Alabama Driver’s License Rules: Stages, Tests, and Penalties

Alabama driver’s license rules run on a graduated system that starts at 15, require a set list of identity and residency documents, a written and road test, mandatory liability insurance, and a four-year renewal cycle. Break the rules and a point system, DUI statutes, and reciprocal reporting to other states can suspend or revoke your driving privileges.

How You Get Licensed in Alabama

Alabama splits new drivers into three stages before handing over a full license.

Stage I: Learner’s Permit at 15

At 15, you can apply for a Stage I (Class D) learner’s permit. It only lets you drive with a parent, legal guardian, or a licensed driver 21 or older in the front passenger seat.¹ The written test costs $5 and the permit itself is $36.25.²

Stage II: Restricted License at 16

Once you have held the permit for six months, you can move up at 16 to a restricted license. You drive alone, but two rules apply. No driving between midnight and 6 a.m. unless you have a parent, guardian, or a licensed driver 21 or older with parental consent in the car, or unless you are traveling to or from work, a school- or church-sponsored event, or an emergency. And you cannot carry more than one passenger who is not a parent, guardian, or family member.¹

Stage III: Unrestricted License at 17

After six months on a restricted license, a 17-year-old can apply for an unrestricted license.¹ The nighttime curfew and passenger limit fall away.

Adults Applying for the First Time

If you are 18 or older and have never been licensed in Alabama, you skip the graduated stages and test straight for a regular license. You still bring the same documents and pass the same exams.

Documents You Have to Bring

Alabama requires two forms of identification. At least one must include a photo and come from the primary list: a certified U.S. birth certificate, valid passport, or Certificate of Naturalization. You also need your Social Security card. Applicants under 19 must show proof of school enrollment or graduation.²

Two documents proving your Alabama address round out the packet. A utility bill, lease, or voter registration card all qualify. Non-citizens must provide valid immigration documentation, and ALEA verifies lawful presence through the federal SAVE system before issuing a license.

If you do not have a Social Security number, bring a letter from the Social Security Administration confirming you are not eligible for one. Male applicants between 18 and 25 are automatically registered with the Selective Service when they apply for or renew.³

REAL ID

Since May 7, 2025, any air traveler 18 or older needs a REAL ID-compliant license, a valid passport, or another federally accepted ID to clear TSA.⁴ Alabama issues REAL ID-compliant licenses by default, but you have to apply in person with original identity and residency documents. A standard license still works for everyday driving.

Tests and Vision Standard

The written knowledge exam has 30 multiple-choice questions on road signs, traffic laws, and safe-driving practices. You need 24 correct (80%) to pass.⁵ A failed test can be retaken the next business day for another $5.²

Vision must be at least 20/60 in one eye, with or without correction.⁶ Uncorrected acuity between 20/40 and 20/50 gets you a referral to a vision specialist, and your license may then carry restrictions such as daylight-only driving or corrective lenses. Bioptic telescopic lenses cannot be used to meet the standard.

The road test evaluates lane control, signaling, turning, stopping, parking, and speed management. Applicants 18 or older who want to take the road test the same day they pass the written exam must bring a licensed driver, proof of insurance, and a vehicle that passes a basic safety inspection.² Certain critical errors, such as running a red light, mean automatic failure regardless of your overall score. A failed road test can be reattempted at least one business day later.

Insurance You Must Carry

You cannot legally drive in Alabama without liability insurance. The minimums are $25,000 per person for bodily injury or death, $50,000 per accident for bodily injury or death, and $25,000 for property damage, often written as 25/50/25.⁷ Keep proof in the vehicle. ALEA requires it during the road test. Driving without coverage is a separate offense that can bring fines and suspension, so do not let a policy lapse even briefly.

Renewal Rules

After your first license, renewals run on a four-year cycle. You can renew online at alea.gov, in person at an ALEA examining office, or at participating county probate judge and license commissioner offices. Online renewal is limited to once every eight years, so if you renewed online last cycle, you have to visit an office this time.⁸ The renewal fee is $36.25.²

Driving with an expired license is illegal. If yours has been expired more than three years, you must retake the written and road tests as a first-time applicant.⁹ Renewing a REAL ID in person means bringing updated identity and residency documents, since the office re-verifies them.

National Guard members and active-duty service members with deployment orders outside the United States can renew up to a year early so they are not stuck with an expired license overseas.¹⁰

Points, Suspension, and Revocation

Alabama tracks moving violations with a point system. Rack up 12 to 14 points within two years and your license is suspended for 60 days. From there: 15 to 17 points is 90 days, 18 to 20 is 120 days, 21 to 23 is 180 days, and 24 or more is a full year.¹¹

Speeding 1 to 25 mph over the limit is 2 points. Speeding 26 or more over is 5. Reckless driving is 6. An alcohol-related driving conviction that does not trigger mandatory revocation adds 6 as well.¹¹

Suspension is temporary. Revocation is not: you reapply from scratch once the revocation period ends and retake all tests. Reinstatement fees are $100 for a standard suspension, $175 for a revocation, and $275 for any alcohol- or drug-related offense. Add $150 for ignition interlock issuance if a device is part of your reinstatement, plus a $25 drug-related fee in some cases.¹²

Alabama shares suspension and revocation data through the National Driver Register, and every state checks it when you apply. Getting a license in another state does not sidestep an Alabama suspension.¹³

DUI and Implied Consent

DUI penalties climb sharply with each conviction. A first conviction brings a 90-day license suspension. A second brings one year. A third brings three years. A fourth or later means five years.

For offenses after July 1, 2018, ignition interlock requirements are tied to blood alcohol concentration. A first conviction under 0.15 BAC comes with a 90-day interlock term, and the suspension is stayed entirely if you voluntarily install the device. A first conviction at 0.15 or higher triggers a mandatory one-year interlock, with the 90-day suspension stayed once you prove the device is installed. A second conviction requires a two-year interlock, and you must serve 45 days of the one-year suspension before becoming eligible for interlock-restricted driving.¹⁴

Driving on Alabama roads counts as consent to a chemical test if an officer has reasonable grounds to suspect impairment. Refusing a breath, blood, or urine test triggers an automatic 90-day suspension for a first refusal. A second or later refusal within ten years leads to a suspension of one to five years. Commercial license holders who refuse face a minimum one-year disqualification from operating commercial vehicles, regardless of what they were driving at the time.

Moving to Alabama With an Out-of-State License

Once you establish Alabama residency, you have 30 days to transfer your license. Bring your current out-of-state license, proof of identity, your Social Security card, and two documents verifying your Alabama address to an ALEA examining office. The transfer fee is $5 plus $36.25 for the new license.²

If your out-of-state license has not been expired for more than one year, you skip the written and road tests. Past a year, expect to take both.⁹ Alabama does not honor hardship or provisional licenses from other states, so restricted driving privileges elsewhere do not carry over.

Non-citizens transferring in must provide immigration documents proving lawful presence. ALEA verifies status through SAVE, and the Alabama license expires on the same date the authorized stay ends rather than following the standard four-year cycle.

Commercial Driver’s Licenses

A regular Alabama license does not cover large trucks, buses, or vehicles carrying hazardous materials. Those require a Commercial Driver’s License, with the minimum age set at 18 for intrastate-only driving with restrictions, and 21 for unrestricted CDL privileges including interstate travel and hazardous materials endorsements.²

CDL holders face a lower legal alcohol threshold: 0.04% BAC in a commercial vehicle, half the standard 0.08% limit. Serious violations such as reckless driving or leaving the scene of a crash can bring a 60-day disqualification for a first offense, longer for repeats. Using a commercial vehicle to commit a felony brings a lifetime disqualification. Employers must check the FMCSA’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse before hiring and query it annually for every driver they employ. An unresolved drug or alcohol violation in the Clearinghouse blocks you from operating a commercial vehicle until you complete a return-to-duty process with a substance abuse professional.¹⁵

1
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Graduated Driver License
2
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Document Requirements and Fees
3
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 32-6-4 – Issuance of License or Identification Card; Selective Service Registration
4
Transportation Security Administration. TSA Reminds Public of REAL ID Enforcement Deadline of May 7, 2025
5
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Road Test Study Guide
6
Legal Information Institute (LII). Ala. Admin. Code r. 760-X-20-.14 – Conditions Affecting Sensory Function
7
Alabama Department of Revenue. Mandatory Liability Insurance
8
Office of the Governor of Alabama. Governor Ivey Announces Statewide Online Driver License Renewal Extension
9
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Driver License Information
10
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 32-6-1.1 – Continued Validity of Driver’s License
11
Legal Information Institute (LII). Ala. Admin. Code r. 760-X-1-.07 – Suspension and Revocation of Driver License Under the Point System
12
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Driver Records, Crash Reports, and Driver License Reinstatements
13
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. National Driver Register: Frequently Asked Questions
14
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Ignition Interlock Laws
15
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Commercial Driver’s License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse