Teen Driving in North Dakota: What Your Family Does and When

Before anything else: does your teen need a course?

Here is the rule in plain terms. North Dakota requires formal driver education only for applicants aged 14 and 15. Turn 16 before the road test and the course is no longer a condition of licensing.

The 50 hour practice log works the same way. It applies to permit holders under 16, and it sits on top of the course rather than replacing it. A 15 year old needs both.

Take a family that gets a permit in March, the month their daughter turns 14. If she wants to drive alone at 15, she takes a course, logs 50 hours and keeps the permit at least a year. If she would rather wait, she can hold the permit, practice at her own pace and test at 16 with no course, though six months on the permit is the minimum for 16 and 17 year olds.

Before you apply: the permit visit at 14

Your teen becomes eligible for a Class D instruction permit at 14. The requirements are a passing score on the Rules of the Road knowledge test, a vision exam and your written approval as parent or legal guardian.

The knowledge test can be done at home online. Passing it there does not finish the job; you still book a slot at a driver license site to collect the permit.

NDDOT charges $5 for each test attempt and $15 for the permit as of October 2026, and your teen can try the test only once a day. Many languages are available, and the Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks and Minot offices, among others, offer ASL and audio versions.

What to put in the document folder

Bring originals or certified copies only. A state certified U.S. birth certificate, a passport or passport card, or an immigration document will prove identity. A photocopy will not, and neither will the souvenir certificate from the hospital.

You also need two current papers showing your home address in North Dakota, such as a lease or a utility bill. A parent's proof of address covers a minor, so the bills in your name work.

If you cannot make the appointment, you can authorize another adult through a notarized document. Legal guardians bring their guardianship papers. Tell your teen to leave the phone, bag and notes outside the testing room, because having any of them inside is an automatic fail.

While your teen holds the permit: the rules in the car

Someone must always sit beside your teen: a person at least 18, licensed for the vehicle class and with three or more years behind the wheel. Nobody else rides in front unless the vehicle has only a front seat.

For 14 and 15 year olds there is a second limit. They may practice only in a car owned by a parent or guardian, a grandparent, a brother or sister, or an aunt or uncle. The only exception is a dual control car with a licensed driver trainer aboard.

Phones are off limits for every permit holder, with exceptions for calling for emergency help or reporting a crime. Breaking a permit condition costs 2 points, which matters more than it sounds for a teen; more on that below.

Choosing the course: school program or private school

You have two routes to the certificate. The school route, under the Department of Public Instruction, pairs 30 hours of classroom work with 6 hours of in-car training. The commercial route is 6 hours of in-car training at a driving school NDDOT has approved.

In the school program, a student who is at least 14 may drive the training car before having a permit, provided a certified instructor is aboard and the district carries the required insurance.

NDDOT publishes its approved schools town by town, and an asterisk next to a name means the school is in the road test waiver program. Not every listed school is actually running classes, so phone first before you build a summer around one.

Cost may tip the decision. State law mentions insurers giving a premium reduction for driver education, so ask your agent what a completed course is worth on your policy before you compare prices.

During the practice months: the 50 hour log

A teen under 16 needs at least 50 supervised hours, and the law names the settings: driving at night, on gravel, dirt or aggregate roads, in urban traffic, out in rural areas and in winter conditions. In a state where a lot of driving happens on county and farm roads, that list is practical.

The NDDOT manual has a log you can use. Nobody collects it. Instead, you come to the road test and sign that the hours were driven, so keep it honest and keep it with the certificate.

Counting the waiting period, and a wrinkle in the wording

NDDOT's licensing page sets a one year minimum for a permit issued at 14 or 15 and six months for one issued at 16 or 17. The Century Code says the same thing in months: 12 if under 16, six otherwise.

The 2025 manual phrases the under 16 rule another way: 12 months or until 16, whichever arrives first, but never under six months. If your teen's test date hinges on which reading applies, call the NDDOT Driver License Division and get a date confirmed before you book.

On test day: car check, waiver and what is graded

The NDDOT drive costs $5. Your teen can skip it with a North Dakota Driving School Certificate of Course Completion or a Department of Public Instruction Student Completion Certificate, if the course had at least 30 classroom and 6 in-car hours and was approved for waiver use. Ask the school about that approval at enrollment, not the week before.

If you do test, bring the permit, the Certificate of Training for a teen under 16, the car's current registration and proof of insurance. A minor may use a vehicle outside the family for the test itself.

Before the drive starts, the examiner looks over the brakes, lights, turn signals, horn, mirrors, wipers, belts, exhaust and glass. Self-parking must be switched off. Passengers, pets and phones stay behind. During the drive your teen parallel parks, holds the lane, signals and obeys signs. A fail means coming back another day.

After your teen passes at 15: the restricted license

A 15 year old who passes gets a restricted Class D license. It is good only in cars owned by close family, the same list that applied on the permit, and the car may not carry more people than it has seats.

Night hours are limited. From sunset or 9 p.m., whichever is later, until 5 a.m., your teen needs a parent, legal guardian or someone 18 or older in the front seat, unless the trip goes directly to or from work, an official school activity or a religious activity. The restrictions fall away at 16.

If something goes wrong: points, moves and starting over

Drivers under 18 lose the license or driving privileges at 6 points, and an alcohol or drug offense can also lead to cancellation. Holding a phone counts too: licensed drivers under 18 and permit holders may not talk, compose, read or send messages while driving.

A cancelled teen is treated as if never licensed and goes back to a permit. The manual allows driver education to be redone through the school program, 6 in-car hours at an approved commercial school, or an NDDOT approved Internet course paired with 30 supervised hours.

Moving in with a teen? No one under 16 may drive in North Dakota on another state's license unless eligible for the North Dakota restricted license. Call the Driver License Division at 855-633-6835 to ask how the old permit time is credited.