Verified as of 2026-10-23 against DMV

New Hampshire · Learner's Permit

Practicing Without a Learner's Permit in New Hampshire

This page is for a New Hampshire family looking for the permit application. Stop looking: there is none for cars. Your only decision is who will sit beside your learner. Under RSA 263:25, an unlicensed driver who is 15 and a half or older may practice on New Hampshire roads in a non-commercial vehicle, carrying proof of age, with a certified instructor, a parent, a guardian or a licensed adult aged 25 or up riding in the front passenger seat. The knowledge and vision tests wait until the license appointment.

Permit for cars: None issued
First legal practice drive: At 15 and a half
Who may ride along: Certified instructor, parent, guardian, or licensed adult 25+
Keep in the car: Proof of the learner's age
Other states' permits: Neither honored nor transferred
Knowledge test: 80 percent, taken when applying for the license

Step by step

Count to 15 and a half
Before that birthday no one may practice on New Hampshire roads, even with a licensed adult. Work out the date and build the course schedule around it.
Put proof of age in the glove box
With no permit card to show an officer, the law asks the learner to carry a document with their date of birth on every drive.
Choose the person in the passenger seat
Your options are a parent, a legal guardian, a certified driving instructor, or any licensed adult aged 25 or up, and they sit up front.
Start the 40 hour log if the learner is under 18
Drives from 15 and a half onward count toward the 40 supervised hours, with 10 at night, required before a license.
Study for the tests at the license appointment
Work through the New Hampshire Driver's Manual now, because the knowledge test comes at the end of the process, not the beginning.

Before the first drive: why there is no permit

Most of the country makes a new driver hold a permit for a set time before a road test. New Hampshire takes another route and writes the safety rules straight into RSA 263:25: a minimum age, a short list of approved supervisors, a rule about where they sit, and personal liability for the adult. The required course and the 40 hour log do the rest.

For your family that means no trip to the DMV to start, no permit fee and no permit test. Your learner's first DMV visit is the license appointment itself, where the vision, knowledge and road tests all happen.

Choosing the adult in the front seat

The supervisor needs a current, valid license for the type of vehicle and must be one of four kinds of people: a parent, a legal guardian, a certified driving instructor, or some other responsible licensed adult aged 25 or older. They sit next to the learner, not in the back.

That adult is legally liable for any traffic violation the learner commits. So before you hand over the keys, agree on the route, a speed you are both comfortable with and where the phone goes, because a ticket lands on you.

Who has to wait

The rule does not cover anyone under 15 and a half, or to anyone whose privileges have been suspended or revoked for cause, whether here or in any other state. It also does not allow practice in a commercial vehicle.

Commercial driving has its own path. A commercial learner has to be 18 or older, already hold a regular license and get a commercial learner permit, which as of October 2026 costs $20 in addition to the CDL fee.

If you are visiting or just moved here

Another state's learner's permit means nothing here: New Hampshire does not honor it or convert it. Because the practice rule covers learners wherever they live, though, a learner of 15 and a half who is just visiting may still drive in New Hampshire with a qualified adult.

A teen who moves in has to meet New Hampshire's licensing rules for minors. That means taking driver education here or asking the Driver Education office to confirm the out-of-state course satisfies RSA 263:19.

At the license appointment: the tests that replace a permit exam

Every test is by appointment. For vision, you need to manage 20/40 using both eyes; if you fall short, you need an eye doctor's certification that you can drive. The knowledge test is a timed multiple choice exam on a touch screen, and the pass mark is 80 percent.

You can take it in Portuguese, Farsi, Arabic, Mandarin, Spanish, French, English or American Sign Language, and you can ask for headphones and an audio version. Each exam is randomized. If you fail the knowledge test, the next try is at least 10 calendar days later.

If the learner is an adult

Age does not change the practice rule. An unlicensed adult may drive only when a qualified supervisor sits alongside, keeps proof of age on hand, and books the knowledge test when ready.

Driver education becomes optional at 18. The one exception is a non-U.S. citizen temporarily living in New Hampshire who has never driven before, who has to complete an approved program.

New Hampshire teen drivers ed: common questions

Where do we apply for a New Hampshire learner's permit?

Nowhere. The state does not issue one. Anyone 15 and a half or older practices under RSA 263:25 with proof of age and a qualified supervisor beside them.

How old does my child have to be to drive with me?

Fifteen and a half. From then on you, a guardian, a certified instructor or another licensed adult aged 25 or up can sit beside them.

My older sister is 20 and licensed. Can she ride with me?

No. Unless the supervisor is a parent, guardian or certified instructor, they must be a licensed adult who is at least 25.

If my teen gets pulled over while practicing, who gets the ticket?

You do, as the supervising adult. The law makes the person riding along responsible for the learner's traffic violations.

We live in Massachusetts. Can my teen practice in New Hampshire on that permit?

The permit itself is not honored, but the practice rule applies to anyone 15 and a half or older with proof of age and a qualified supervisor, wherever they live.

When does the written test happen?

At the license appointment, right after the vision test. Score 80 percent and the road test comes next.

Is there a permit fee to pay?

No. With no permit, there is no permit fee or permit exam. You pay the license fee at the license appointment.

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

Count to 15 and a half

Put proof of age in the glove box

Choose the person in the passenger seat

Start the 40 hour log if the learner is under 18

Study for the tests at the license appointment