Idaho Driver Ed Rules & Resources

Permit Rules

Students must be at least 14 ½ years of age and are only allowed to drive with an instructor during the class. The instructor retains the student's Driver Training Permit and will give it to the applicant or parent/legal guardian after the course has been passed. The Driver Training Permit then becomes the Supervised Instruction Permit (SIP).

During the required supervised driving period:

• The supervising driver must be at least 21 years of age, possess a valid driver's license, and sit in the seat beside the permit holder. No other passengers are allowed in the front seat.
• The SIP must be in the permit holder's possession while driving.
• All occupants must wear seat belts or child safety restraints.
• The permit holder must observe all laws regarding the use of alcohol and other intoxicating substances.

Permit holders may continue to drive on an unexpired SIP past the minimum supervised period. Any violation of the SIP requirements during the supervised instruction period will result in the cancellation of the permit and requires the permit holder to reapply for and purchase a new permit. Upon reapplication, permit holders must start and complete a new six-month supervised instruction period. No reinstatement fee for the cancellation is required prior to reapplication. 

Obtaining Your Driver's License

All applicants for an Idaho driver's license who are under the age of 17 must:

• Pass an approved driver education class consisting of 30 hours of classroom instruction, six hours of behind-the-wheel instruction, and six hours in-car observation. Students must be at least 14 ½ years of age and are only allowed to drive with an instructor during the class. The instructor retains the student's Driver Training Permit, and will give it to the applicant or parent/legal guardian after the course has been passed. The Driver Training Permit then becomes the Supervised Instruction Permit (SIP). 
• Complete a supervised driving period, which must include no less than six calendar months of supervised driving, and 50 hours of supervised driving (10 of the 50 hours must be at night). New Idaho residents who have a driver's license from another state are not required to undergo a supervised driving period or provide acceptable proof of having passed a driver education course. 
• Pass the written knowledge and road skills tests. Applicants must be at least 15 years of age and schedule an appointment with a skills tester. Applicants who fail a test must wait at least three days before retaking a test (the test fees must be re-paid). 

Before a license can be issued to the applicant, a parent or legal guardian must sign and date a statement on the GDL Requirements Verification certifying that 50 hours of driving were completed (10 of which were at night) and granting permission to issue the license. This prevents teens from receiving a license before they are eligible and/or without their parent's knowledge and consent.

The driver's license will expire five days after the licensee's 18th birthday.

Drivers under the age of 16 are restricted to driving during daylight hours only unless accompanied by a licensed driver who is at least 21 years of age and sitting beside the driver. No other passengers are allowed in the front seat. Licensees under the age of 17 are required during the first six months from the date the license was issued-to limit the number of passengers in the vehicle who are under the age of 17 to not more than one passenger unless the passengers are related to the driver by blood, adoption, or marriage.