Illinois Teen Drivers Ed, Step by Step for Families

Before you enroll: the rule in one sentence

625 ILCS 5/6-107 bars a graduated license for anyone under 18 who has not passed an approved driver education course, and the State Board of Education repeats it plainly: every student under 18 must complete the course to be licensed.

The course rule does not vanish at 18 either. If your teen waits and applies at 18, 19 or 20 as a first-timer, a separate 6 hour adult course applies instead. Our Illinois adult page explains it.

Before you enroll: which courses count

Four kinds of course qualify. The most common is a high school course, public or private, with State Board of Education approval. Licensed commercial driving schools can also qualify if their course follows the Driver Education Act and the State Board signs off. Illinois residents studying at a school out of state can count that state's course, and so can students at approved Department of Defense schools.

Any business paid to teach driving needs a license from the Secretary of State (625 ILCS 5/6-401). Ask a private school to show you theirs, and check that its teen course carries state approval, before you hand over a deposit.

• Public schools must teach the course during the school day and within 12 months of the student's application
• Private school and homeschool students may use the public district's course if the school or parent tells the district by April 1 for the following year
• Time in a simulator or on a driving range does not count toward the 6 driving hours

Before you enroll: hours and when class can start

The Driver Education Act's floor is 30 clock hours in the classroom and 6 clock hours driving on public roads with a certified instructor. State Board rules add one observation hour for each driving hour, so six in all.

Your teen can start the classroom portion before turning 15, provided the whole course can be finished within 12 months of starting. Districts may not cut the driving portion short with a proficiency test after three hours.

At 15: getting the instruction permit

Fifteen is the starting age under 625 ILCS 5/6-103, but only for a teen who is signed up for an approved course. The State Board's FAQ, pointing to Secretary of State rules, adds a timing limit: the permit cannot come more than a month ahead of the first class.

A minor's permit is valid 24 months. Outside class, the supervisor must be a parent, legal guardian, family member or person in loco parentis who is at least 21, licensed for the vehicle, has a year or more of driving experience and sits in the next seat. During the course itself, the instructor supervises.

The facility visit has three parts: an eye check, a written test based on the Illinois Rules of the Road, and the paperwork, meaning four original ID documents, one from each lettered group. Copies are refused. Some programs have the family file the application and some have the instructor do it, but either way it will not be processed without the certified instructor's signature.

There is one way to a permit without a course: a teen at least 17 years and 3 months old may apply unenrolled. That does not lift the course requirement for a license before 18, so it mainly suits a teen who plans to be licensed at 18 under the adult rules.

Worked example: a sophomore who turns 15 in September

Suppose your son turns 15 in September and his school schedules drivers ed for the spring semester starting in late January. The permit can be issued no earlier than about 30 days before that start, so plan a facility visit in early January.

Nine months from a January permit puts the earliest license in October, when he is already 16. Use the gap: 50 hours over nine months is a little more than an hour a week, and winter evenings make the 10 night hours easy to collect.

Months one to nine: curfew on the permit

A permit held by someone under 18 is not valid during set night hours unless an exception applies. The exceptions: driving with a parent or guardian, running a direct errand a parent asked for, traveling interstate, commuting to or from work, an emergency, or going to or from a school, religious or recreational activity an adult supervises.

The State Board's FAQ describes the same hours as the curfew for every driver under 18, so expect them to continue after licensing.

• Sunday to Thursday nights: 10:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m.
• Friday night: 11:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. Saturday
• Saturday night: 11:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. Sunday

At 16: what the license application needs

No graduated license goes to anyone under 18 unless they are 16 or older, have held a valid permit for nine months or more, have passed an approved course, and have a parent, guardian or responsible adult certify at least 50 practice hours with 10 or more at night.

You sign consent a second time on the license form, even though you signed for the permit. Your teen must also be in school or a diploma program, homeschooled, or already graduated, and cannot be a chronic truant.

Bring the 50 hour certification on paper. The Secretary of State's 50-Hour Practice Driving Log (DSD X 152) makes tracking simple, and its cover letter says the 50 hours come on top of any time with an instructor. If a parent cannot attend, they fill in the Affidavit/Consent for Minor to Drive (DSD X 174) and have it notarized.

Find out whether your school is in the Cooperative Driver Testing Program; participation is optional for schools. Where it runs, 92 Ill. Adm. Code 1030.88 lets an A or B student who also passes the instructor's own road test bring that instructor's certificate to the facility in place of the state drive.

After the license: passengers, phones and penalties

In year one (or until the 18th birthday, if that comes first), the new driver can have only one rider younger than 20 in the car, not counting brothers, sisters, step-siblings or the driver's own children and stepchildren. The friend breaks the law too: a 15 to 19 year old riding in violation of the rule commits an offense. Get convicted of something in that first year and the limit stays until six months go by with nothing new.

Up to 18, the front passenger seat holds one person and the back seat holds no more people than it has belts. Phones are a longer rule. The State Board's summary of 625 ILCS 5/12-610.1: anyone under 19 driving on a permit or graduated license keeps the phone down, with emergency calls for help the only exception.

The Secretary of State's GDL page spells out what tickets lead to. One moving violation conviction before 18 brings a warning letter to parent and teen. Two within 24 months bring a suspension of at least a month, a remedial course and a $70 reinstatement fee. A parent may also withdraw consent at any time before 18, which cancels the license until consent returns or the teen turns 18.

Driving before getting any permit costs the most: no license at all until 18. Ignoring curfew can also bring a suspension for drivers under 18.

Budget: fees, completion records and insurance

As of October 2026, 625 ILCS 5/6-118 sets a first instruction permit at $20 for someone never issued an Illinois permit or license, and an original four year license at $30. Public districts may charge a drivers ed fee, but a student cannot be punished or kept out because the family cannot pay required fees.

The State Board runs a Driver Education Student License Inquiry: enter the permit number to see whether the school's completion record has reached the Secretary of State. On insurance, ask your agent whether a finished Illinois course earns a discount; no Illinois rule requires one.

A license issued under 21 expires three months after the 21st birthday under 625 ILCS 5/6-115, so plan a renewal then. The under-19 phone ban, hands-free calls included, outlasts the passenger and curfew limits that end at 18.

If you move to Illinois with a teen driver

Coursework from a school in another state counts if the driver ed office in that state approved the course. Have your teen carry its certificate, along with any permit or license from the old state, to the first Illinois visit.

A licensed teen can keep using the home-state card for three months after moving, under 625 ILCS 5/6-102. To switch, your teen trades it in at a facility with the four ID documents, reads the eye chart, passes the written test and may be asked to drive. Illinois's teen rules still apply until 18, so carry records of drivers ed and practice and ask how they will be counted.