VA Learner’s Permit: Rules, Fees, and Practice Hours

To get a Virginia learner’s permit, you must be a state resident at least 15 years and six months old, bring documents proving your identity, legal presence, Virginia address, and Social Security number, pass a two-part knowledge exam and a vision screening at a DMV service center, and — if you’re under 18 — have written parental consent. Once issued, the permit lets you drive only with a qualifying licensed adult in the front passenger seat, and it carries a hard overnight curfew and passenger limits that many new drivers underestimate.

Who Qualifies

You must live in Virginia and be at least 15 years and six months old.¹ Applicants under 18 need written consent from a parent or legal guardian. Married or emancipated minors don’t.²

Minors also have to be in good academic standing with their school’s compulsory attendance requirements. If a student isn’t in good standing, a parent or guardian can sign a separate DMV form authorizing the permit anyway, but the state builds that check in on purpose.¹

Documents to Bring

Virginia asks for four categories of documentation. Missing one means leaving without a permit.³

One proof of identity, showing full legal name and date of birth. A U.S. birth certificate, valid U.S. passport, or passport card all work.
One proof of legal presence. A U.S. passport covers both this and identity. Non-citizens need an unexpired immigration document.
Two proofs of Virginia residency, such as utility bills dated within the last two months (cell phone bills don’t count) or bank statements. At least one must come from the DMV’s primary list on Form DMV 141.
One proof of your Social Security number: the card itself, a W-2, or a payroll stub showing the full number.

You’ll also need to complete the Driver’s License and Identification Card Application, Form DL 1P, which covers personal details like height, weight, and eye color.⁴ Fill it out online before your visit or bring a completed paper copy.⁵

Your permit’s expiration date will match the expiration date on the document you used to prove legal presence, so applicants with longer-duration documents get a longer-valid permit.⁶

The Knowledge Exam and Vision Screening

The knowledge exam has two parts, and you have to pass part one before you can start part two. Part one is 10 questions on road signs, and you need all 10 correct. Part two is 30 multiple-choice questions on driving laws and safe practices, and you need at least 24 correct to pass.⁷

The test is computer-based and offered in more than 25 languages, including Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin, Korean, Vietnamese, Farsi, French, Russian, Amharic, and American Sign Language. Oral exams are available on request.⁷

Retest rules depend on age. Applicants under 18 must wait 15 days between attempts. Applicants 18 and older can test only once per day but face no multi-day wait. After three failures at any age, the DMV requires the classroom portion of a Virginia-approved driver training school before you can test again, and the course completion date must fall after the date of your third failure.⁷

For the vision screening, you need visual acuity of at least 20/40 in one or both eyes, with or without correction, and a horizontal field of vision of at least 110 degrees.⁸ If you only pass while wearing glasses or contacts, a corrective-lens restriction goes on your permit, and you have to wear them every time you drive.

Fees and What Happens at the DMV

Schedule an appointment through the DMV website; walk-ins are possible, but appointment holders get priority. Staff will review your paperwork first, then send you to the knowledge exam and vision screening. The permit fee is $3, and you pay the yearly cost of a driver’s license at the same time — $4 per year multiplied by the number of years on your credential.⁹

After you pass and pay, you’ll have your photo taken and receive a temporary paper permit good for immediate use. The permanent card comes by mail; the DMV states renewed credentials can take up to 15 days to arrive, and first-time permits follow a similar timeline.¹⁰

What You Can and Can’t Do With the Permit

A learner’s permit is not a license, and the restrictions are stricter than most first-time applicants expect.

Supervising Driver

Someone licensed and alert must sit in the front passenger seat every time you drive, ready to take over. That supervisor must be at least 21, with one exception: your parent, legal guardian, or a sibling (including half-siblings and step-siblings) at least 18 years old also qualifies.¹

Passenger Limits

You can carry only one passenger under 21, unless the additional passengers are family or household members. Virginia defines family and household broadly for this purpose: spouse, children, stepchildren, siblings, half-siblings, first cousins, in-laws living with you, anyone you cohabit with, and their children in your home.¹¹ The limit also doesn’t apply during an approved driver education class.¹

Curfew

Permit holders cannot drive between midnight and 4:00 a.m. There are no exceptions — not for work, not for school, not for emergencies.¹ If you need to be in a vehicle during those hours, someone else has to drive.

Phones and Seat Belts

Virginia law prohibits any driver from holding a handheld personal communications device while operating a moving vehicle on state roads, and permit holders are no exception.¹² As of July 1, 2025, every occupant of a motor vehicle must wear a seat belt, front seat or back.¹³

How Long You Hold the Permit

If you’re under 18, you must hold the permit for at least nine months before you’re eligible for a driver’s license, unless you turn 18 first, and you must complete a state-approved driver education program during that time.¹⁴²

If you’re 18 or older, the holding period drops to 60 days, and completing a state-approved driver education program waives that wait entirely. Adults who skip driver education must hold the permit the full 60 days and then pass a road skills test. Adults who complete driver education need only the knowledge exam and vision screening, with no road test.¹⁵¹⁶

Logging Practice Hours

Applicants under 18 must log 45 hours of supervised practice driving during the holding period, with at least 15 of those hours after sunset.¹⁵ Virginia doesn’t publish an official log form. A notebook, spreadsheet, or phone app is fine, as long as each session records the date, time, duration, driving conditions, and the supervising driver.

Once you’ve held the permit long enough, finished driver education, and logged your hours, you take the road skills test at a DMV service center. Passing gets you a provisional driver’s license if you’re under 18; adults 18 and older who completed driver education go straight to a full license without a road test.

Moving to Virginia With an Out-of-State Permit

If you move to Virginia with a valid learner’s permit from another state or territory, you don’t start over. You still bring the same documents and pay the same fees, and you should also present your current out-of-state permit. The time you’ve already held it counts toward Virginia’s minimum holding period.⁶ Adults 18 or older who already hold a valid out-of-state driver’s license that hasn’t been expired more than a year can skip the permit process entirely and apply directly for a Virginia license.¹⁶

1
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 46.2-335 – Learner’s Permits; Fees; Certification Required
2
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Driver License Eligibility Requirements
3
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Getting a Virginia Driver’s License or Identification Card
4
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles Driver’s License and Identification Card Application
5
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Helpful Tips for Your DMV Visit
6
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Apply for a Learner’s Permit
7
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. The Knowledge Exam
8
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 46.2-311 – Persons Having Defective Vision; Minimum Standards of Visual Acuity and Field of Vision; Tests of Vision
9
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. DMV Fees
10
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Renew Driver’s License
11
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 46.2-334.01 – Licenses Issued to Persons Less Than 18 Years Old Subject to Certain Restrictions
12
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 46.2-818.2 – Use of Handheld Personal Communications Devices
13
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Seat Belts and Airbags
14
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 46.2-335.2 – Learner’s Permits; Required Before Driver’s License; Minimum Holding Period
15
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Driver Education
16
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Apply for a Driver’s License