Supervised practice and driver education in Virginia

By the end of this topic you can

• You can state the minimum practice hours and how many must be after sunset.
• You can say who may supervise and who must sign the hours.
• You can describe the minimum parts of a Virginia driver education course.
• You can plan practice sessions that cover a wide range of roads and conditions.
• You can explain what the end-of-course road skills assessment leads to.

What you need to know and understand

• Under-18s need at least 45 hours of driving on the permit, including 15 after sunset.
• A parent, foster parent or legal guardian must certify the hours on a DMV form. Married or emancipated minors are exempt.
• Driver education includes at least 36 classroom periods and 14 in-car periods, each at least 50 minutes.
• The classroom part includes a parent and student component of at least 90 minutes.
• Students must drive at least 50 miles during the in-car phase.
• No more than two in-car periods can take place in any 24 hours, and at least one must be actual driving.
• Passing the standardized end-of-course road skills assessment leads to a temporary license if you are at least 16 years and 3 months old.

The 45 hours: making them count

Forty-five hours spread across nine months is only a little over an hour a week. Little and often works better than long weekend marathons. Keep a log of each session: the date, the time, whether it was after sunset, and what you practiced.

Your supervisor can be any licensed driver 21 or older, a parent or guardian, or a licensed sibling, half-sibling or step-sibling aged 18 or older. Only a parent, foster parent or legal guardian can sign the certification, and a false certification can be prosecuted, so never round up.

• Empty parking lots: starting, stopping, steering and parking.
• Quiet neighborhoods: stop signs, turns and four-way stops.
• Busier roads with lane changes and traffic signals.
• Highways: merging, keeping a safe gap and exiting.
• Night driving, rain and heavy traffic within your 15 after-sunset hours.

What driver education includes

Courses are offered by many high schools and by driver training schools licensed by Virginia DMV. The classroom part covers laws, alcohol and drugs, distracted and aggressive driving, and more. The in-car part pairs actual driving with observation of another student driving.

The 90-minute parent and student session covers family responsibilities, the juvenile driving limits and the dangers of drinking, distraction and speeding. In Northern Virginia's Planning District 8, it is held in person and a parent must attend. Check local arrangements with your course provider.

How it ends

At the end of the in-car phase, your instructor gives a standardized road skills assessment. Pass it and, from 16 years and 3 months, your permit plus the completion paperwork lets you drive without a supervisor until your permanent license arrives. The site's guide to the Virginia 45-hour driving log and driver education has a full checklist.

Common mistakes

• Leaving most of the night hours to the last few weeks. Spread them across seasons.
• Only practicing the same route to school. Vary road types and traffic.
• Assuming any adult can sign the log. Only a parent, foster parent or legal guardian can certify the 45 hours.
• Booking two long in-car lessons on one day. The rules allow no more than two periods in 24 hours.

Test yourself: Supervised practice and driver education in Virginia

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

Go deeper

• Virginia 45-Hour Driving Log and Driver Ed Requirements
• Virginia Permit Practice Test
• How to Get a Driver’s License in Virginia