After you pass in Oklahoma: restrictions and your licence

By the end of this topic you can

• You can follow the intermediate license time limits and their exceptions
• You can apply the passenger limit correctly
• You can work out when you can get an unrestricted license
• You can explain what happens if you break the rules or get a ticket
• You can state what changes for drivers who pass at 18 or older

What you need to know and understand

• The intermediate license carries a T restriction
• Driving alone is allowed from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Outside those hours you may drive only to or from work, school, school activities or church activities, or with a licensed driver 21 or older beside you
• You may carry only one passenger unless all passengers live in your household or a licensed driver 21 or older sits beside you
• The restriction can be removed after 6 months with driver education and the 50 hour affidavit, or after 1 year without
• A traffic conviction restarts the waiting period from the date of the conviction
• Violating a license restriction adds 2 points and can lead to suspension or cancellation
• New drivers aged 18 or older receive a Class D license without GDL restrictions

Your first months on an intermediate license

After you pass, you get a temporary paper license and your card arrives by mail. The T restriction on the card sets your limits. Between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. you can drive on your own. Late at night or early in the morning you may drive only for work, school, school activities or church activities, unless a licensed driver aged 21 or older is in the seat beside you. Teens who live on a farm or ranch have an extra exception for farm work outside city limits.

You can have one passenger in the car. More are allowed only if they all live in your household, or if a licensed driver 21 or older sits beside you. Our separate guide to Oklahoma intermediate license rules covers these limits in more detail.

Lifting the restriction, step by step

1. Hold the intermediate license for 6 months if you finished driver education and the 50 hour affidavit, or 1 year otherwise.
2. Stay free of traffic convictions, because each one restarts the clock from the conviction date.
3. Visit a Service Oklahoma examiner to have the restriction removed. Service Oklahoma lists 16 and a half as the earliest age for an unrestricted license.

Keeping your license safe

Until you turn 18 your license is probationary, so Service Oklahoma can suspend or cancel it for any moving violation. Using a hand-held device while driving, outside a genuine emergency, can also cost an intermediate holder their license. Breaking the time or passenger limits counts as violating a restriction, which adds 2 points.

Carry your license whenever you drive and show it to an officer if asked, and to anyone involved in a crash with you. Keep the proof of insurance in the car too.

Common mistakes

• Giving several friends a ride home after school because it is still daytime. The passenger limit applies at all hours.
• Driving to a party after 10 p.m. Social events are not among the exceptions.
• Assuming the restriction drops off automatically. You must have it removed by a Service Oklahoma examiner.
• Picking up a ticket in the last week of the waiting period, which resets the clock.

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

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

Go deeper

• Oklahoma Intermediate License Rules
• Oklahoma Permit Test
• How to Get a Driver’s License in Oklahoma