Behind the Wheel in North Carolina: Lessons, Logs and the Road Test

Before you practice: the instructor's 6 hours

The in-car lessons make up the back half of driver ed. DPI sets the minimum at six hours, and they only start once your teen has finished the classroom work and passed the screening.

During those lessons your teen drives on a Restricted Instruction Permit, which is only for training with the instructor. It does not allow practice with you; that begins only once the Level 1 permit arrives in the mail.

Through a school district, the complete course costs no more than $65. Private schools licensed by NCDMV price things as they like and frequently offer add-on lessons, handy if your teen is anxious or your household has no car to spare for practice.

During Level 1: the 60 hour log

Form DL-4A is the official log. It counts 60 hours minimum, no more than 10 hours in any week, at least 10 at night, and needs the supervising driver's signature certifying it is true under G.S. 20-11(d).

Night means after sunset once daylight is gone, so a 6 p.m. drive counts as night in December but not in June. Spread night hours across seasons and weather rather than piling them into the last month.

Because of the weekly cap, 60 hours takes at least six weeks. A family logging 4 hours a week finishes in 15 weeks, well inside the 9 month hold, with room for bad weather and busy months.

On test day, carry the log on paper with the signature in ink. NCDMV says it will take either format for the log, but insurance must be on paper, and a hard copy of everything saves debate with the clerk.

During Level 1: choosing supervisors

Per the handbook, only a parent, grandparent, guardian, or an adult a parent or guardian has approved may supervise, and that person needs a current license with at least five years behind it.

The supervisor rides in the front passenger seat, with no one else up front. A driving instructor can be an approved supervisor if you agree, which some families use for highway or night sessions.

Before the road test: what to practice

Here is what the examiner watches: how your teen handles intersections, stop signs and lights; emergency stops; reversing; pulling away and parking; using the signals and horn; turns; lane position; gap to the car ahead; overtaking and being overtaken; giving way to people and vehicles; how they sit at the wheel; and the three-point turnabout.

Plan the 60 hours around that list. A workable mix: roughly 20 hours in empty lots and residential streets practicing reversing and turnabouts, roughly 20 on busy roads with several lanes and traffic lights, and the remainder on highways, country two-lanes, and in the dark or the rain.

On test day: a driving school or an NCDMV office

Some private driver ed schools hold NCDMV certification to run the Level 2 driving test. They charge their own fees (NCDMV's road test page lists them), and after passing, your teen takes the school's certificate to a license office to complete the license.

Testing with NCDMV instead? You go too, and the examiner inspects the car before the drive; it has to be registered and in working order. A burnt-out bulb or bald tire can cancel the test, so walk around the car the night before.

After Level 2: supervision still matters

Level 2 frees your teen to drive alone in daytime and early evening, until 9. After that, unless the trip is straight to or from a job or a volunteer shift with fire, rescue or EMS, an adult supervisor has to be riding along until 5 a.m.

You may read about a DL-4B, a second 12 hour log with 6 night hours, required for Level 3. That was the old system. The current NCDMV page asks only for six months at Level 2 and six months without a qualifying conviction, and the online upgrade does not request any log.