Arizona Drivers Permit: Requirements, Written Test, and Restrictions

To get an Arizona driver’s permit, you need to be at least fifteen years and six months old, bring proof of identity and two proofs of Arizona residency to a Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) office, pass a 30-question written test and a vision screening, and pay a $7 fee.¹² The permit is valid for twelve months and lets you practice on public roads as long as a licensed driver aged twenty-one or older is in the passenger seat.

Age and Residency

Fifteen and a half is the floor. The permit itself is called a Class D or Class G instruction permit, and the distinction barely matters at this stage: Class G is simply the version issued to drivers under eighteen, and it converts to Class D automatically when you turn eighteen.³

You also need to be an Arizona resident. The MVD counts you as a resident if you work in the state, are registered to vote here, enroll children in school at in-state tuition rates, or spend seven or more months in Arizona during any calendar year, among other criteria.⁴

What to Bring

Gather these before you go:

Proof of identity: an original or certified birth certificate, an unexpired U.S. passport, or a U.S. passport card.⁵
Your Social Security number. You’ll enter the full number on the application; the physical card isn’t required.⁵
Two proofs of Arizona residency, each from a different source, each showing your name and current physical address. Utility bills, bank statements, insurance policies, and government documents all work.⁵
Proof of any name change (marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order) if your current legal name differs from the name on your identity document.

The application itself is Form 40-5122, which doubles as the parental consent form.⁶ If you’re under eighteen, a parent or guardian must fill out the “Legal Guardian Certificate” section, and their signature has to be witnessed by an MVD agent or a notary public. The form also asks for medical-screening answers and physical descriptors like height, weight, and eye color.

One choice to make before you go: a standard permit costs $7, while a Travel ID (Arizona’s REAL ID-compliant credential) costs $25 and asks for stricter proof of identity.⁵ For the purpose of learning to drive, the $7 permit is all you need. The Travel ID matters only if you want this card to work for boarding domestic flights or entering federal facilities, and even then, a valid U.S. passport covers the same ground.

The Written Test and Vision Screening

The written exam has 30 multiple-choice questions pulled from the Arizona Driver License Manual. The topics are traffic signals, right-of-way rules, road signs, and safe driving practices. You need 80 percent — 24 of 30 — to pass.⁷ Reading the manual once is usually not enough. Free practice tests are available through the state’s Travel ID Document Guide site, and working through them before you sit the real exam is the simplest way to clear the 80 percent bar.

If you’re under eighteen, you can take the test at home instead of at an office. A parent or legal guardian proctors the exam after setting up a free account on the AZ MVD Now portal, or an approved professional driving instructor can proctor it on the parent’s behalf.⁸ Adults eighteen and older test in person at an MVD office or an authorized third-party provider.

The vision screening checks whether you can see at least 20/40 in one eye. If you meet the standard without glasses or contacts, your permit is unrestricted. If you need corrective lenses to reach 20/40, you’ll still pass, but your permit will carry a “B” restriction requiring you to wear them whenever you drive.⁹ A peripheral vision test is part of the screening too.

At the MVD

Book an appointment through the AZ MVD Now portal rather than walking in. Bring your completed Form 40-5122, your identity and residency documents, and payment. The MVD accepts credit cards, cash, checks, traveler’s checks, and money orders.²

When you pass both tests, staff print a temporary paper receipt with your photo. That receipt is your valid permit while the plastic card is in the mail. Allow up to 15 days for the card to arrive.¹⁰

What You Can and Can’t Do With the Permit

A permit is not a license. The rules are short and strict:

A licensed driver at least twenty-one years old must be in the passenger seat whenever you drive. That person has to hold a Class A, B, C, or D license.¹
You have to carry the permit (or the temporary receipt) on you every time you drive.¹
The permit is valid for twelve months from the issue date.⁷

There’s no separate nighttime curfew during the permit phase, because the 24-hour supervision rule means you’re never driving alone anyway. Curfew and passenger limits apply later, after you get a Class G license.

Moving From Permit to Class G License

You must hold the permit for at least five months before you can apply for a Class G license, and you also need to document supervised driving hours. There are two paths:¹¹

Finish an approved driver education course at a certified driving school, plus have a parent or guardian certify at least 20 hours of supervised practice (6 of them at night). The MVD road test is waived.
Skip the course and have a parent or guardian certify at least 30 hours of supervised practice (10 at night), then pass the MVD road test.

Arizona doesn’t issue a state log sheet. The parent or guardian’s written certification is what the MVD accepts, but keeping your own detailed log of dates, times, and conditions protects you if any question comes up later about whether the hours were really completed.

If the Permit Expires

Renew before the expiration date and you can extend the permit another year without retaking the written test. Let it lapse and you start over: new application, new fee, new knowledge test. The $7 is trivial; the real cost of letting it expire is the time spent testing again.

Zero Alcohol Under Twenty-One

One rule can erase everything above. If you’re under twenty-one, it is illegal to operate or be in physical control of a vehicle with any measurable alcohol in your body.¹² The limit is effectively 0.00 percent BAC. A first offense carries a minimum 24 hours in jail, a $250 base fine, a 90-day license suspension, and a required ignition interlock device. Refusing a chemical test triggers a separate one-year suspension of your driving privilege on its own.¹³

1
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-3154 – Instruction Permit for a Class D or G License
2
Arizona Department of Transportation. Fees (Driver License)
3
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-3101 – Driver License Classes
4
Arizona Department of Transportation. Proof of Identification, Age and Authorized Presence
5
Arizona Department of Transportation. Arizona Travel ID
6
Arizona Department of Transportation. License/Identification Application 40-5122
7
Arizona Department of Transportation. Permit Test (at Home or in an Office)
8
Travel ID Document Guide. Permit Test Home
9
Arizona Department of Transportation. Medical and Vision Screening
10
Arizona Department of Transportation. Driver License and Identification Information
11
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-3174 – Class G Driver Licenses; Restrictions; Civil Penalties
12
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 4-244 – Unlawful Acts; Definition
13
Arizona Department of Public Safety. Impaired Driving