The Indiana Learner's Permit, Step by Step

Before you go: which age route are you on?

Indiana ties the earliest permit to the course. At 15, your teen has to be signed up for approved behind-the-wheel training and must show the school's Certificate of Driver Education at the counter. At 16 or older, anyone can apply without a course.

That choice carries through to the license. Finish the course and 16 is the license age; skip it and the date becomes 16 years and 270 days. The BMV publishes a birthday chart so you can look up the exact date either way.

Example: your son turns 15 on September 10 and starts a licensed course that fall. He can apply for his permit as soon as he is enrolled. If instead you wait until he turns 16 and skip the course, he gets his permit that September and cannot be licensed until early June of the following year, when he hits 16 years and 270 days.

One more wrinkle for 15 year olds: the permit alone does not open family practice. The BMV wants three things in place first: the 30 hour classroom or online portion finished, the permit issued, and a current enrollment for the school driving lessons.

The document pile

Expect the clerk to verify who your teen is, their lawful status, their Social Security number and their Indiana address, which takes two different documents. For most teens born in the U.S., a certified birth certificate or a U.S. passport takes care of identity and status at once. The BMV has a printable checklist of accepted documents.

Address proof is where teens get stuck, since bills rarely carry their name. That is what the Indiana Residency Affidavit is for. Whoever signs it must be an adult who lives in the same home. They bring an Indiana license or ID card that has not expired, something proving their identity, and two address documents in their name. Matricula Consular cards cannot be used for identity or for residency.

• Identity: a certified U.S. birth certificate or valid U.S. passport is typical.
• Social Security: anything that shows the full number.
• Lawful status: frequently covered by the identity document.
• Address: two different documents, or the Residency Affidavit.

At the counter: the adult who accepts responsibility

Every applicant under 18 needs an adult to swear to a statement of financial liability, in person. In plain terms, that adult agrees to share responsibility with the teen for any damage the teen causes while driving.

State law sets a pecking order for the signature. The parent with custody (or a person that parent names) comes first. Next is the other parent (or that parent's pick), then a guardian who has custody, and last any other adult willing to take it on. Whoever signs shows U.S. government photo ID listing a U.S. address.

On exam day: the test and the eye check

The exam runs on a computer and pulls from the Indiana Driver's Manual. It has a road sign section and a traffic maneuver section, and each one has to reach 80 percent on its own. The BMV offers a practice exam and short videos on the manual's chapters.

Besides English, the exam is available in Spanish and 18 other languages. For anything else, book an interpreter appointment and bring your own interpreter, who signs an affidavit agreeing to translate and nothing more. ASL appointments are made by calling 888-692-6841 and are always on a later day.

For the eye check, wear any lenses you drive with; that puts a B restriction on the permit. An eye doctor can fill in State Form 56520, Vision Screening Documentation, instead. Applicants who fall short are sent to an eye doctor and screened again afterward.

After you get the permit: who may ride along

The supervisor rules depend on age. For a teen under 18, the front passenger must hold a license and be one of: a family member aged 25 or more, the teen's spouse aged 21 or more, an instructor employed by a driving school, or a certified rehabilitation specialist. Their privileges have to be valid.

Foster youth have one extra option: a licensed adult aged 25 or more whom DCS has approved. Permit holders who are 18 or older have a wider choice: any licensed driver 25 or up, or a licensed spouse 21 or up, with no need to be related.

If something goes wrong: lost permits, renewals and moves

Lost the permit? If nothing about your name or address has changed, order a replacement online by entering your personal details and Social Security number. If anything changed, go to a branch with documents. A permit expired for over 180 days means sitting the knowledge exam again.

Coming from another state? Indiana does not convert learner's permits. A new resident with no valid license from elsewhere gets an Indiana permit and holds it 180 days. A teen under 18 whose out-of-state license is under 180 days old also starts on an Indiana permit after the knowledge and vision tests.