Supervised practice and driver education in Mississippi

By the end of this topic you can

• You can state how many supervised hours the Mississippi affidavit requires.
• You can explain who may sit beside a permit holder and who may sign the affidavit.
• You can describe the driver education requirement and when it starts.
• You can build a practice plan that covers night, highway and bad-weather driving.

What you need to know and understand

• Under 17, a parent, teacher or guardian must sign an affidavit that you have driven at least 50 hours and are proficient in safe driving.
• The affidavit does not set a separate number of night hours, but night practice is still essential.
• Your supervisor while on a permit must be a licensed driver aged 21 or older in the seat next to you.
• Applicants aged 17 or older do not need the affidavit, according to the DSB.
• From July 1, 2027, a first license requires completion of a driver education course certified by the State Board of Education or the Department of Public Safety.
• Certified driver education is already required for a hardship license.
• The DSB links to a mentor guide for adults who are teaching a new driver.

Two different adults, two different jobs

The person in the passenger seat and the person who signs the affidavit are not always the same. Any licensed driver aged 21 or older may supervise your practice drives. The affidavit itself must be signed by a parent, teacher or guardian who has watched you drive and can vouch for at least 50 hours and safe driving.

Because there is currently no road test, that signature carries real weight. Nobody else will check your driving before you go solo, so the adult signing should be honest about whether you are ready.

Spreading your 50 hours

Fifty hours over a year is about one hour a week. A good plan moves step by step from an empty lot to busy traffic, night, interstates and bad weather, and the DSB's mentor guide for supervising adults can help you structure it. A spread like this works well:

• Empty parking lot: starting, stopping, steering and turning.
• Quiet residential streets in daylight, then moderate traffic.
• Night driving, including dimming headlights within 500 feet of other vehicles.
• Interstate merging, lane changes and exits.
• Rain and wet roads, where the first minutes of rain are the slickest.
• Parallel parking, hill parking and turning around in a tight space.

Driver education from July 2027

A 2024 law (Senate Bill 2695) makes certified driver education a condition of a first license from July 1, 2027, at any age. You can still get a learner's permit before finishing the course. The law requires a program certified by the State Board of Education or the Department of Public Safety, with at least 24 hours of classroom teaching and 6 hours behind the wheel. For hardship licenses, since July 1, 2026 the DSB accepts certificates only from a Mississippi public school or a DPS-certified instructor, so check that your course qualifies before you pay. Our guide to the 2027 driver education requirement explains the options in more detail.

Common mistakes

• Counting the same few short trips to school as all your practice. Mix roads, times of day and weather.
• Letting a licensed 19-year-old friend supervise. Permit supervisors must be 21 or older.
• Assuming any online course will be accepted. Use a public school program or a DPS-certified instructor.
• Leaving night driving until the last month. Start it early so it feels normal by the time you drive alone.

Test yourself: Supervised practice and driver education in Mississippi

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

Go deeper

• Mississippi Permit Practice Test
• Mississippi Teen Driver License Rules and Age Requirements
• Learning to Drive in Mississippi