Driving Age in Kansas: GDL Stages, Farm Permits, and Penalties

The driving age in Kansas starts at 14. That’s when a teen can apply for an instructional permit, the first stage of the state’s Graduated Driver’s License program. From there, a restricted license becomes available at 15, expanded driving privileges open up at 16, and a fully unrestricted license arrives at 17. Each stage adds independence and pulls back on supervision, but only if the earlier requirements are met.

Age 14: The Instructional Permit

Kansas issues instructional permits to anyone at least 14 years old under K.S.A. 8-2,100.¹ Because the applicant is a minor, a parent or guardian has to submit a written application on the teen’s behalf.

At the licensing office, the applicant passes a vision screening and a written knowledge test. A certificate from an approved driver’s education course waives the written test.² The vision standard is 20/40 or better in at least one eye; anything worse triggers a referral to an eye doctor with a vision form to bring back after correction.³

Once the permit is in hand, the rules are simple. A supervising driver has to sit in the front passenger seat any time the car is moving. That adult must be at least 21, hold a valid license, and have at least one year of driving experience. No one else is allowed in the front seat.¹ There are no time-of-day limits at the permit stage, so driving after dark is allowed as long as the supervising adult is there.

The permit has to be held for at least one year before a teen can move up to the restricted license. During that year, supervised driving hours start accumulating toward the 50-hour total needed later.

One rule catches new permit holders off guard: no cell phone or wireless device use behind the wheel, at all. The only exception is calling to report a crime or summon emergency help.¹ The ban applies even when the supervising driver is sitting right there.

Age 15: The Restricted License

At 15, a teen who has held the instructional permit for at least a year and logged 25 hours of supervised driving can upgrade to a restricted license. A parent or guardian submits the written application along with a signed affidavit confirming those 25 hours.⁴ Completing an approved driver’s education course is also required at this stage, and only at this stage.² The office runs a vision screening; no written or driving test is required if driver’s ed is complete.

The restricted license permits driving alone, but only for specific purposes:

To and from work, including farm-related employment
To and from school on school days, using the most direct route between home and school
To and from religious activities held by a religious organization

For any other purpose, a licensed adult who is at least 21 must be in the front passenger seat. With that adult present, driving is allowed anywhere at any time.⁴

Passenger rules at 15 are strict. No minor passengers other than siblings. Friends, classmates, teammates — none of them. A violation of this or any other GDL restriction results in a license suspension.⁵

Age 16: Expanded Privileges

Sixteen opens the door to real independence, but the paperwork tightens first. Before the 16th birthday, a parent or guardian must submit a signed affidavit confirming a total of 50 hours of supervised driving, with at least 10 of those hours at night.⁴ If 25 hours were logged for the age-15 restricted license, another 25 are needed. A written test and a behind-the-wheel driving test also apply at this stage, both waived by a driver’s education certificate.²

With those requirements met, the driving window widens. Solo driving is allowed from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Between 9:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., solo driving is only allowed for the same three purposes as before — work, authorized school activities, and religious services. Any other trip during those overnight hours requires a licensed adult in the passenger seat.⁵

The passenger rule loosens, but only slightly. One non-sibling passenger under 18 is allowed. More than one is a violation. This one-passenger limit lasts for six months after the 16th birthday. Stay violation-free through that six-month stretch and every remaining GDL restriction drops away automatically, with no need to wait for 17.⁴

Age 17: The Unrestricted License

Seventeen is the guaranteed finish line. Any GDL restrictions still in place fall away at that age, whether or not the six-month compliance path at 16 was completed. From that point on, Kansas treats a 17-year-old like any other licensed driver, aside from age-based alcohol laws.² Any tests not already passed at an earlier stage still apply, unless a driver’s education certificate covers them.

There’s a catch worth knowing before the driving starts. Two or more moving violations before age 16 delay the unrestricted license until age 17. Two or more moving violations between 16 and 17 push it back to age 18.⁵ Tickets during the GDL years carry more weight than just fines.

A Separate Track: Farm Permits

Kansas runs a separate farm permit track for teens who live on a farm or work on one for pay. It also starts at age 14 but skips the standard GDL permit stage, allowing a standard passenger vehicle to be driven for farm-related purposes. Testing is different: a vision screening plus both written and driving tests, unless a driver’s education certificate is provided. At 16, farm permit holders can move to less restricted farm privileges through a similar testing process.²

What Happens If You Break the Rules

Kansas treats GDL violations seriously. Driving without the required supervising adult, carrying prohibited passengers, or driving outside allowed hours triggers a license suspension under the same authority that governs any other Kansas license suspension.¹ Repeated violations lead to progressively longer suspensions.

Failing to provide the 50-hour driving affidavit has its own consequence. Restrictions continue until the affidavit is submitted or the driver turns 17, whichever comes first.⁶ The affidavit is a signed parental statement, not a detailed driving log, though keeping a log makes signing that statement honestly a lot easier.

1
Justia. Kansas Code 8-2,100 – Instruction Permits; Conditions, Restrictions and Requirements; Under 17 Years of Age
2
Kansas Department of Revenue. Graduated Driver License Requirements for Teen Drivers
3
Kansas State Legislature. Kansas Code 8-295 – Vision Standards for Drivers Licenses
4
Justia. Kansas Code 8-2,101 – Restricted License; Conditions, Restrictions and Requirements
5
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 8-2,101 – Restricted License; Conditions, Restrictions and Requirements
6
Kansas Department of Revenue. Kansas Department of Revenue Division of Vehicles – Frequently Asked Questions About Teen Driving