Teen Drivers Ed in Kentucky: The Family Timeline

Before you start: yes, the course is mandatory

Kentucky is clear about this. The Transportation Cabinet requires every driver whose permit was issued under 18 to complete an approved driver education course before an unrestricted license. The class in question lasts four hours and is officially the Graduated Licensing Program course; some regulations label it new driver state traffic school.

Do not picture months of lessons. It is a single safety class, not a full program with in-car instruction. Private driving schools approved by the State Police exist if you want added lessons, but they are extras; your teen can be licensed without them.

Picking how your teen takes the course

You have three routes the state accepts. Alive at 25 costs nothing for Kentucky drivers and meets either in a room or by Zoom. RightLane is the online version and costs $12.50. A high school class qualifies too, provided it is approved and delivers the four classroom hours that regulation 601 KAR 13:110 calls for.

Reporting differs by route. Alive at 25 and RightLane send the completion to the Division of Driver Licensing themselves. A school class is different: you send the proof by mail yourself. Include your teen's full name, birth date and permit or license number, and address it to the Driver Education desk of the cabinet's Division of Driver Licensing at 200 Mero Street in Frankfort, KY 40622.

• Alive at 25: no charge, classroom or Zoom
• RightLane online: $12.50
• High school course: no charge, but you mail the proof

At 15: the first visit and the permit

At 15, your teen is eligible for the State Police knowledge and eye tests. Test day is a three-stop day: first the Regional office to check documents, then KSP for the tests, then back to the Regional office to collect the permit. The written test pass mark is 80 percent, and a teen who misses it can try again on the next available day.

Pack the birth certificate (original or certified), the actual Social Security card, a proof of Kentucky residency (two if you want REAL ID) and the TC 94-200 from school. Most 15 year olds have nothing with an address on it, so your own residency proof, in your name, can show your teen lives with you.

Until House Bill 15 kicked in on March 25, 2025, the starting age was 16. The same bill lengthened a motor vehicle permit's life to four years from three, so a 15 year old can finish the whole sequence without renewing. You may still see the earlier figures in the 2023 manual and on a few older cabinet pages; follow the statute.

Here is how a calendar might look. If your teen turns 15 in April and gets the permit that month, the earliest road test is the following April at 16, once 180 days have passed. With an intermediate license from that April, the full license can come the April after, at 17.

During the permit months: rules and the log

On a permit, a teen under 18 always has a licensed adult, 21 or over, sitting up front beside them. Only one unrelated passenger under 20 may ride along, and driving from midnight to 6 a.m. is off limits unless there is good cause, like an emergency, a school activity or a job.

Before the road test, you sign the Practice Driving Log certifying 60 hours, 10 after dark. Tickets matter here. If your teen is convicted of a moving offense under the motor vehicle chapters (186, 189 or 189A), the 180 day count restarts. Days spent suspended for school reasons under KRS 159.051 do not count either.

On road test day

The road test is a State Police appointment, available once your teen is 16 and the permit is 180 days old. Someone licensed and at least 21 must accompany your teen. Bring the signed Practice Driving Log and proof of registration and coverage for the car; a policy, the card from your insurer or an agent's binder all work.

If you plan to use a rental, your teen must be listed on the contract as an operator. A failed test means waiting seven full days to try again, and the state manual warns that a crash, a violation or a dangerous move can end the test right there.

At 16: what the intermediate license allows

With the intermediate license your teen can drive without you, but two limits stay in place. The hours from midnight to 6 a.m. are off limits without good cause. And unless an adult supervisor rides along, only one passenger under 20 who is not family may be in the car. For every driver under 21, the alcohol limit is .02.

Breaking those limits, or any other moving violation, pushes the full license back by at least another 180 days. The manual adds a warning: more than six points before 18 can cost your teen the license.

At 17, or at 18: the full license

Once the 4-hour course is complete, the intermediate license is 180 days old and your teen is 17, you and your teen visit a Regional office and apply for the unrestricted card. If you have moved, bring a new proof of residency.

Turning 18 partway through the intermediate period changes things. Your teen can apply for the full license immediately, provided the four hour class is already done. The course stays required because the rule follows the age on the day the permit was issued.

Every day: phones, belts and school attendance

KRS 189.294 bars any driver under 18, whether on a permit, intermediate license or full license, from using a phone or other personal communication device while the car is moving. An emergency call to police or for medical aid is the lone exception. Typing a destination into a phone's navigation app is a violation; using the car's own navigation screen or a separate GPS unit is not. A conviction here also restarts the 180 day wait for the next stage.

Every person in the car buckles up. School performance matters too, starting at 15 under KRS 159.051, the law families call No Pass/No Drive. A semester with nine unexcused absences or more, or four failed courses, can lead to revocation. You may request a District Court hearing within 15 days of the notice.

If you are a parent signing, moving or shopping for insurance

When you sign for a minor, you accept responsibility for their driving. If you ever need to pull that support, form TC 94-90 withdraws it and the permit or license is cancelled. The cabinet offers a guide for parents and a sample driving contract to sign with your teen.

Families moving to Kentucky have 30 days after establishing residence to get Kentucky licenses, and an unexpired license from another state carries over with no tests. For a teen with an out-of-state permit or provisional license, ask the Division of Driver Licensing how it maps onto the Kentucky stages. Ask your insurer separately whether the course or a driving school lowers your teen's rate.