Your Teen's Arizona Instruction Permit, Step by Step

Before you apply: which permit fits

The usual choice is the regular instruction permit (A.R.S. 28-3154), available at 15 and a half. For one year your teen may drive anywhere as long as a qualified supervisor is aboard, and A.R.S. 28-3002 sets the fee at $7.

A.R.S. 28-3155 adds a $3 restricted permit at 15 for students in ADOT approved training. It runs a school year at most, and the student may drive only within a designated area or along a designated highway, beside an approved instructor. Family practice still needs the regular permit.

Testing at home: how it works

For applicants younger than 18, a parent or legal guardian may supervise the knowledge test at home. You need a state issued license or ID and your own AZ MVD Now account; your teen's account cannot be used.

You confirm your identity, enter your teen's details, pay, and promise to keep the room controlled, with no phone, notes or writing materials for your teen. If the result is a fail, check with ADOT through AZ MVD Now about when another attempt can be scheduled.

A worked example: if your teen hits 15 and a half on a Saturday, you can run the home test that weekend, then book the MVD or third party visit for the following week to get the permit printed.

Before the visit: proving identity

A.R.S. 28-3158 lists what must be proven: your teen's full legal name, birth date, sex, Arizona home address, and presence authorized under federal law. The Social Security number is checked with the federal government and only printed on the permit if you request it.

MVD posts its list of acceptable identity documents. A U.S. passport or birth certificate is the usual primary proof. Bring originals, plus a linking document if your teen's name appears differently on different papers.

At the counter: Travel ID or standard

The Travel ID is Arizona's federally compliant credential. ADOT says it requires one more proof of citizenship or lawful status, like a certified birth certificate or valid U.S. passport, along with proof of address.

Your teen will mostly use the permit for practice, but picking Travel ID now can save a second document run when your teen upgrades to class G. Ask MVD about the price difference first.

While on the permit: the rules of the road

The permit has to be on your teen, and the person in the next seat must be at least 21 and licensed in class A, B, C or D. Under A.R.S. 28-3154, using any wireless device on a permit is banned, except in an emergency where stopping is impossible or would create another hazard.

Officers may not pull your teen over solely for phone use on a permit, though they can tack it onto a citation for something else. A moving violation before 18 also leads MVD to require traffic survival school, which makes a permit ticket expensive in time as well as money.

If you moved here, or the permit goes missing

A teen arriving in Arizona with only an out of state permit goes through the Arizona permit process and the six month rule. If your teen already has a valid out of state license, the six month rule does not apply at the class G stage.

Replacing a lost permit costs $2 (A.R.S. 28-3002), and the duplicate does not reset the 12 month clock, so schedule the road test or finish driver education before the original expiry.