How to Get a Georgia Learner’s Permit: Documents and Knowledge Test

To get a Georgia learner’s permit, you go to any Department of Driver Services (DDS) Customer Service Center at age 15 or older, hand over documents proving your identity, Social Security number, and Georgia address, pass a vision screening and a written knowledge test, and pay a $10 fee. If you’re under 18, a parent, guardian, or authorized driving instructor has to sign the application. The permit DDS issues is called a Class CP, and it’s valid for two years.¹

Who Qualifies

You must be at least 15 and a Georgia resident.² Because the Class CP is built for teen drivers, anyone under 18 needs a parent, legal guardian, or authorized driver training instructor to sign for them. That adult can ask DDS to cancel the permit at any point before the holder turns 18.³

Minors also have to show they’re in school. That means a signed and notarized Certificate of School Enrollment (form DS-1) from your school. The form expires 30 days after it’s issued, so time your DDS visit accordingly. If you’re not currently enrolled, you can substitute a high school diploma, GED, special diploma, certificate of high school completion, or proof of enrollment in a GED or postsecondary program.³

Documents to Bring

Georgia permits are REAL ID compliant, so you’ll need originals or certified copies covering three categories. Gather all of it before you go; a missing document means a second trip.

Proof of Identity

One of the following:

U.S. birth certificate, original or certified copy with a raised seal from a Bureau of Vital Statistics or State Board of Health
Unexpired U.S. passport or passport card
Consular Report of Birth Abroad (form FS-240, FS-545, or DS-1350)
Certified copy of a Certificate of Naturalization (N-550 or N-570)
Certified copy of a Certificate of Citizenship (N-560 or N-561)

Non-U.S. citizens can use an unexpired foreign passport with a valid U.S. visa, an I-766 employment authorization document, or a permanent resident card (I-551), depending on immigration status.⁴ If the name on your ID document doesn’t match your current legal name, bring documentation for every name change in between: a certified marriage certificate, a divorce decree stating the name change, or a court order.

Social Security Number

DDS verifies SSNs electronically. If the system can’t confirm yours, bring a document showing the full number: Social Security card, W-2, 1099, pay stub, or a federal or state tax return.⁵ Applicants ineligible for a Social Security number can request a denial letter (form SSA-L676) in person at a Social Security Administration office.

Two Proofs of Georgia Residency

You need two documents from separate sources showing your name and current residential address. P.O. boxes don’t qualify. Utility bills, bank statements, mortgage statements, signed leases, property tax bills, and homeowner’s insurance policies all work. Financial documents should be dated within the last six months.⁵

At the DDS Office

Take everything to any DDS Customer Service Center. You don’t need an appointment for a permit; the DDS appointment system is only for behind-the-wheel road tests.⁶ Weekday mornings tend to move faster.

You’ll submit your documents and fill out the License/ID/Permit application, which is available online if you’d rather complete it in advance. Staff will run a vision screening: at least 20/60 in one eye, with or without corrective lenses, and a 140-degree field of vision.⁷ Fail the vision check and you’ll need a licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist to complete a Vision Report Form (DS-MR-274) before you can move forward. Your photo is taken at this visit too.

The fee is $10. Cash, money order, check, or credit or debit card are all accepted, and payment happens before the test. It’s non-refundable whether you pass or not.⁸

The Knowledge Test

The written exam has two sections: Road Rules and Road Signs. Each has 20 questions, and you need at least 15 right (75%) on each to pass.⁷ Everything on the test comes from the Georgia Driver’s Manual, which is free on the DDS website, and DDS also posts practice tests online.⁹

Fail either section and you forfeit the $10 fee. Each retake costs another $10. You can try again the next day after your first failure, but a second failure triggers a seven-day wait. Retest payments are cash or card only, not check or money order.⁷

What the Permit Lets You Do

Once you pass, DDS prints the Class CP permit on the spot. It’s good for two years.¹

The permit never lets you drive alone. Every time you’re behind the wheel, a supervising driver has to sit in the front passenger seat. That person must be at least 21, hold a valid Class C license, and be physically capable of taking control of the vehicle. There’s no separate nighttime curfew for permit holders because you can never drive without supervision in the first place; the midnight-to-5:00 a.m. restriction only applies later, once you have a Class D provisional license.²

Before you start practicing, call whoever insures the vehicle you’ll be driving. Most family auto policies automatically cover household members with a learner’s permit, but confirming beats assuming.

What Happens After the Permit

The permit is the first stage of a graduated system, not the finish. To move up to a Class D provisional license, you have to hold the Class CP for at least one year and one day, be at least 16, keep a clean record during that year, complete Georgia’s Alcohol and Drug Awareness Program (ADAP or eADAP), satisfy Joshua’s Law driver education (30 hours of classroom or online instruction and 40 hours of supervised driving, six of them at night), and pass a road skills test by appointment.¹⁰¹¹ The Class D that follows has its own curfew and passenger limits that phase out over the first year.¹²

If You’re 18 or Older

The Class CP permit and the graduated licensing rules that follow it are built for drivers ages 15 through 17. If you’re 18 or older and have never been licensed, you don’t need this permit and you don’t need Joshua’s Law. You can go straight to a Class C license by passing the knowledge test, vision screening, and road skills test at a DDS office with the same identity, Social Security, and residency documents listed above.³

1
Georgia Department of Driver Services. Section 2 – Obtaining License, Permit, or ID
2
Justia. Georgia Code 40-5-24 – Instruction Permits; Graduated Licensing and Related Restrictions; Temporary Licenses
3
Georgia.gov. Apply for a Georgia Learner’s Permit (Class CP)
4
Georgia Department of Driver Services. Real ID
5
Georgia Department of Driver Services. How to Get a Learner’s Permit
6
Georgia Department of Driver Services. Appointments
7
Georgia Department of Driver Services. Test and Exams Information
8
Georgia Department of Driver Services. First License Brochure
9
Georgia Department of Driver Services. Practice Test
10
Georgia Department of Driver Services. Joshua’s Law Requirements
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Georgia Department of Driver Services. How to Get a Class D License
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Georgia Department of Driver Services. Teen Driving Laws FAQs