behind the wheel on your permit, 15 after sunset, certified by a parent, foster parent or legal guardian on a DMV form. You also need a state-approved driver education course. See the Virginia 45-hour driving log and driver education checklist.
Step 3: Pass the road skills test
For most teens the road skills test is part of driver education, given by the school. If you test at DMV, you must bring a driver ed certificate or a signed behind-the-wheel maneuvers checklist, and a vehicle with a valid inspection sticker. Retake rules and the driver ed waiver are in the Virginia road skills test guide.
Step 4: Receive your license at a court ceremony
Original licenses for drivers under 18 are sent to the juvenile and domestic relations court where you live, and a judge issues them at a formal ceremony, with a parent or guardian present. Some court districts waive the ceremony and DMV mails the license instead. See the Virginia licensing ceremony explained.
Step 5: Follow the provisional license rules until 18
In your first year, you may carry only one passenger under 21 (family excepted). After that, up to three under 21 in set situations. No driving from midnight to 4 a.m. except for work, supervised school or civic activities, with a parent beside you, or emergencies. Details: Virginia provisional license rules for teen drivers.
Getting a Virginia license at 18 or older
Until December 31, 2026, a first-time applicant 18 or older needs either a driver training course or a learner’s permit held for at least 60 days before the first DMV road test. From January 1, 2027, applicants aged 18 to 20 need both driver education and a permit held for at least 90 days. Full breakdown: Virginia license rules for new adult drivers.
What the Virginia Driver’s Manual covers
The knowledge exam is drawn from the Virginia Driver’s Manual. Study each area below, using the linked guides for the topics shared across US states.
Testing and licensing
The two-part knowledge exam, road skills test, vision screening and license types. Virginia’s vision standard for an unrestricted license is at least 20/40 in one or both eyes and 110 degrees of horizontal vision. A daylight-only license may be issued with at least 20/70 and 70 degrees.
Signals, signs and pavement markings
Traffic lights and lane-use signals, sign colors and shapes, work zones and painted curbs. See US traffic signals, US road signs by shape and color and US pavement markings.
Safe driving
Speed, stopping, right-of-way, roundabouts, passing, space cushions, sharing the road, hazardous weather and crashes. In Virginia, driving 20 mph or more over the limit, or above 85 mph anywhere, is reckless driving. Useful guides: speed limits and the basic speed law, roundabouts, four-way stops, sharing the road, school bus stops, move over laws, snow, fog and rain and what to do after a crash.
Virginia rules of the road: numbers to know
These come from the Code of Virginia, which the manual follows.
- Speed: 55 mph is the general maximum, including interstates, unless signs set 70 mph on interstates and some divided highways (60 mph on certain listed US routes). In a posted school crossing zone the limit is 25 mph while the signs or lights are active. Radar detectors are illegal.
- Signals: a steady red arrow means stop and stay stopped unless a sign allows the turn. Right on a steady red circle is allowed after a full stop unless a sign bans it. Signal at least 100 feet before turning or stopping where the speed limit is over 35 mph, and at least 50 feet elsewhere.
- School buses: stop for a stopped school bus loading or unloading, from any direction, and stay stopped until everyone is clear and the bus moves. You need not stop only if the bus is on the other roadway of a highway divided by a physical barrier or unpaved area. Passing a stopped bus is reckless driving.
- Emergency vehicles: when one approaches with siren and lights, pull to the nearest edge of the road, clear of intersections, and stop until it passes. Never follow a fire truck or ambulance on a call closer than 500 feet, or park within 500 feet of a fire truck stopped at an alarm.
- Move over: for a stationary vehicle with flashing blue, red or amber lights, change to a lane not next to it on a road with four or more lanes. If that is unsafe, slow down with due caution. Breaking this rule is reckless driving.
- Military convoys and funeral processions: give way to US forces or National Guard units on official duty, and never cut into or join an escorted funeral procession. Intentionally disrupting one is an infraction with 4 demerit points.
- Bicycles, mopeds and horses: pass at a reasonable speed and at least 3 feet to the left, and change lanes if your lane is too narrow to do that.
- Headlights: from sunset to sunrise, whenever you cannot see 500 feet, and whenever your wipers are on for rain, snow, sleet or fog. Dim to low beams within 500 feet of an oncoming car and within 200 feet of a car you are following.
- Parking: not in front of a driveway, within 15 feet of a fire hydrant or fire station entrance, or within 20 feet of the curb lines at an intersection.
- Seat belts: the driver and every passenger 18 or older must wear one. The driver must secure every passenger under 18, in any seat. Children up to age 8 ride in a child restraint in the back seat, rear-facing until at least age 2 or the seat maker’s forward-facing minimum weight.
- Crashes: if anyone is hurt or killed or attended property is damaged, stop and give your details to police and the other people involved. If you damage an unattended car or property and cannot find the owner, leave a note and report it in writing to police within 24 hours.
- Under 21: driving with a BAC of 0.02% or more after drinking is a separate offense (Code 18.2-266.1). The adult DUI limit is 0.08%.
- Moving house: tell DMV your new address within 30 days (Code 46.2-324). When you apply, DMV also offers voter registration and organ, eye and tissue donor registration.
The manual also covers dark (out-of-service) signals, which you treat as an all-way stop, plus hand position, following distance, truck no-zones, light rail in Norfolk, low speed vehicles and deer. Read the current edition on DMV’s website before your exam.
Driver responsibility, alcohol and drugs
Holding a handheld phone while driving a moving vehicle is illegal for every Virginia driver ($125 first offense, $250 after that or in a work zone), and distracted driving must be covered on the knowledge exam. Read hands-free and texting laws, zero tolerance for drivers under 21, implied consent and DUI, drugged driving and seat belt and car seat laws. Points and the Driver Improvement Program: Virginia DMV demerit points and driver improvement.
Vehicle registration and insurance
For policies effective on or after January 1, 2025, Virginia’s minimum liability cover is $50,000 for injury or death of one person, $100,000 for two or more people and $25,000 for property damage. Driving an uninsured vehicle is a Class 3 misdemeanor and leads to license suspension, with a $600 noncompliance fee to reinstate. See car insurance for new drivers.
Common questions
How old do you have to be to get a permit in Virginia?
Over 15 years and 6 months.
Can you get a Virginia license at 16?
Not before 16 years and 3 months, and only after holding your permit for 9 months, logging 45 hours and completing driver education.
Does the 9-month permit hold apply if I am 18?
No. The 9-month minimum applies to applicants under 18. Adults follow the 60-day or driver training rule, which changes for 18 to 20 year olds on January 1, 2027.
When do the teen restrictions end?
The passenger and curfew restrictions end on your 18th birthday. Drivers under 20 can still be ordered to a driver improvement clinic after any demerit-point conviction.
Can a parent cancel a teen’s license in Virginia?
Yes. A custodial parent or guardian can ask DMV in writing to cancel a minor’s license. It cannot be reissued for six months or until the teen turns 18, whichever comes first.
I moved to Virginia with a teen license from another state. What now?
If you are 16 years and 3 months to under 18 and hold a valid license from another US state or Canada with no driving convictions, DMV can issue a 6-month temporary license. For a permanent license you need proof of at least 30 hours of classroom and 6 hours of in-car instruction. See transferring your license to another state.
Compare Virginia with other states in US graduated driver licensing compared, permit tests by state and learning to drive in the USA. Before your first DMV visit, check the REAL ID checklist.
Sources
- Virginia General Assembly, “Code of Virginia 46.2-334: Conditions and requirements for licensure of persons under 18” (law.lis.virginia.gov)
- Virginia General Assembly, “Code of Virginia 46.2-334.01: Licenses issued to persons less than 18 years old subject to certain restrictions” (law.lis.virginia.gov)
- Virginia General Assembly, “Code of Virginia 46.2-335: Learner’s permits; fees; certification required” (law.lis.virginia.gov)
- Virginia General Assembly, “Code of Virginia 46.2-335.1 and 46.2-335.2: Knowledge test waiting period; minimum holding period” (law.lis.virginia.gov)
- Virginia General Assembly, “Code of Virginia 46.2-324.1: Requirements for initial licensure of certain applicants” (both versions) (law.lis.virginia.gov)
- Virginia General Assembly, “Code of Virginia 46.2-325, 46.2-332 and 46.2-336” (law.lis.virginia.gov)
- Virginia General Assembly, “Code of Virginia 46.2-311, 46.2-818.2, 46.2-862, 46.2-472 and 46.2-707” (law.lis.virginia.gov)
- Virginia General Assembly, “8VAC20-340-10: Driver education program” (law.lis.virginia.gov)
- Virginia General Assembly, “Code of Virginia 46.2-324, 46.2-827, 46.2-828.1, 46.2-829, 46.2-835, 46.2-839, 46.2-849, 46.2-859, 46.2-861.1, 46.2-870, 46.2-873, 46.2-894, 46.2-896, 46.2-921, 46.2-1030, 46.2-1034, 46.2-1079, 46.2-1094, 46.2-1095, 46.2-1239 and 18.2-266.1” (law.lis.virginia.gov)
- Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, “Virginia Driver’s Manual” (DMV 39, earlier edition, used for section structure only) (dmv.virginia.gov)