Guiding Your Alaska Teen from Permit to Provisional License

Before you start: do you need a driving school?

No. Neither DMV's instruction permit page nor its provisional license page makes a driver education course part of the process. The state's requirements are a six month permit period and your signed statement that your teen has driven 40 hours or more.

Lessons can still help, especially for road test prep. DMV publishes a list of Class D schools, with locations from Juneau and Bethel to Fairbanks, North Pole, Anchorage, Eagle River, Wasilla and the Kenai Peninsula, and a few of them teach defensive driving as well. Start from that list instead of an online ad.

Before you apply: the permit at 14

Alaska lets teens start earlier than most states. From the 14th birthday your teen can apply, as long as you sign Form 433 and your teen passes vision and knowledge testing. You pay $15; the permit lasts two years, and can be renewed once for $5.

On the permit there is no solo driving. Every drive needs a licensed driver in the front passenger seat who is 21 or older and has been driving for a year or more.

• Form D1 (the DMV application)
• Form 433 (your consent for a car permit)
• A document showing you are the parent or guardian
• Your teen's primary ID, Social Security information and address proof
• $15 for the permit

Before you apply: who is allowed to sign

The accepted signers are: a natural parent; a guardian appointed by a court; a temporary custodian with a valid power of attorney; some Office of Children's Services employees; a husband or wife at least 18 who shows a certified marriage certificate; and, where no parent or guardian is living, a responsible adult.

Step parents, foster parents and probation or corrections officers are not on that list. There is a workaround on DMV's provisional license page: a step or foster parent can consent by presenting PG-701, a power of attorney form, once it is notarized. If your situation is unusual, call 907-269-5551 before the visit.

During the permit months: the 40 hours

When your teen applies for a provisional license, Form D1 includes a parent certification. Signing it means you are vouching for 40 hours or more of driving, with at least 10 of them in progressively challenging circumstances.

In Alaska those circumstances are not hard to find: gravel roads, black ice, fresh snow, moose stepping onto the highway and months of early darkness. Divide the 10 hours over what your teen will meet in real life rather than packing them into one road trip.

A worked example: if your teen gets the permit at 14 and a half in January, the six month minimum ends in July, but the provisional license still waits for the 16th birthday about 18 months later. That leaves two winters to practice in the dark, which is a gift if you use it.

On test day: what to bring

Under 18, your teen must show a valid Alaska permit that has been held for at least six months, and a clean last six months. Permit time from another state is not wasted: once converted to an Alaska permit, the full period counts toward the six months.

You need to be there when your teen passes, with a document connecting you, such as the birth certificate. If you cannot attend, a notarized Form 433 can stand in. Bring proof of current insurance listing the VIN and a printed registration certificate. Leave pets and extra passengers at home; the examiner will not take them along.

You will not get the fee back, but you can reschedule free of charge up to 24 hours ahead. Some private driving schools are authorized by DMV to run road tests, at whatever price each school sets.

After your teen passes: the provisional limits

Two limits apply. First, the hours from 1 to 5 in the morning are off limits. Second, nobody under 21 may ride with your teen except brothers and sisters, and DMV's restrictions page adds that you, as parent or legal guardian, can always ride along.

The passenger rule lifts when a licensed person aged 21 or older for that vehicle is in the car. The curfew does not apply on the most direct route to or from work, or while doing job duties.

• No driving in the 1 to 5 a.m. window unless it is work related
• No passengers under 21 except siblings, unless a licensed adult 21+ is aboard
• Breaking a provisional rule is an infraction: $200 and 2 points

If something goes wrong: points on a provisional license

Alaska keeps new drivers on a short leash. Hit 6 points within a year, or 9 within two years, on a provisional license and your teen has to complete a DMV approved driver improvement or defensive driving course that is nationally certified. Not doing it can mean suspension.

Show your teen the math: going 10 to 19 mph over carries 4 points by itself, so one more minor violation in the same year reaches the 6 point mark.

After six months: lifting the limits, and the test at 21

According to DMV's license types page, drivers under 18 must stay provisional for at least six months. After six months with no violations, the restrictions can come off with your permission.

Until your teen's 18th birthday you can withdraw consent. Mail Form 424 to Anchorage Driver Services after having it notarized or signed in front of DMV staff; the license is then cancelled until 18 or until you give consent again.

One more date to note: a license issued to someone under 21 stays good for 90 days past the 21st birthday. Renewing it requires the Alcohol and Drug Awareness Test. It can be taken online, after which DMV updates the record. Students at college outside Alaska should do it inside the 90 days, since DMV gives no grace period after expiry.

Rural families, insurance and moving to Alaska

In off highway communities your teen can use non standard address proof, for example a heating oil bill, or a notarized letter from a State Trooper or a Village Public Safety Officer. Through its Mobile DMV Program, the state also sends road testing and license processing out to rural communities.

Insurers may give a discount after a formal course, but none is required; ask your company first. If you are relocating with a teen who holds an out of state permit or license, call DMV at 907-269-5551, because the new resident page does not cover drivers under 18.