After you pass in Washington: restrictions and your licence

By the end of this topic you can

• You can explain the passenger limits in the first six months and afterward.
• You can state the night driving hours and their exceptions.
• You can explain the wireless device ban for intermediate drivers.
• You can say how police enforce these rules.
• You can describe how and when the limits end.

What you need to know and understand

• First six months: no passengers under 20 who are not immediate family.
• After six months: no more than three passengers under 20 who are not immediate family.
• No driving from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., unless a licensed driver 25 or older is with you, or for school, religious or work activities.
• No use of a wireless device while driving, except to report illegal activity, call for emergency help or prevent injury.
• Passenger and night limits are enforced only after a stop for something else; the phone rule can be enforced on its own.
• A clean first 12 months lifts the passenger and night limits early.
• The license stops being intermediate on your 18th birthday.

Your first year behind the wheel

For the first six months (or until you turn 18 if sooner), only immediate family members may ride with you if they are under 20. Passengers aged 20 or older do not count. Immediate family is defined broadly: siblings and half-siblings, parents, stepparents, grandparents, your children, foster children in your home and similar relatives of a spouse or domestic partner.

After six months, you may carry up to three passengers under 20 who are not family.

Night and phone limits

You may not drive between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. unless a licensed driver aged 25 or older is with you, or the trip is for school, religious or work activities for you or your immediate family. If driving is needed for agricultural work, you may drive at any hour with any number of passengers.

You may not use a wireless device while driving, even hands-free. Police can stop you for this alone. A ticket for any of these rules, or for any traffic offense, starts the intermediate warning and suspension steps.

When the limits lift

Our guide to Washington intermediate license rules for teens answers common questions about passengers and late shifts.

• Passenger and night limits end early if your first 12 months have no single-vehicle crash, no at-fault or cited crash, no crash where no one was cited, no traffic offense and no restriction violation.
• The wireless device ban stays until you turn 18.
• At 18 your license is no longer an intermediate license.
• Everyone, at any age, is still bound by the E-DUI phone law and the under-21 alcohol and cannabis limits.

Common mistakes

• Driving friends home from a game in your first month. No non-family passengers under 20 are allowed yet.
• Assuming the night limit starts at midnight. It runs from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., but plan to be home earlier.
• Using hands-free calling. Intermediate drivers may not use a wireless device at all while driving.
• Thinking the rules end after one year automatically. They lift early only with a completely clean record.

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

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

Go deeper

• Washington Knowledge Test
• Washington Intermediate License Rules for Teens
• Learning to Drive in Washington State