Your Alabama Teen's Road from Learner to Full License

Before you apply: the choice between a course and 50 hours

Alabama accepts two kinds of proof that your teen has trained. One is the completion form from a State Department of Education (SDE) approved driver education course. The other is ALEA's verification form showing 50 hours of behind the wheel practice.

If you take the log route, the signature can come from you, a grandparent, a legal guardian or a certified driving instructor. ALEA does not carve out a night driving requirement inside those 50 hours. That is a gap you should fill yourself: plan some drives after dark and in rain before your teen goes solo.

Many families lean toward the school course when it fits the timetable, because classroom time, instructor driving and often the road test itself come bundled together. If the school schedule is full, the 50 hour log is just as valid.

Before you apply: the documents a 15 year old brings

The list at 15 is short but strict. ALEA wants originals, and the examiner will turn away a photocopied birth certificate.

• A certified U.S. birth certificate (originals only)
• The Social Security card
• Proof your teen is enrolled in school or has graduated, usually Form DL-1/93 from the school office
• Two proofs of principal residence, for example a lease or a utility bill dated within the last 90 days
• $5 for the exam and $36.25 for the license, in cash or by money order

While your teen is a learner: what Stage I allows

Stage I is supervised driving only. Your teen may drive when a parent, legal guardian or licensed driver aged 21 or older sits in the front passenger seat, or when a licensed or certified driving instructor sits there instead. Solo driving is not allowed at any point in this stage.

Here is a worked example. If your teen turns 15 in March and passes the knowledge exam that month, the earliest Stage II date is the later of two things: the 16th birthday the following March, or six months after the learner license was issued. In that case the birthday comes last, so you have a full year to finish the 50 hours or the course.

The learner license carries a Y restriction and lasts four years, so there is no rush if your teen wants extra time before testing.

While your teen is a learner: how school driver education runs

In ALEA's description, the school course is an elective running a semester or at least 70 clock hours, and it is aimed mostly at tenth graders old enough (15) to hold a learner license. At least 30 of those hours are classroom instruction. After that, students drive on public streets with a certified teacher in a dual control car.

No fixed count of in car hours is set, though it suggests budgeting about six hours behind the wheel for each student. During the school day, a student in an approved course may take the wheel of the school car beside the certified instructor before holding a learner license. Driving with you at home is a different matter and needs Stage I.

If you are shopping for an online course, ask the provider to prove its SDE approval before you pay. The completion form that replaces the 50 hour log comes only from SDE approved courses. Alabama has not historically accepted online driver education for this purpose, and the approval question is what decides it today.

On test day: taking the road test through the school

Through a joint ALEA and SDE program, a student can take the driving part of the license test inside a high school driver education class. Your part is to sign the DPS/SDE Third Party testing permission form and return it to the teacher.

To receive the ALEA/SDE driver license certificate, your teen needs a valid Alabama learner license, your signed permission form on file, the driving skills set by ALEA and SDE, a finished driver education course, and 50 supervised hours of driving with you or another guardian.

The certificate only becomes usable after your teen's 16th birthday and six months on the learner license. At that point the license itself can be issued online, at a probate office or at an ALEA examining office. If your teen wants a STAR ID, the first one still means an in person trip to an ALEA examining office with the right documents.

• Finishing the class does not by itself earn the certificate.
• Do not laminate or alter the certificate.
• The certificate is not a license, so your teen cannot drive on it alone.

After your teen passes: living with Stage II

Stage II is the restricted license for drivers 16 and up. A teen under 18 qualifies after six months on Stage I, with consent from a parent, guardian or grandparent, and after passing the road skills exam.

Three rules apply. Your teen may carry no more than one passenger who is not a parent, legal guardian or family member. Handheld phones and other communication devices are off limits behind the wheel. And your teen may not drive between midnight and 6 a.m. unless an exception covers the trip.

The curfew exceptions are trips with a parent or guardian, trips with a licensed driver 21 or older when the guardian agrees, travel to or from school or a religious sponsored event, commuting to a job, and emergencies involving medical, fire or law enforcement needs.

If something goes wrong: restriction violations and tickets

Breaking a Stage II rule is a noncriminal matter in Alabama. There are no court costs and no points. The cost is time: the restricted period stretches by six months, or until your teen turns 18. An officer can still cite your teen for any separate offense on the same stop.

Tickets are more serious. If your teen is convicted of a second moving violation while on a graduated license, or of certain offenses carrying four or more points, ALEA suspends the license for 60 days. Talk with your teen about this before the first solo drive, not after the first ticket.

After your teen passes: Stage III and the 18 year old route

At 17, with at least six months on Stage II, your teen is eligible for Stage III, which has no restrictions. ALEA's fee for that restriction free duplicate is $31.25 when a Stage II license is already held.

The graduated rules stop applying at 18. An 18 year old who never held Stage II can pass the road skills exam and apply directly for a full license, and ALEA lists $36.25 for that. Two smaller groups are also exempt: a 16 year old who is married and heads a household, and anyone a court has legally relieved of minority status.

Money matters: fees, forms and insurance

For both the learner license and Stage II, expect $5 for the exam and $36.25 for the license. Fees can change, and some counties charge slightly more where local legislation allows it. Phone the office ahead of time and pay with cash or a money order.

ALEA's graduated license form is the DL-31. At Stage II the examiner will ask for one of the two training documents: the 50 hour verification or the SDE completion form.

Alabama does not require insurers to give a discount for a teen course, though many companies offer one. Ask your agent which completion paperwork it accepts before you pick a route, since that can tip the decision.

If you are moving to Alabama with a licensed teen

A teen who already holds a license from another state must transfer it at an ALEA office. Your teen brings the license from the old state, a Social Security card, a primary list document, two proofs of residence, and (under 19) proof of school enrollment or graduation.

Budget $5 for the transfer and $36.25 for the license. The examiner decides which graduated stage fits, since that depends on age and how long the license has been held.