Behind-the-Wheel Practice in Indiana: Lessons, Log and Supervisors

Before the first lesson: picking a school

Indiana's program is 30 hours of classroom or online study plus 6 hours behind the wheel, all through a school the BMV licenses. The BMV's interactive map lets you search schools county by county.

Instructors are licensed by the BMV after approved instructor training and 20 hours of their own behind-the-wheel training. Schools must file their curriculum and price list with the BMV, so ask for the price list on paper before you sign.

Switching schools midway is often possible, but only if both schools agree to transfer the completed work. Talk to the new school before you pull out of the old one.

During the permit months: the 50 hour log

Every new driver 18 or younger keeps the 50 hour log, course or no course. At least 10 of the hours are at night. A permit with a daylight-only restriction is exempt from the night hours but still needs all 50.

The form is State Form 54706, the Log of Supervised Driving. Your teen turns it in when applying for the probationary license, and shows it again at a branch road test. Keep it in the glove box with the permit and update it after each drive; rebuilding three months of entries from memory is how mistakes creep in.

Before lesson one, sit down with your teen and read two short BMV handouts together: the student Code of Responsibilities and the one page summary of permit and probationary rules.

Who may sit beside your teen

For a driver under 18 the list is short. Every option needs a license: a relative at least 25 years old (by blood, by marriage or by legal tie), the teen's own spouse at 21 or above, an instructor on a driving school's staff, or a rehabilitation specialist the BMV recognizes who works in a rehab program.

Whoever it is rides up front beside your teen, and their own privileges must be in good standing. A trusted friend of the family who is not a relative does not qualify for a minor. Foster youth are the one exception: DCS can approve a licensed adult who is at least 25.

• A licensed instructor working for a driving school.
• A licensed relative aged 25 or more.
• A licensed spouse aged 21 or more.
• A certified driver rehabilitation specialist.

Instructor's plan for the 50 hours

Use the whole 180 days. A steady two or three hours a week beats a panicked final month. Rotate through quiet neighborhoods, highways, rain, dusk and full dark.

Practice exactly what the examiner grades. That means lane changes with a mirror check and a look over the shoulder, complete stops behind the line, a safe gap to the car ahead, and backing out of a parking space.

An Indiana examiner will stop the test for any of five errors: not coming to a full stop, going over the limit, drifting across a solid yellow line, failing to yield, or driving unbelted. Run your last few practice drives as mock tests and call out those mistakes the moment they happen.

On test day: testing with the school

A lot of schools can run the road test in-house through the BMV's waiver arrangement. The BMV's skills test page sets three conditions: a current permit, successful training at a school that takes part, and an age of 16 years and 90 days or more. The BMV's driver education page words it more broadly, saying schools can test anyone 16 or older with a valid permit, so ask your school which rule it applies.

The test goes back to a branch if the permit has expired, if the school is not in the program, or if your teen did not successfully finish the course. Scoring 79 percent or lower in either the classroom or the driving portion counts as not finishing for this purpose.

If you were hoping to teach it yourself

The BMV's driver education pages list no parent-taught option. The 6 driving hours that unlock a license at 16 have to come from a licensed school. Parents supervise and sign the 50 hour log.

You can still skip the school entirely. Your teen just gets the license later, at 16 years and 270 days, still with the full permit period and log behind them.