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Before a Wyoming teen can get an intermediate license at 16, a parent or legal guardian must certify that the teen has driven at least 50 hours, including at least 10 at night. This checklist covers the rule, the certification form WYDOT expects, the optional log, who can supervise and how to plan the hours.
Key facts
- Requirement: 50 actual driving hours, including at least 10 at night, under Wyoming Statute 31-7-110(g).
- Who certifies: the teen’s legal parent or guardian, on the Behind-the-Wheel Driving Certification form (FSGDL-01).
- Log: WYDOT’s Behind-the-Wheel Driving Log is optional. The signed certification is what counts.
- Supervisor while you practice: a person over 18 with a valid license for the vehicle, in the front passenger seat.
- Exception: if you held a restricted RC license, the manual lists that as an alternative route to the intermediate license.
Checklist: from permit to certified hours
- Get your instruction permit (age 15 or older). See Wyoming written test and instruction permit.
- Collect the Parent’s Supervised Driving Program manual. Exam stations hand it out with a first learner’s permit, and you can also download it from WYDOT. It gives parents a step-by-step teaching plan.
- Print the optional log from the WYDOT Forms page, or keep your own record. The log has columns for the date, day driving time, night driving time and a total for each date.
- Drive with a qualified supervisor every time. They must be over 18, hold a valid license for the vehicle and sit in the front passenger seat.
- Reach 50 hours with at least 10 at night.
- Have your parent or guardian sign the certification form (FSGDL-01). It records your total day hours, night hours and total hours, and your parent or guardian certifies you completed “50 hours of actual driving time, including at least 10 hours of nighttime driving”.
- Take the signed form to the exam office when you apply for the intermediate license, along with your REAL ID documents and permit.
Who can supervise a Wyoming learner?
| Role | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Supervising driver while you practice | Over 18, holds a valid license at least equivalent to the vehicle you drive, sits in the front passenger seat |
| Person who signs the 50-hour certification | Your legal parent or guardian only |
Any qualifying adult, such as a grandparent or older sibling, can sit with you while you drive. Only a parent or guardian can sign the certification.
What counts as night driving?
WYDOT’s log separates day and night hours but does not define “night”. A practical reference is the manual’s headlight rule: headlights are required from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise. Night practice is when you learn the manual’s low-light rules:
- Dim your high beams at least 500 feet before you meet an oncoming vehicle, and within 300 feet of a vehicle you are following.
- Above 55 mph on a dark road you cannot stop within the distance your headlights show.
- Double your following distance at night (4 seconds in a car).
- Watch for deer and other wildlife, especially at dusk and dawn.
A Wyoming practice plan for the 50 hours
WYDOT does not set a schedule. The manual’s topics make a sensible order:
| Stage | Practice |
|---|---|
| Basics | Starting, stopping, steering, backing while looking over your shoulder, parking in an empty parking lot |
| Town streets | Signaling 100 feet before turns, four-way stops, uncontrolled intersections, school zones at 20 mph |
| Roundabouts and lanes | Yielding on entry, signaling on exit, lane changes with shoulder checks |
| Highway and interstate | Merging from the acceleration lane, a 2-second gap, passing safely on two-lane roads |
| Night | At least 10 hours, including rural roads where you use high beams |
| Weather | Wet roads, snow and wind, with a supervisor, using longer following gaps (3 times normal on snow, 4 times on ice) |
More help: driving in snow, fog and rain and freeway driving for new drivers.
Does driver education reduce the 50 hours?
No reduction appears on WYDOT’s pages. The intermediate license requires the 50 certified hours whether or not you take driver education. Driver education instead may let the examiner waive your skills test, and it opens the route to full privileges at 16 and a half. See Wyoming driving skills test and driver ed waiver and Wyoming intermediate license.
Common questions
Do I have to hand in a driving log in Wyoming?
No. The log is optional. WYDOT asks for the signed Behind-the-Wheel Driving Certification form.
Can my driving instructor sign the 50-hour form?
No. The form is signed by your legal parent or guardian.
Do adults need 50 hours in Wyoming?
The 50-hour rule applies to the intermediate license for 16-year-olds. At 17 or older you can apply for a full license by passing the vision, written and skills tests, with a minor’s release if you are under 18.
Do I need the 50 hours if I already had an RC license?
The manual lists holding an RC license as an alternative to the permit-plus-50-hours route. Confirm with your exam office when you apply.
How long will 50 hours take?
You must hold the permit at least 10 days, but plan realistically. One hour a day still takes about seven weeks. Spreading the hours over several months lets you practice in winter conditions too.
Back to the full guide: learning to drive in Wyoming. Compare other states: supervised driving hours by state.
Sources
- WYDOT Driver Services, “Behind-the-Wheel Driving Certification (FSGDL-01)” (dot.state.wy.us)
- WYDOT Driver Services, “Behind-the-Wheel Driving Log (Optional)” (dot.state.wy.us)
- WYDOT Driver Services, “Learner Permits” (dot.state.wy.us)
- WYDOT Driver Services, “Parents Supervised Driving Program” (dot.state.wy.us)
- Wyoming Department of Transportation, “Rules of the Road: State of Wyoming Driver License Manual, Class C (2021)” (dot.state.wy.us)
