A Missouri intermediate driver’s license is the middle step in the state’s graduated licensing system: a 16- or 17-year-old who has held an instruction permit for at least six months, logged 40 hours of supervised driving, kept a clean record, and passed a road test can drive alone, but under limits on passengers, late-night hours, and phone use until turning 18.
Who Qualifies
You must be at least 16 and no older than 17, and you must have held a Missouri instruction permit for six months or more before you apply.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 302.178 – Intermediate Driver’s License
Beyond age and permit time, three things have to be true on the day you apply:
- A parent, grandparent, or legal guardian is willing to sign your application certifying that you completed at least 40 hours of behind-the-wheel practice, including a minimum of 10 hours between sunset and sunrise.2Missouri Department of Revenue. Parent/Guardian Role in MO Graduated Driver License (GDL) Law
- You have had no alcohol-related enforcement contacts, as defined by Missouri law, in the 12 months before applying.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 302.178 – Intermediate Driver’s License
- You have had no traffic convictions carrying point assessments in the six months before applying.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 302.178 – Intermediate Driver’s License
That last one catches people. A speeding ticket seven months before your application won’t block you. One four months before will. The Department of Revenue pulls your record when you apply.
How to Apply
You apply in person at a Missouri Department of Revenue licensing office. A parent, grandparent, or legal guardian has to come with you and sign the application, certifying the supervised driving hours.2Missouri Department of Revenue. Parent/Guardian Role in MO Graduated Driver License (GDL) Law If you are an emancipated minor, the person over 21 who supervised your driving can sign in place of a parent.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 302.178 – Intermediate Driver’s License
Bring:
- Proof of lawful presence, such as a certified U.S. birth certificate, a valid U.S. passport, a certificate of naturalization, or approved immigration documents.3Missouri Department of Revenue. List of Acceptable Documents for REAL ID-Compliant Document Processing
- Your instruction permit, which shows you have held it long enough.
- Proof of Missouri residency, such as a recent utility bill or bank statement.
The license fee is $14.4Missouri Department of Revenue. Permit/Driver License/Nondriver ID Fees If everything checks out, you leave with a temporary paper license and receive the permanent card by mail.
The Road Test and Vision Screening
Before the license is issued, you have to pass a road skills exam and a vision screening. The road test is given by the Missouri State Highway Patrol or an authorized third-party examiner, and it covers parallel parking, lane changes, signaling, speed control, and response to traffic signals. Critical mistakes such as failing to yield or running a stop sign are automatic failures.
You can retake the test, but only once per day, and no more than three times in any 12-month period. Going past that requires special permission from the Department of Revenue.5Missouri State Highway Patrol. Driver Examination FAQs
The car you bring has to work. Examiners check headlights, brake lights, turn signals, horn, mirrors, wipers, seat belts, and tires. A failure at the pre-test inspection ends the appointment.
The vision standard is at least 20/40 acuity in each eye or both eyes together. Glasses and contacts are allowed. If you don’t meet it, you’ll need clearance from a vision specialist before the DOR will process the application.
Restrictions on the Intermediate License
An intermediate license is not a full license. Three sets of limits apply until you turn 18.
Passengers
For the first six months after you get the license, you can carry only one passenger under 19 who is not an immediate family member. After six months, the cap rises to three passengers under 19 who are not family.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 302.178 – Intermediate Driver’s License Siblings, parents, and other immediate family members don’t count toward these limits at any age.
Nighttime Hours
You cannot drive between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. unless a licensed driver at least 21 years old is in the car with you. Three exceptions apply: travel to or from school or a school activity, travel to or from your regular place of employment, and emergencies as defined by the Department of Revenue.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 302.178 – Intermediate Driver’s License
Phone Use
Missouri law prohibits drivers under 21 from holding a phone while driving, and it’s a primary offense. An officer can pull you over for the phone alone. Mount it on the dashboard or leave it in your bag.
What Happens If You Violate the Rules
Breaking the passenger limits or the nighttime curfew is classified as an infraction, and no points go on your record for those violations by themselves.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 302.178 – Intermediate Driver’s License The real cost is indirect. Any traffic conviction that does carry points can delay your move to a full license, because you need 12 straight months with no point convictions and no alcohol-related contacts to qualify.
Missouri tracks moving violations through a point system under Section 302.302.6Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Revised Statutes of Missouri, RSMo Section 302.302 – Point System Enough points in a short enough window brings suspension or revocation under Section 302.304: a warning at four points in 12 months, a suspension at eight points in 18 months, and revocation for a year at 12 points in 12 months, 18 in 24, or 24 in 36.7Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Revised Statutes of Missouri, RSMo Section 302.304 – Suspension and Revocation
Alcohol is treated separately and harder. Missouri applies a zero-tolerance standard to drivers under 21, and a blood alcohol concentration of 0.02% is enough to trigger enforcement. A first DWI conviction brings a 90-day suspension; a second intoxication-related conviction, a one-year revocation; a third or subsequent conviction, a 10-year license denial.8Missouri Department of Revenue. Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) For an intermediate license holder, an alcohol-related enforcement contact also resets the 12-month clean-record clock for moving up to a full license.
Moving to a Full License
You can move to a full, unrestricted license at 18, or as early as 30 days before your 18th birthday. To qualify, the preceding 12 consecutive months must show no alcohol-related enforcement contacts and no traffic convictions carrying points.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 302.178 – Intermediate Driver’s License
If you meet the standard, go to a DOR licensing office with your intermediate license and proof of identity and residency. No new road test is required. You will need to pass a vision screening again. The full license lifts the passenger cap, the nighttime curfew, and every other intermediate restriction.
If you picked up a qualifying violation during the intermediate period, the 12-month clock restarts from the date of that conviction. That can push your full license past your 18th birthday.
Driving in Other States
Other states generally recognize a valid Missouri intermediate license, but you drive under the other state’s rules once you cross the line. Many states impose their own graduated license restrictions on visiting teen drivers, and when their rules are stricter, theirs apply. A state with a 10:00 p.m. curfew for drivers under 18 will enforce that curfew on you, even though Missouri’s own curfew doesn’t start until 1:00 a.m. Passenger limits and supervisor requirements vary too. Check the specific laws for every state you’ll pass through before a road trip, because a conviction picked up elsewhere still lands on your Missouri record and can push back the full license.