Verified as of 2026-10-23 against DMV

Nevada · Learner's Permit

Your Teen's Nevada Instruction Permit, Step by Step

This page is for a Nevada parent getting ready for a teen's first DMV visit. The decision in front of you is timing: apply right at 15 and a half and the six month permit clock ends on the 16th birthday. To get the permit your teen passes eye and knowledge tests, you co-sign, and you bring a DMV 301 attendance form the school has signed. On the October 2026 schedule, the permit is $22.50 plus $25 for testing, it lasts a year, and your teen may drive only beside a licensed driver who is 21 or older with a year of experience. Adults 18 and older can skip the permit altogether.

Youngest applicant: 15 and a half
Permit fee: $22.50
Testing fee: $25; retests $10
Lasts: One year
Knowledge test: 20 of 25 correct
Eyesight: 20/40 or better in one eye
Needed by adults?: No, optional at 18 and up

Step by step

Get the DMV 301 from school
A principal or designated official completes Section 1 of the Certification of Attendance no more than 60 days before your visit. For a homeschooled teen, you complete Section 2.
Fill in the DMV 002 and DP-38
The DMV 002 is the driving privileges application, offered in English, Spanish and Tagalog. On the DP-38 Minor Affidavit your teen confirms they understand the laws for young drivers.
Pass the knowledge test
At home through KnowToDrive Nevada or at an office. Twenty correct out of 25 passes.
Go to the DMV together
Bring the identity, Social Security and two residency documents. You sign the Financial Responsibility Statement on the spot to authorize the permit.
Eye check and payment
Pay $22.50 for the permit and $25 for testing. Your teen walks out with a paper interim permit.
Wait for the card
The permanent permit is mailed within about 10 business days. It has to be carried on every drive.

Before you apply: who qualifies, and the clock

Nevada residents become eligible at 15 and a half. Every applicant under 18, whether for a permit, a license or a Driver Authorization Card, must show they meet the state's school attendance rules on the DMV 301. At 18 that requirement ends, whatever the applicant's school situation.

The permit starts a longer countdown. Before the road test your teen must hold it six months or more, complete driver education, log 50 supervised hours, and be 16. Example: a teen who applies on the day they turn 15 and a half reaches the six month mark on their 16th birthday, so a summer birthday means a summer road test.

Before you apply: the school attendance form

Driving and school attendance are linked in Nevada. The DMV 301 has a school part, where a principal or someone they designate certifies the student is attending enough to satisfy NRS 392.122, plus a section parents use when the teen is homeschooled, excused for a disability, or done with school.

Each signed form is good for 60 days. It can also work against your teen: a school that declares a student a habitual truant can file it to suspend or block a permit or license, and the student then needs a newly signed DMV 301 to get driving privileges back.

The night before: documents

If your teen has no Nevada ID card yet, pack one identity document (a passport, or a birth certificate certified by a U.S. government office, for example), one document showing the Social Security number, and two showing your Nevada home address. Proof of address, whether a lease, a bank statement or a utility bill, has to be an original or a certified copy dated within 60 days, and a Nevada school record listing the address is accepted.

Hospital birth certificates are refused, and anything not in English needs a translation the DMV approves. The DMV suggests most people choose Real ID.

At the counter: what your signature means

A custodial parent, a legal guardian, or someone else permitted under NRS 483.300 must co-sign. According to the handbook, whoever co-signs becomes jointly liable for damage the minor causes through negligence or willful misconduct while driving. Treat that signature as a financial commitment.

You also keep the off switch. Whoever signed the Financial Responsibility Statement may withdraw the permit at any moment: bring a DP-38 to an office and turn in the card. Each renewal needs a new statement from a parent.

At the counter: the two tests

The knowledge test draws on the DMV 700 handbook: Nevada traffic law, signs and safe driving. Taken online it has a 60 minute limit, requires a front facing camera and does not work on touch screens. Taken at an office, you can take as long as you need, in English, Spanish or audio. A fail can be retried the next day; an online attempt that is disqualified, after 24 hours.

Eyesight must be 20/40 or better in one eye. If lenses are needed to reach that, Restriction B goes on, and drivers who fall short may be restricted to daylight driving or asked for an exam every year.

After issue: rules on every drive

On a Class C permit, your teen drives only with a licensed driver who is 21 or older, has been licensed for a year or longer, and occupies the seat next to them. Motorcycle and moped permits go further: riding only in daylight, never with a passenger, never on a freeway, and always with a licensed rider aged 21 or more following on another motorcycle.

The DMV may retest your teen, cancel the permit or decline to renew it after a traffic conviction or any other offense on its suspension list. Crashing at fault or getting a moving violation also pushes back the license, because the six months before it must be free of both.

Later: expiration, renewal and fee waivers

A car permit lasts one year; a motorcycle permit lasts one year or until 18, whichever is sooner. Renewals are in person, and a permit lapsed more than 30 days means passing the knowledge test again.

Fees can be waived for homeless applicants younger than 25 who fill out form DMV 128 at an office. An adult who opts for a permit pays the identical $22.50 and drives under identical supervision rules, though they may skip it and book the road test in person after the written test.

Nevada teen drivers ed: common questions

When can my teen apply for a permit?

At 15 and a half, with a DMV 301 signed within the past 60 days and a parent there to co-sign.

What does the permit cost?

On the October 2026 schedule the permit itself is $22.50, with $25 more for testing, which covers the knowledge test and the first road test. Retests are $10 each.

Can the knowledge test be done at home?

Yes. KnowToDrive Nevada runs on any computer that has a webcam pointed at the test taker. The office visit is still needed for the eye check, documents and the permit.

Who can ride with my teen?

Someone licensed for at least a year, aged 21 or older, sitting next to your teen.

Does an adult need a permit?

No. It is optional at 18 and up; without one you book the road test in person after the written test.

Can I cancel my teen's permit?

Yes. As the signer of the financial responsibility form, submit a DP-38 at the DMV and give back the permit.

Is the hospital birth certificate okay?

No. Bring a certified birth certificate or another accepted identity document.

Learner's Permit in another state

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Sources

Rules change. If a source above says something different from this page, the source is right. Last checked 2026-10-23.

Step by step

Get the DMV 301 from school

Fill in the DMV 002 and DP-38

Pass the knowledge test

Go to the DMV together

Eye check and payment

Wait for the card