Behind the Wheel in Louisiana: Lessons and Family Practice

During the course: what the 8 instructor hours look like

Teen or adult, the in-car part is the same 8 hours. A teen must be at least 15 to begin. State school rules limit each student to 4 hours of driving a day and require a 15 minute break after 2 hours behind the wheel.

Two students can share the school car, but only the driver and the instructor sit up front, and nobody earns credit for time spent riding in back. Instructors keep a monthly vehicle log of who drove. Every phone in the car stays off during a session, unless there is an emergency or the car is parked off the road.

What the school owes you on scheduling

Lessons cannot begin before 6 a.m. or run past 10 p.m., and the school cannot book a drive that would cause an unexcused school absence. Finding workable times is the school's job, not yours.

Deadlines bind the school: four months after the teen classroom ends, or three after the adult one. A school that misses them can be barred by DPS from opening new classes until it is caught up. Mention that politely if your lessons keep slipping.

For example, if your teen's classroom portion wraps up on June 1, all 8 driving hours should be done by the end of September.

At the end of the course: the assessment

When the 8 hours are done, the instructor gives a driving assessment and your teen needs at least 70 points. It checks readiness for the permit stage; it is not the road skills test that leads to a license.

Adults 18 and up in the pre-licensing course can move faster. If the instructor judges an adult ready, the school can swap the assessment for the real road test, with its 80 point bar, so the adult can go straight to a license.

On the permit: 50 hours with 15 at night

Once the learner's permit is issued, the family stage begins. Before the intermediate license, OMV wants half a year on the permit and 50 or more practice hours, at least 15 in the dark, alongside a licensed parent, guardian or adult of 21 or more.

No state form exists for logging. Your sworn statement at the upgrade is what counts, which makes your own notes important: when you drove, for how long, in what weather, and what you worked on. For structure, OMV links a free supervised driving program for parents on its driver ed page.

Who should supervise practice

Legally, an 18 year old licensed sibling can ride up front with a permit driver. But the hour requirement lists only parents, guardians and licensed adults 21 and over, so let those people cover the drives you intend to certify.

Supervisors must not be impaired and must follow the same hands-free rules as everyone else under Act 288 of 2025. Spread the practice across city streets, two-lane country roads, interstates, rain and darkness, and space the night hours out instead of cramming them into a few long trips.

On road test day

Teens who completed driver ed at a private school after August 1, 2014 road test with a driving school or some other tester OMV has certified. OMV's Driver's Education page lists the testers, and each may charge its own fee.

High school program students whose program does not test can take the road test with OMV. In that case you provide a currently licensed, inspected and insured car, plus its registration and insurance card. The pass mark is 80, and the test covers maneuvers like parking, backing, lane use and yielding.

Why parents cannot teach it here

Some states allow parent-taught driver education. Louisiana does not. A licensed school or approved high school program teaches the 30 classroom hours in person, and the 8 instructor hours are always with a licensed instructor.

What you contribute: attending orientation, signing consent, riding along for 50 hours, and certifying them. The orientation OMV designed focuses on that role and includes a parent and teen driving agreement.