Supervised practice and driver education in West Virginia

By the end of this topic you can

• You can state the minimum practice hours and night hours for Level 2.
• You can explain who may supervise a Level 1 permit holder.
• You can describe how the 50-hour log is completed and certified.
• You can explain the driver education alternative.
• You can plan practice sessions that fit the Level 1 driving hours.

What you need to know and understand

• The requirement is at least 50 hours behind the wheel, with at least 10 hours at night.
• Hours are recorded on the DMV's 50-Hour Certification Log (form DMV-10-GDL).
• Every session must be supervised by a licensed driver aged 21 or older sitting in the front passenger seat.
• A parent or legal guardian certifies the log under penalty of perjury.
• Instead of the log, you can present a driver education card from a course approved by the West Virginia Department of Education.
• Level 1 permit holders may only drive between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m., including during night practice.

Log or driver ed: your two routes

Driver education is an option in West Virginia, not a requirement. Most families use the 50-hour log, but a state-approved course can replace it.

Either way, you also need at least 180 conviction-free days on your Level 1 permit and a passed road skills test before Level 2 is issued.

Filling in the DMV-10-GDL log

1. Print your name and permit number in ink at the top of the form.
2. After each session, record the date, where you practiced, the weather, daytime and nighttime minutes, and the time period.
3. The supervising driver initials each entry.
4. Photocopy extra pages if you need more rows, and add up the totals.
5. Your parent or guardian signs, adds their driver's license number and dates the certification.
6. Bring the completed form when you apply for Level 2.

Making your 50 hours count

The road test scores parallel parking, turnabouts, turns, intersections, lane changes, curves and sign recognition. Build up in stages rather than repeating the same easy drive.

• Start in an empty parking lot: smooth starts and stops, steering, and backing.
• Move to quiet streets for turns, full stops and head checks.
• Practice parallel parking on both sides and two-point and three-point turnabouts.
• Add busier roads, hills, curves and interstate merging.
• Spread night hours across the plan. They must end by 10 p.m., so fall and winter evenings help.
• Include rain or poor weather with your supervisor when it is safe to do so.

Common mistakes

• Letting a 19-year-old sibling supervise. The supervisor must be a licensed driver aged 21 or older.
• Logging night hours after 10 p.m. Level 1 permit holders may not drive then.
• Leaving the log blank and filling it in from memory weeks later. Record each session the same day.
• Forgetting that the parent or guardian, not just the supervisor, must sign the certification.

Test yourself: Supervised practice and driver education in West Virginia

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

Go deeper

• West Virginia Permit Practice Test
• Learning to Drive in West Virginia
• West Virginia 50-Hour Driving Log