Supervised practice and driver education in South Carolina

By the end of this topic you can

• You can state the practice hours and night hours a teen needs.
• You can list who may supervise the 40 hours.
• You can describe the driver education requirement and the PDLA form.
• You can plan practice that prepares you for the road test.

What you need to know and understand

• Teens aged 15 or 16 need at least 40 hours of practice, including 10 hours at night.
• The 40 hours must be with a person listed in SC Code 56-1-100(A): your mother or father, legal guardian, someone with custody of you, a person approved in writing by the Department of Social Services, someone standing in place of a parent for at least 60 days, or a responsible adult with notarized written permission.
• Driver education is 8 hours in the classroom and 6 hours of driving.
• You must be enrolled in school (not suspended or expelled) with satisfactory attendance.
• Your driver education program gives you the Certification of School Attendance, Driver's Education and Driving Practice (SCDMV Form PDLA).
• Keep a written record of every practice drive so your parent or guardian can certify the 40 hours on the PDLA.

Who counts as a supervisor for the 40 hours

This is stricter than the general permit rule. During the day, any licensed driver 21 or older with a year of experience may sit with a permit holder. But the 40 required hours must be with someone in the parent-type list above. If a grandparent or family friend helps, they need written permission from a parent or guardian, signed in front of a notary, and you must give SCDMV a copy.

Building your 40 hours, step by step

1. Start in an empty parking lot: moving off, stopping smoothly, steering and backing.
2. Move to quiet residential streets: stop signs, turns, speed control and checking mirrors.
3. Add busier roads: lane changes, signaling 100 feet ahead, traffic lights and left turns across traffic.
4. Practice test skills: parallel parking, backing 100 feet in a straight line, parking on a hill, two-point and three-point turnabouts.
5. Spread your 10 night hours across the months, and include rain and highway or interstate driving with your supervisor.
6. Record every drive on the log right away, with the date, time, minutes and conditions.

Driver education and the PDLA

Choose a driver training program SCDMV recognizes. When you finish both the classroom and the driving parts, the program gives you the PDLA form. Your parent or guardian uses it to certify your school attendance, your driver education and your 40 hours of practice. Bring it to SCDMV when you apply for your conditional or special restricted license.

Ask your driver training school whether its course format is approved and whether instructor time can also count toward the 40 hours, before you rely on it.

Common mistakes

• Logging hours with an older friend who is not in the approved list. Those hours may not count toward the 40.
• Saving all the night driving for the last week. Spread it out so you get used to glare, dim roads and dimming your high beams.
• Forgetting school attendance. Suspension or expulsion, or poor attendance, can stop the license.
• Practicing only the same short route. Mix roads, weather and times of day.
• Losing track of hours. Fill in the log at the end of each drive.

Test yourself: Supervised practice and driver education in South Carolina

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

Go deeper

• South Carolina Drivers Ed Requirements and 40-Hour Practice
• South Carolina Permit Practice Test
• How to Get a Driver’s License in South Carolina