Georgia 40-Hour Driving Log Sheet: Joshua’s Law Affidavit and Skills

The Georgia 40-hour driving log is a session-by-session record of the supervised practice a teen must complete before applying for a Class D provisional license. Georgia’s Department of Driver Services does not actually collect that log at the counter. What DDS requires is a signed, sworn affidavit from a parent or guardian confirming the teen finished 40 hours of supervised driving, with at least six of those hours after sunset.¹ The log is still the tool that makes that affidavit honest, and DDS publishes a free 40-Hour Parent/Teen Driving Guide with a log sheet built into it.²

What Counts Toward the 40 Hours

Every teen under 18 applying for a Class D license must complete 40 hours of supervised driving, and at least six of those hours must be at night.³ The 40-hour requirement is the same whether the teen takes classroom driver education at a certified school, does it online, or is parent-taught.⁴

Night means after sunset, so any session that runs past dusk counts toward the six-hour nighttime minimum. Track those hours separately from daytime hours on the log; they are counted independently, and coming up short on night hours will keep you from meeting the requirement even if your total exceeds 40.

The adult in the passenger seat during practice must be at least 21, hold a valid Georgia Class C license (commercial or noncommercial), be physically capable of controlling the vehicle, and sit in the front passenger seat.³ A parent or guardian is the usual choice, but any adult meeting all four conditions can legally supervise a session.⁵ Only a parent or guardian (or a DDS-certified instructor, if a driving school handled the training) can sign the affidavit at the end.

How to Fill Out the Log Sheet

The 40-Hour Driving Log sits at the back of the Parent/Teen Driving Guide. Its columns record the session number, date, total minutes driven, total mileage, whether the session included night driving, whether you drove in bad weather, and the name of the supervising parent, guardian, or approved instructor.²

A few habits keep the log clean:

Fill it in right after each session, while the minutes and mileage are still fresh.
Log night minutes on their own line, or in a separate column, so the six-hour minimum is easy to verify.
Vary the sessions. Different road types, times of day, and weather conditions belong on the log.

There is no separate form number like “DDS-7” for the log, despite outdated references circulating online. The sheet inside the Parent/Teen Driving Guide is the DDS-provided version.

Skills to Cover During Practice

The Parent/Teen Driving Guide organizes practice into 30 sessions that build from basic vehicle control toward complex situations. Early sessions handle starting, stopping, steering, and turning in low-traffic areas. Later ones move into lane changes, highway merging, parallel parking, backing into spaces, and school-zone driving. The last sessions are meant for bad weather, heavy traffic, and nighttime. Spreading the 40 hours across those conditions prepares a teen for the road test and for real driving much better than repeating easy routes.

The Affidavit You Actually Submit

DDS does not want the line-by-line log at the service center. It wants the sworn affidavit from a parent or guardian certifying that all 40 hours, including the six night hours, were completed.¹ Because that affidavit is signed under penalty of law, keeping the detailed log as backup is strongly advisable even though it stays with you.

The statute requires the affidavit to be “signed before a person authorized to administer oaths.”³ That means either a DDS examiner at the service center or a certified notary public. If you use a notary outside the DDS office, bring the notarized original to the appointment. If you plan to sign it in front of a DDS examiner, the parent or guardian has to appear in person with the teen.

Families using a parent-taught method should also bring the completed Parent/Teen Driving Guide pages to the appointment. The guide identifies 13 required session pages that should be turned in with the signed driving agreement and log page.

Other Boxes to Check Before the Road Test

Finishing the 40 hours is one piece of the licensing process. A few other requirements have to line up before DDS will schedule or pass a road test:

Permit time. The Class CP instructional permit must be held for at least one year and one day, and the teen must be at least 16.⁶³
School enrollment proof. Acceptable documents include a notarized Certificate of School Enrollment (Form DDS-1), a recent transcript, a current progress report, or a current school ID. Home-schooled students provide a Certificate of Enrollment or Declaration of Intent filed with the Georgia Department of Education. Teens no longer in school can use a diploma, GED, or proof of GED or post-secondary enrollment.⁷
Road test appointment. All road tests are scheduled in advance online. Walk-ins are not offered. A licensed driver at least 21 has to bring the teen to the center, no other passengers or pets are allowed in the test vehicle, and the vehicle must have current registration, insurance, and pass a safety inspection.⁸
Fee. The Class D provisional license costs $10 and is valid for five years.⁹

1
Georgia Department of Driver Services. Driver Education FAQs
2
Georgia Department of Driver Services. 40 Hour Parent/Teen Driving Guide
3
Justia. Georgia Code 40-5-22 – Issuance of Instruction Permit
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Georgia Department of Driver Services. Joshua’s Law Requirements
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Georgia Department of Driver Services. How Do I Get a Learners Permit (Class CP)
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Georgia.gov. Apply for a Georgia Provisional Drivers License (Class D)
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Georgia Department of Driver Services. School Enrollment Documents
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Georgia Department of Driver Services. Road Test Appointments
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Georgia Department of Driver Services. Fees and Terms