Florida Driving Permit: Requirements, Restrictions, and Costs

To meet Florida’s driving permit requirements, you need to be at least fifteen, finish the correct driver education course for your age, bring REAL ID documents (plus signed parental consent if you’re a minor), pass a fifty-question knowledge exam along with vision and hearing screenings, and pay a $48 fee at an FLHSMV service center or county tax collector’s office.¹ The education course requirement changed on August 1, 2025, so applicants under eighteen now follow a different track than adults.

Age and School Attendance

The minimum age is fifteen.² There is no upper age limit, and adults who have never been licensed go through the same basic process without the minor-only requirements.

If you are under eighteen, your permit is tied to school. You have to be enrolled and attending a public school, private school, or home education program, or already hold a diploma or equivalency certificate. When a school district reports a student as noncompliant, FLHSMV suspends the permit, and reinstatement requires the district to confirm thirty days back in compliance.³ The check is electronic, so there is no way around it at the counter.

The Driver Education Course You Need

This is the step that trips people up, because the rule depends on your age and when you took the course.

Under Eighteen

If you are under eighteen and have never held a license anywhere, you must complete the six-hour Driver Education Traffic Safety (DETS) course before applying. The older four-hour Traffic Law and Substance Abuse Education (TLSAE) course no longer counts for minors unless you finished it before August 1, 2025. A pre-August TLSAE certificate stays valid for one year; miss that window and you have to take the DETS course instead.⁴

Two alternatives satisfy the requirement without a separate DETS enrollment: a Florida Department of Education Traffic Safety Classroom course (course number 1900300 or 1900310), or a Driver Education Licensing Assistance Program (DELAP) run through your county school board.⁴

Eighteen and Older

Adult first-time applicants still take the four-hour TLSAE. The 2025 DETS change did not affect this group.⁴ The course covers Florida traffic law and the effects of alcohol and drugs on driving.¹

Documents to Bring

Florida follows federal REAL ID standards. For your first in-office visit, you need original documents in three categories: proof of identity, proof of your Social Security number, and two proofs of your Florida residential address.⁵ The accepted list varies by citizenship status (U.S. citizen, immigrant, or non-immigrant), so confirm the version that applies to you on the FLHSMV site. Typical U.S. citizen combinations include a birth certificate or passport, a Social Security card, and two residential items such as a utility bill or bank statement.

Applicants under eighteen also need a signed parental consent form, HSMV 71142. A parent or legal guardian signs it, and the signature must be either notarized or made in front of a driver license examiner at the service center.⁶ If the signing parent cannot come along, get it notarized ahead of time to avoid a second trip.

The Knowledge Exam and Vision Check

The Class E Knowledge Exam has fifty multiple-choice questions on Florida traffic laws and road signs. Passing takes forty correct, or 80 percent.⁷ Every question comes from the Official Florida Driver License Handbook, which FLHSMV publishes free online. You can test at a service center, a tax collector’s office, or through an authorized third-party provider; some third parties offer online testing, though you may be randomly selected for a mandatory retest at a state office.⁸

You also take vision and hearing screenings.⁹ The vision standard is 20/40 or better in either eye, with or without correction. If you need glasses or contacts to meet it, a corrective-lens restriction goes on the permit.⁷ Applicants who are deaf or cannot hear normal conversation are not disqualified; they receive a restriction requiring either a left-side outside rearview mirror or use of a hearing aid.

Where You Apply and What It Costs

Any FLHSMV service center and most county tax collector offices that handle driver license services can issue the permit. Booking an appointment online through FLHSMV cuts the wait significantly compared to walking in. Course completion is verified electronically, so a paper certificate is not required, though keeping one as backup is wise.

The state fee is $48.00. A tax collector’s office adds a $6.25 service charge per transaction.¹⁰ Payment options vary by location but generally include credit cards, checks, and cash. The examiner takes a digital photo and signature before issuing the permit.

Restrictions Once You Have the Permit

A learner’s license is not a lightly supervised regular license. Every time you drive, a licensed driver aged twenty-one or older must occupy the front passenger seat (the statute specifies “the closest seat to the right of the driver”), and that person must hold a valid license for the type of vehicle you are operating.² A parent with an expired license does not satisfy the rule.

A curfew applies and loosens with experience:

During the first three months, daylight hours only.
After three months, up to 10:00 p.m.²

There is no work exception on a learner’s license; that only arrives once you upgrade to a full license at sixteen or seventeen. Driving outside the curfew or without a qualifying supervisor is a moving violation, which means a citation, a fine, and points on your record, and it can push back your timeline for the full license.

Upgrading to a Full License

The permit is a stepping stone. To qualify for a full Class E license, you need to be at least sixteen, hold the permit for at least twelve months (unless you turn eighteen first), and complete fifty hours of supervised driving, with at least ten of those at night.¹ Teen drivers then face their own graduated curfews until they turn eighteen.

A Note on Insurance

Florida requires every registered vehicle to carry at least $10,000 in personal injury protection (PIP) and $10,000 in property damage liability.¹¹ Coverage follows the vehicle, so a permit holder practicing in a parent’s insured car is generally covered under the existing policy. Tell the insurance company anyway. Failing to disclose a new driver in the household can give the insurer grounds to deny a claim or cancel the policy after a crash, and adding a teen to an existing policy is almost always cheaper than opening a separate one.

1
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Licensing Requirements for Teens, Graduated Driver License Laws and Driving Curfews
2
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 322.1615 – Learner’s Driver License
3
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 322.091 – Attendance Requirements
4
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Driver Education Traffic Safety (DETS)
5
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. What to Bring
6
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Parental Consent for a Driver Application of a Minor
7
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Class E Knowledge Exam and Driving Skills Test
8
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Driver License Exams
9
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. General Information
10
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Frequently Asked Questions
11
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Florida Insurance Requirements