After you pass in Alaska: restrictions and your licence

By the end of this topic you can

• You can state the passenger and hours restrictions and their exceptions.
• You can explain the penalty for breaking a restriction.
• You can describe how to have the restrictions removed early.
• You can say what changes at 18 and at 21.
• You can explain how a parent can withdraw consent.

What you need to know and understand

• Restriction A (passengers): you may not carry passengers unless one is a parent, legal guardian or person aged 21 or older. Siblings may ride with you without a parent in the car.
• Restriction B (hours): no driving from 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. unless a parent, legal guardian or licensed person aged 21 or older is with you.
• Driving to or from work, or as part of your job, between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. is allowed by the most direct route.
• Breaking a restriction is an infraction with a $200 penalty and 2 points.
• After 6 months with no traffic convictions and no alcohol or drug convictions, you may remove the restrictions with a new parental consent and a $15 license.
• At 18 the restrictions no longer apply.
• The restrictions do not apply to an off-highway license restricted to communities off the road system.

Real situations, real answers

• Driving your younger sister to school: allowed.
• Driving two friends aged 17 to the cinema with no one else: not allowed.
• Driving those friends with your 22-year-old cousin also in the car: allowed.
• Driving home from a shift that ends at 1:30 a.m., straight home: allowed.
• Driving home from a party at 2 a.m. alone: not allowed.

Lifting the restrictions early

1. Drive for at least 6 months on the provisional license.
2. Keep a clean record: no traffic convictions and no repeat minor-consuming-alcohol conviction in the 6 months before you apply.
3. Get new parental consent, signed on form D1 at the DMV or on a notarized form 433.
4. Pay $15 for a new license without the provisional restrictions.

Things that can still go wrong

A provisional driver with 6 points in 12 months, or 9 in 24 months, must complete a driver improvement course, and not finishing it can lead to suspension. Under 21, any alcohol before driving leads to revocation. The parent or guardian who signed your consent can withdraw it in writing before you turn 18, and the DMV will then cancel your license.

Your license expires 90 days after your 21st birthday. To renew, you must pass an alcohol awareness test, and you get a horizontal adult-style license.

Common mistakes

• Thinking a 19-year-old friend counts as an adult passenger. The exception needs someone aged 21 or older.
• Stopping off at a friend's house on the way home from a late shift. The work exception covers only the most direct route.
• Assuming restrictions drop automatically at 6 months. Before 18 you must apply with new consent.
• Letting a single ticket slip. Any conviction resets the clock for removing restrictions.

Test yourself: After you pass in Alaska: restrictions and your licence

Answer each question, then read the explanation. Questions come in a random order each time.

Go deeper

• Alaska 40 Hour Supervised Driving Certification Checklist
• Alaska Off-Highway Driver’s License
• Alaska Permit Practice Test