Learning to Drive as an Adult in Louisiana

Before you call a school: yes, adults take a course

If you have never had a license, Louisiana requires driver education no matter your age. For applicants 18 and over, OMV's requirement is the Pre-Licensing course, 14 hours made up of 6 in the classroom and 8 in the car.

You may sign up for the 38 hour teen course instead. Ask the school about its schedule, since every school sets its own calendar.

Doing the classroom hours online

Yes, for part of it. Since 2017 (Act 343, now R.S. 32:402.1(B)), a licensed school may move any share of the 6 classroom hours online or to another remote format, as long as public safety officials have approved that format. The driving school regulations repeat this.

Driving time is never remote: those 8 hours are in a car beside a licensed instructor. Confirm the school's online format is DPS approved before handing over money. Unsure whether the course even applies to you? Try the DouxWe tool on OMV's driver education web page.

Say you work weekdays. You might finish the 6 online hours over two evenings, then book the 8 driving hours across two Saturday mornings.

Your TIP and the permit question

Like teens, adults begin with a Class E TIP. Get it before your written exam or your first drive, and keep it on you during each lesson and the road test.

Adults are exempt from the six month permit wait that teens face, which means finishing the course and passing the tests can lead directly to a full license.

On test day: what you must pass

You will need eyesight of 20/40 (one eye is enough), a score of at least 80 percent on the written exam, and a pass on the driving exam. Your school administers both exams; private school students always take the road portion at a driving school.

Non-commercial written exams can be taken with a translator if English reading is a struggle.

Choosing REAL ID or a standard card

Louisiana offers both. The REAL ID card has a white star outlined in gold at the top. From May 7, 2025, U.S. flights and some federal buildings require that card or an alternative such as a passport.

The REAL ID file needs your identity, birth date and lawful status, your Social Security number, and two residence documents that come from two different places, say a power bill and a bank statement. Because the price matches the standard card, first-time adults with the right papers usually choose it.

If you are moving here with a license

Switch within 30 days of making Louisiana your home. If your old non-commercial license is valid, an eye test is the only exam; there is no course, no written test, no road test. OMV keeps your previous card.

At the counter, present a primary ID document, your Social Security number, an address document and the photo license you are giving up. Every document must show the same name, or bring the records that connect them.

If your license is from another country

Most foreign licenses do not shortcut anything. Without a reciprocity agreement, you show proof of driver ed and take all three exams, written, eye and road. Short-term visitors to the U.S. are not eligible at all.

The exceptions are a short list: Germany, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, and some U.S. territories such as Guam and Puerto Rico. Holders of those licenses need only the eye test.

After you are licensed: insurance

Once licensed, you can chase a separate discount. Under La. R.S. 22:1457, an insurer may lower your rate as much as 10 percent, at any age, after you finish a defensive driving course from the National Safety Council or one the state's public safety department has approved. You cannot pile that on top of a driver education discount; it is one or the other.

Ask your insurer which discount it gives new adult drivers, and which of the two saves you more.