Your Maryland Learner's Permit, Step by Step

Before you book: which permit you need

In Maryland, the permit is the starting point for every first-time driver, not just teenagers. The Rookie Driver program sends a 40 year old beginner through the same permit, course and road test as a 16 year old.

There are two versions. Type I is for someone who has never held a license. Type II is for someone who is licensed now or was before and is moving to a different class, such as adding motorcycles. Most readers need Type I, which is what this page covers.

Before you book: building your document folder

Copies are refused, so bring originals. For identity, the MVA takes a U.S. passport, a U.S. birth certificate, a green card, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or a Certificate of Naturalization or Citizenship. For the Social Security number, bring the card, a 1099 or W-2, or a pay stub that prints the number.

Parents bringing a teen may need one extra item. When the teen's identity document does not name you, prove the relationship with something like a health insurance card or tax return. If the teen is in Department of Social Services custody, the director or a designee comes along with state ID and a sealed court document showing custody.

• Original identity document
• Social Security number proof
• Parent relationship proof, when needed
• DL-300 or DL-300A, under 16 only
• Payment by card, mobile wallet, cash, or check to the Motor Vehicle Administration

If your teen is under 16: the school form

Applying before the 16th birthday means proving school attendance. The school, or your county's home school coordinator, completes Form DL-300, Verification of Identity and/or School Attendance, and seals it in a school envelope. If anyone opens that envelope, the form is void.

When getting the school's form is difficult, there is Form DL-300A, which a parent or guardian co-signs instead. Both forms are on the MVA's learner's permit page. Ask the school office for DL-300 well ahead of time; the first weeks of a semester are when these requests move slowest.

Example: a student who turns 15 and 9 months in early September should request DL-300 in August, before school offices get swamped.

At the appointment: eyes and 25 questions

The test is 25 multiple choice questions on Maryland traffic law, signs and safe driving, all from the Driver's Manual. About half of first-time takers fail, by the MVA's own count. The free tutorial matches the real length, has an untimed mode and a 20 minute timed mode, and comes in English and Spanish.

The eye check confirms you meet the standard for a noncommercial license. If you pass only with corrective lenses, wear them every time you drive. Showing up to the road test without them ends that test immediately.

What it costs as of October 2026

The MVA fee table that took effect on September 1, 2025 sets the Type I permit at $65. You will not be charged again when the provisional license becomes a full license, because that conversion is included.

Type II costs $45, and a corrected permit costs $30. The MVA takes Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, mobile wallets and cash. Checks must be payable to the Motor Vehicle Administration and have your name and address printed on them.

After the permit arrives: rules on the road

Every drive needs a qualified supervisor in the front passenger seat: someone 21 or older who has had a license for at least three years. No one else may sit up front. Driving alone on a permit is a 5 point violation under Maryland's point law.

Phones are completely off limits, hands-free and Bluetooth included, with a single exception for calling 911 in an emergency, and breaking that rule can cost you the permit. A moving violation that ends in a conviction or PBJ also restarts the waiting period: 9 months from that date before a road test.

How long you will hold it

Your minimum depends on age and schooling. From 16 to 18 without a high school diploma, it is 9 months. At 18 with a diploma or equivalent, or anywhere from 19 to 24, it is 3 months. At 25 and older it is 45 days.

Practice hours follow the same age line. Under 25, log 60 hours with 10 after dark; from 25, log 14 with 3 after dark. You need the hold time, the hours and a finished driver education course before the MVA will book your skills test.

If you moved here with a permit from another state

Maryland will not exchange an out-of-state learner's permit. You apply from scratch, with documents, the eye check and the Maryland knowledge test. Hours from the old permit do not carry over on their own, so open a new Maryland log.

As of October 2026, driver education from elsewhere counts only if it came from Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado or a listed Delaware school. If you finished a course in another state, email the paperwork to the MVA driver education team before paying for a Maryland course. The team says it replies within two business days.