How to Get and Complete the Kentucky School Compliance Verification Form

To get a Kentucky School Compliance Verification Form, pick it up from the student’s school, have a school official confirm the student’s grades and attendance meet the “No Pass/No Drive” standards under KRS 159.051, then collect the required signatures (and embossed school seal, if applicable) before bringing it to a Regional Driver Licensing Office within 60 days. Every Kentucky resident between 15 and 17 must present this signed, sealed form when applying for a learner’s permit, and the licensing office will turn the student away without it.¹

Who Needs the Form

The requirement applies to any student aged 15 through 17 applying for a Kentucky learner’s permit or transferring a license from another state, whether the student attends public school, private school, home school, Job Corps, or an alternative program.² Once the student turns 18, the form is no longer needed. You only submit it once, at the initial permit application; you do not bring it again when upgrading to an intermediate license.

What the School Checks Before Signing

Before a school official will complete the form, the student has to clear two standards. Fail either one and the school can deny the form outright.

Grades

A student is academically deficient if they did not receive passing grades in at least four courses, or the equivalent of four courses, during the preceding semester.² For students in alternative, special education, or part-time programs, the local school board sets an equivalent standard. The check happens at the end of each semester, so a rough start can be recovered before the semester closes.

Attendance

A student is treated as a dropout upon accumulating nine or more unexcused absences in a single semester.² One detail that surprises families: absences caused by suspension count as unexcused. A five-day out-of-school suspension puts a student more than halfway to the trigger. Schools do not have to wait for the semester to end before reporting a student as non-compliant.¹

Where to Pick Up the Form

The Regional Driver Licensing Office does not provide the form. You get it from the student’s school before the licensing appointment.

Public or private school students get the form directly from the school, usually through a guidance counselor or the front office.
Home school students get the form from the school district of residence. The home school must already be registered with the local county Board of Education.
Alternative schooling or Job Corps students get the form from the local school district office.¹

The school official will review grades and attendance before completing anything. If the student falls short on either standard, the school will not sign.

Completing the Form

The form itself is short, but any missing element will send you home empty-handed from the licensing office.

Student Information

The top of the form asks for the student’s last name, first name, and middle name, along with a Social Security number and date of birth.³ The Transportation Cabinet uses the Social Security number and date of birth to match the student to its driver database, so these fields have to be accurate. Check the spelling against the birth certificate or Social Security card before the school official signs.

School Signature and Embossed Seal

A school administrator or designated official must sign and date the form. Public and private school forms also require an embossed seal from the institution; a printed logo or photocopy will not work.³ Home school students are the exception: no embossed seal is required on a home school student’s form.¹

Parent and Student Signatures

The student and a parent or guardian both sign the form, authorizing the release of educational data to the Transportation Cabinet. Sign in ink. Keep the form flat and undamaged; creased or smudged paperwork can cause problems at the licensing counter.

The 60-Day Expiration

The form expires 60 days from the date the school official signs it.³ If the licensing appointment falls outside that window, you need a fresh form from the school. Plan carefully around the end of the school year, when staff availability drops over summer break.

What Else to Bring to the Licensing Office

The compliance form is one piece of what a minor needs for a learner’s permit. The student must also bring:

Original birth certificate, or a certified copy.
Social Security card (the physical card, not just the number).
Proof of residency: one document for a standard credential, two for a REAL ID. If the student has nothing in their own name, a parent or guardian can use their own proof of residency.
A parent or guardian present to sign. The signer must be listed on the student’s birth certificate; if the guardian is not, bring court-ordered paperwork.⁴

Foster children follow a slightly different path: they bring a Commitment Verification letter signed by their Independent Living Specialist, and the foster parent or social worker signs for guardianship at the office.⁴

Licensing staff will examine the form for the school official’s signature and the embossed seal where required, then verify the student’s information against the state database. There is no separate fee for processing the compliance form; you pay only the regular credential fees.¹

After the Permit Is Issued

You will not need the School Compliance Verification Form again. When the student later qualifies for an intermediate license, after holding the permit for at least 180 days, completing 60 hours of practice driving (10 at night), and passing the state driving test, no new form is required.⁴ If the student changes schools after the permit is issued, a new form from the new institution is not needed either.

The underlying academic and attendance standards still apply, though, for as long as the student is under 18. Schools report non-compliant students electronically to the Transportation Cabinet through a secure portal, and a student who becomes academically deficient or hits nine unexcused absences after already holding a permit can have their driving privileges revoked mid-semester.⁵ If that happens, the student (through a parent, guardian, or next friend) has 15 days from the revocation notice to request an ex parte hearing in District Court, with no filing fee and no requirement for a lawyer.²

1
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. No Pass/No Drive Law (HB 32)
2
Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 159.051
3
Trigg County Public Schools. School Compliance Verification Form Kentucky
4
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Graduated Driver Licensing Program
5
Kentucky Department of Education. No Pass/No Drive Law