Learning to Drive in Idaho: Permit to License Guide

Photo: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In Idaho you can get a Class D driver’s license at 15, one of the youngest ages in the US, but only after approved driver training and a 6-month Supervised Instruction Permit (SIP) with 50 logged hours. This guide is for Idaho teens, parents and new residents. It covers every step, the fees, the tests and the rules that apply once you are licensed, based on the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) Driver’s Handbook (cover dated July 2026).

Key facts (as of November 2026)

Driver training permit: from 14 1/2.
Earliest license: 15, after driver training plus at least 6 months on the SIP.
Supervised driving: 50 hours, 10 of them at night, with a licensed driver 21 or older beside you.
Knowledge test: 40 questions, you can miss up to 6. Fee $5.
Skills test: 12 or fewer errors to pass, given by a third-party Skills Test Examiner. Fee $35 in total.
Failing either test: wait 3 days and pay again.
Licenses and permits are issued at county sheriff’s driver’s license offices, not at one state office.

The route to an Idaho license, step by step

If you are under 17

Buy a Driver Training Permit at a county driver’s license office (from 14 1/2). Bring the documents listed below, a liability signer and school verification.
Complete approved driver training: 30 hours of classroom, 6 hours of behind-the-wheel driving and 6 hours of in-car observation. You can do this at a public school, a private driving school, or, if you live in a rural school district or one with no driver education course, through Idaho’s parent-led on-road driver training program.
The permit becomes your SIP. Drive at least 6 calendar months, violation-free, logging 50 hours (10 at night). See the Idaho GDL and SIP rules.
Pass the knowledge test at the county office. See the Idaho knowledge test guide.
Pass the skills test with a third-party examiner. See the Idaho skills test guide.
Return to the county office with the sealed result envelope. A parent or guardian signs the GDL Requirements Verification, certifying the 50 hours and giving permission. Your license is issued with GDL restrictions.

If you are 17 or older

Driver training is only required under 17. At 17 or older you can pass the knowledge test and get a Class D Instruction Permit, valid for 1 year, which lets you practice with an adult 18 or older who holds a valid license. When ready, you take the skills test. At 18 you can apply for the instruction permit without a liability signer. You can also choose driver training on a Driver Training permit at 17 or older.

Idaho driver’s license fees

From the ITD handbook fee table, as of November 2026. All fees are non-refundable, and retest fees are the same as the original test fees.

Item	Fee
Driver Training Instruction Permit and Supervised Instruction Permit*	$21.50
Parent-led driver training and Supervised Instruction Permits*	$16.50
Class D Instruction Permit (17 and older)	$20.00
Knowledge test	$5.00
Skills test ($6.50 to the county DMV, up to $28.50 to the examiner)	$35.00
1-year license (age 17 or 20)	$20.00
3-year license (under 18, or 18 to 21)	$30.00
4-year license (21 and over)	$35.00
8-year license (21 to 62)	$60.00
Duplicate	$20.00

*These permit fees include the $6.50 county skills test fee, collected in advance. Eligible drivers who renew online get $5 off a driver’s license renewal.

One driver, one license, one record

When you get an Idaho license you surrender any license or ID card from another state, US territory or DC. If you take a license elsewhere, your Idaho credential is canceled.
You must carry your license whenever you drive. Misuse or mutilation of a license, permit or ID card is a misdemeanor, and false information on an application can be prosecuted as perjury.
Your record is checked against ITD records and the National Driver Register. Any suspension in any jurisdiction must be cleared first.
You must tell ITD about an address change within 30 days.
At 21 or older you can renew up to 25 months before expiry, for 4 years or (from 21 to 62) 8 years. Every renewal includes a vision screening. If you are out of state when your license expires, you can buy up to two 12-month extensions at $10 each.

Documents for a first license or permit

Proof of age and identity (certified original birth certificate plus an accepted photo ID; under 18s can use a parent’s photo ID instead). Photocopies and faxes are not accepted.
Social Security card or number for verification
Proof of Idaho residency dated within 1 year (lease, utility bill, school records and similar)
Lawful presence documents, if applicable
Proof of driver training and the SIP (under 17)
A liability signer, usually a birth parent or court-ordered guardian (under 18)
Verification of School Compliance, a diploma or an equivalency certificate (under 18)

Star Card (Idaho’s REAL ID)

The Star Card is optional. Since May 7, 2025, you need it, a passport or another federally accepted ID to fly commercially or enter federal buildings. It needs extra documents, including two proofs of Idaho residency. More on the national rules: REAL ID and your first license.

Vertical “Under 18” licenses

If you are licensed at 15 to 17, your license shows “Under 18 until” a date and expires 5 days after your 18th birthday. At 18 to 20 it shows “Under 21 until” and expires 5 days after your 21st birthday.

Restrictions on young Idaho drivers

Who	Rule
Licensed driver under 16	Daylight only (defined as 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time) unless a licensed driver 21 or older sits beside you
Licensed driver under 17, first 6 months	No more than 1 passenger under 17, unless related by blood, adoption or marriage
Driver under 17 with convictions	1st: warning letter. 2nd: 30-day suspension. 3rd or later: 60-day suspension
Under 21	DUI threshold is a BAC of .02

Vehicle equipment and safety

Idaho has no annual safety inspection, but police can cite you for an unsafe vehicle. Points the handbook covers:

All occupants must wear seat belts where the vehicle has them. Children 6 and younger must ride in an approved child safety seat.
Tires should have at least 2/32 inch of tread. Studded tires are allowed only from October 1 to April 30 (ITD sometimes adjusts the dates for weather).
Headlights must be on from sunset to sunrise and in poor visibility. Dim high beams within 500 feet of an oncoming vehicle and 200 feet behind one.
Red or blue lights and sirens are not allowed on private vehicles.

National detail: seat belt and child car seat laws.

Highway and vehicle knowledge

The knowledge test draws on the handbook’s chapters on signs, signals, pavement markings, work zones, school safety patrols, intersections, roundabouts and Diverging Diamond Interchanges. Idaho-specific points worth knowing:

Most warning signs are black on yellow and diamond-shaped. Work zone signs are orange.
In a roundabout, drive counter-clockwise and yield to traffic already in it on your left.
At a railroad crossing where you must stop, stop within 50 feet but no less than 15 feet from the nearest rail.

Idaho traffic laws and rules of the road

Rule	Idaho handbook
Basic speed rule	Always drive at a “reasonable and prudent” speed, even below the limit
Interstates	75 mph unless posted (80 where posted)
State highways	65 mph (70 where posted)
Residential, business, urban districts	35 mph unless posted
Signal before turning	At least 100 feet in town, 5 seconds on highways
Following distance	At least 3 seconds, more in bad weather
Parallel parking	Within 18 inches of the curb, facing the direction of traffic
Fire hydrant	No parking within 15 feet
Crosswalk	No parking within 20 feet
Stop sign, yield sign, signal	No parking within 30 feet
Railroad tracks	No parking within 50 feet

Right on red is allowed after stopping and yielding unless posted. Left on red is allowed from a one-way street onto a one-way street.
Stop for a school bus with flashing red lights or its stop arm out. You do not have to stop if you are going the opposite way on a highway with two or more lanes in each direction. See school bus stopping laws.
On a two-lane road with a limit of 55 mph or higher, a car, motorcycle or pickup not towing may go up to 15 mph over the limit to pass a slower vehicle (not in work zones).
A slow vehicle holding up 3 or more vehicles on a two-lane or rural road must pull off where safe to let them pass.
Treat a dark traffic signal (power outage) as a four-way stop.
No U-turn on a curve, near a hill crest, or anywhere you cannot be seen from 500 feet in both directions.
Finish any pass before you come within 200 feet of oncoming traffic.
Funeral processions: do not enter an intersection while a procession is passing through it, whatever the light shows, unless you can do so without crossing its path.
Backing is never allowed on a freeway or its shoulder. If you miss your exit, go on to the next one.

The driving task

The handbook covers defensive driving, distraction, fatigue and highway hypnosis.

Phones: Idaho is a hands-free state

Since July 1, 2020 (House Bill 614), Idaho bans using a handheld electronic device while driving. ITD says the law applies whenever you are in a travel lane on a public road, even when stopped at a stop sign or signal. You may use your phone when parked out of the travel lane, and one-touch dialing is allowed. A violation is a moving violation, with fines that rise for repeat offenses within 3 years. Note that the handbook’s cell phone section still describes the older texting-only law, which HB 614 replaced. See hands-free and texting laws.

Drivers aged 15 through 24 can take Alive at 25, a law enforcement defensive driving course.

Sharing the road in Idaho

Bicycles: leave at least 3 feet when passing. Under Idaho law, cyclists may roll through stop signs and may proceed through a red light after stopping, if they yield. Expect it.
Emergency vehicles: pull to the right and stop for sirens or flashing lights. When passing a stopped emergency vehicle, tow truck or incident response vehicle, slow below the limit and move over a lane if you safely can. See move over laws.
Large trucks: a loaded truck needs about 450 feet to stop from 55 mph on a dry road.
Open range: outside city limits and herd districts, livestock may roam, and herds being moved have the right-of-way. If you hit livestock on open range, the owner is not liable for your damage.
Wildlife: moose, elk and deer travel in herds. If one crosses, expect more.
Snowplows: stay two car lengths back for every 10 mph of your speed, and pass only when you can clearly see the road ahead.
Low visibility: headlights must be on in daytime whenever you cannot see 500 feet ahead.
Road conditions: dial 511 or use 511.idaho.gov.

More: sharing the road with motorcycles, bicycles and trucks and driving in snow, fog and rain.

Be prepared: crashes, DUI and suspensions

Crashes: report any crash with injury or property damage over $1,500 to police. On an interstate or major divided highway, move a vehicle from a crash with no injury or death to the shoulder, median or emergency lane. If you hit an unattended vehicle, try to find the owner or leave a note with your name and phone number. Idaho’s Good Samaritan law protects people who help in good faith.
Points: each moving violation carries 1 to 4 points. 8 to 11 points in 12 months brings a warning letter; 12 to 17 in 12 months, a 30-day suspension; 18 to 23 in 24 months, 90 days; 24 or more in 36 months, 6 months. An ITD-approved defensive driving course can remove up to 3 points that are already on your record. A traffic safety course offered by the officer at the time of a ticket, and finished within 45 days, removes that ticket’s points (up to 4).
DUI limits: .02 under 21, .04 in a commercial vehicle, .08 at 21 or older.
First DUI conviction: up to 6 months in jail, up to $1,000 fine, and a license suspension of 90 to 180 days (one year if under 21), with no driving at all for the first 30 days.
Test refusal: a $250 civil penalty and, for a first refusal, a one-year suspension with no driving privileges. A second refusal within 10 years means a two-year absolute suspension.
Failing a breath or blood test: an administrative suspension starting 30 days after you are served. A first failure means 90 days, with no driving at all for the first 30, then an ignition interlock for a year. You have 7 days to ask for a hearing.
Open containers: drivers and passengers may not drink or hold an open alcohol container. Carry unsealed alcohol in the trunk.
Reinstatement: $25 to $285, depending on the suspension.

National context: implied consent and DUI, zero tolerance under 21, points systems and suspensions.

Practice test questions

ITD says web practice tests are not an accurate guide to the real test, except the sample questions on ITD’s own website. The handbook ends with 20 practice questions and answers. Use those, then try the questions in the Idaho knowledge test guide.

New to Idaho?

You have 30 days after moving to get an Idaho license, and you will take the knowledge test. Out-of-state college students and active-duty military (and their families) who keep residency elsewhere are exempt. Full details: moving to Idaho and transferring your license.

Common questions

Can you get a driver’s license at 15 in Idaho?

Yes. You must finish approved driver training, hold the SIP for at least 6 months violation-free with 50 hours logged, and pass both tests. Until 16 you drive in daylight only (5 a.m. to 10 p.m.) unless a licensed driver 21 or older is beside you.

What age can you get a permit in Idaho?

14 1/2, for a Driver Training Permit. The Class D Instruction Permit is for ages 17 and up.

Can parents teach driver’s ed in Idaho?

Yes, if you live in a rural school district or one without a driver education course. A qualifying parent teaches the in-car hours and the student takes an approved online classroom course. See the parent-led training guide.

Where do you get an Idaho license?

At a county sheriff’s driver’s license office. ITD’s website lists locations, and some offices take appointments.

Who gives the Idaho driving test?

Third-party Skills Test Examiners, not county staff. You contact one from ITD’s regional examiner lists.

Does Idaho issue international driving permits?

No. ITD says to contact AAA.

For how Idaho compares with other states, see how to get a driver’s license in the US, GDL rules compared and supervised driving hours by state.

Sources

Idaho Transportation Department, “Idaho Driver’s Handbook” (July 2026) (itd.idaho.gov)
Idaho Transportation Department, “Idaho’s Graduated Driver’s Licensing (GDL) Program” fact sheet ITD 3506 (itd.idaho.gov)
Idaho Transportation Department, “Young Drivers” (itd.idaho.gov)
Idaho Transportation Department, “Taking the Driver’s Test” (itd.idaho.gov)
Idaho Transportation Department, “New to Idaho” (itd.idaho.gov)
Idaho Transportation Department, “Star Card” (itd.idaho.gov)
Idaho Transportation Department, The Transporter, “Idaho drivers to go hands-free as of July 1” (June 26, 2020) (apps.itd.idaho.gov)

Learning to Drive in Idaho: Permit, SIP, Tests and Fees