Your First Indiana Driver's License as an Adult

Before you start: how your age changes the license

Anyone licensed before 21 gets a probationary license. It carries the same ban on telecommunication devices, and the same first 180 days of passenger limits and a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew, as a teen license. The later late-night windows stop applying at 18. It lapses 30 days past your 21st birthday, and no early renewal is allowed. Under 21 you also hold the permit 180 days before licensing.

Get your first license at 21 or later and it is a regular license from day one.

Example: you are 19 and get your permit in January. Your license cannot come before July, and it will be probationary until your 21st birthday.

Paperwork: documents and translations

You need proof of identity, Social Security number and lawful status, plus two different documents showing your Indiana address. Matricula Consular cards are refused. Work from the BMV's online checklist, which also links the Real ID document rules, so you bring the right originals on the first trip.

A document in another language needs a typed English translation on letterhead from a government body, accredited school or translation agency, plus a signed statement from the translator vouching for its completeness, accuracy and their competence.

At the branch: the exam and the eye check

The knowledge exam is on a computer, split into traffic maneuvers and road signs, and each needs 80 percent. Be there at least 30 minutes before closing. If you fail, try again the next business day; a pass holds for 180 days.

Every applicant has their eyes checked. Drive in glasses or contacts? Wear them. If the branch screening does not go well, you will be sent to an eye professional, and an optometrist or ophthalmologist can complete State Form 56520 for you.

On test day: the car, the drive and the scoring

Have the permit and finished log with you, and have a licensed driver drop you off. Your car needs valid registration and at least the minimum insurance Indiana requires, has to pass the examiner's look before you start, and must have its driver assist features turned off. Nobody else rides along except the examiner.

Six things end the drive at once: disobeying a sign or light, any speeding, crossing the solid yellow center line, not giving way when required, running a wheel over a curb in reverse, and no seat belt. Seven days must pass before a retest, two months after a third failure. A pass is honored for two years, or until your permit lapses if that is sooner.

Instructor tip: practice backing out of a space next to a curb until it is boring. Curb strikes are an automatic fail that nervous adults hit more often than they expect.

After you pass: fees, terms and renewals

Fees, per the chart revised January 1, 2026: the permit is $9; the license is $17.50 before age 75, $11 for ages 75 through 84, and $7 from 85. Terms shorten with age too, from six years for most adults to three years in the 75 to 84 bracket and two years from 85. Whatever the chart says, the date printed on your card is what counts.

U.S. citizens may renew as much as 24 months early. You will not face the written exam again at renewal unless six or more points have built up since you last renewed, or the license has been expired over 180 days. A late renewal costs an extra $6 administrative penalty.

If you are moving here with a license

The clock is 60 days from when you move in. An adult with a current license from another state brings it, plus a driving record or verification letter and the same identity, status, Social Security and address papers as anyone else, and passes an eye test. Since July 1, 2019, there has been no written exam for a current license.

A lapsed license puts the written exam back in. Lapsed for over five years, or held for under twelve months, and the road test is added. All your old state's cards are handed in, and a 30 day paper license covers you while the BMV checks your documents. With no valid license at all, you hold an Indiana permit for 180 days first. Licenses from other countries go through a separate BMV process.