Your Teen's West Virginia Level 1 Permit, From Paperwork to First Drive

Before you apply: who starts on Level 1

Every West Virginia resident aged 15, 16 or 17 without a license begins here. W. Va. Code 17B-2-3a bars anyone under 18 from driving without a graduated license, which makes the Level 1 permit the only lawful starting point.

Consent comes from a parent or guardian who has custody. Married applicants under 18 are the one exception the DMV makes: they bring a certified marriage certificate instead. Anyone already 18 who has never been licensed bypasses GDL and gets the regular Class E permit covered at the bottom of this page.

Before you apply: school standing

Under W. Va. Code 18-8-11, a student under 17 has to be in school and keeping up with coursework. Call the school a week or two ahead and ask what it provides to the DMV for your teen, so nothing holds up the visit.

Before you go: the document list

The DMV uses the same proof list for every new applicant, young or old. Count on at least four documents, more if a name has changed. The DMV refuses photocopies, hospital birth certificates and souvenir certificates.

Residency is where teens usually get stuck, since few 15 year olds have bills in their own name. One item on the DMV's list is a Driver's Eligibility Certificate showing a West Virginia street address, so ask the school if its certificate can count as one of the two. For any other question, phone the DMV at (800) 642-9066 before you go.

• Identity: a U.S. birth certificate (original or certified), or an unexpired U.S. passport book or card; applicants born abroad bring valid DHS documents
• Social Security: the card itself (not a metal copy), a 1099, or an original W-2 or paycheck stub with all nine digits
• Residency: two documents with a physical West Virginia address, no PO boxes, not both from one company, and bills dated within 60 days
• A certified court order or similar proof if a name has changed
• Your signed consent on the application

On test day: the knowledge test and the eye check

W. Va. Code 17B-2-7 has the exam cover road signs, the state's traffic laws and how alcohol impairs drivers. The GDL fee schedule charges $7.50 per attempt, and after a failure the law makes your teen wait a week before trying again.

Know To Drive, the DMV's remote option, lets your teen test at home on a camera-equipped computer. The DMV stresses that the resulting certificate does not authorize driving; the permit is still processed at a DMV location. Fraud flagged by the online system means at least 90 days without testing privileges plus a $50 reinstatement fee.

There is a third route. Under state law and a DMV rule, a driver education instructor may administer the DMV's knowledge test, and teens who pass it that way are excused from proving school enrollment. If your teen takes driver ed at school, ask whether the class includes the permit test.

Once the permit is issued: rules on every drive

A Level 1 permit is for practice only. The conditions come from W. Va. Code 17B-2-3a, and violating them is a misdemeanor carrying a $25 fine the first time, $50 the second and $75 the third, on top of any traffic ticket.

Two convictions, for moving violations or permit violations, revoke the permit, and your teen must wait 90 days to retest. That also wipes out progress toward the six months needed before the Level 2 road test.

• Up front, only the supervisor: someone licensed and at least 21, or an instructor on duty, who is awake, alert and sober
• Two passengers at most besides the supervisor, unless they are family
• No driving earlier than 5 a.m. or later than 10 p.m.
• Everyone buckled, and zero measurable alcohol
• No phone or wireless device, except to call 911

Over the following months: expiration and Level 2

The permit runs until 30 days after the 18th birthday and cannot be renewed; for active duty military members it is 180 days after. If it lapses before the road test and there is no disqualifying offense, your teen can simply apply for a new one.

To reach Level 2 at 16, your teen needs 180 conviction-free days on the permit, the hours (50 signed, 10 in the dark) or a state-approved course, and a road test pass. Lost the permit? Replace it at an office, bringing the identity, Social Security and residency documents again.

Example: a teen who gets the permit on her 15th birthday has no reason to rush. She can log hours for a full year and test for Level 2 on her 16th birthday, well past the 180 day minimum.

If you are moving here with another state's permit

Ask your previous state for a current driving record and bring it when you apply. The DMV credits time already held on that license or permit toward Level 1, which can save your teen from restarting the six months.

If the old license was below West Virginia's Level 2, or the old state had no GDL program at all, your teen will be tested from scratch, written and on the road.

If you are 18 or older: the adult permit

Adults who have never been licensed skip GDL and get the regular Class E instruction permit. Same eye test, same knowledge test, $7.50, and you may drive only with a licensed person aged 21 or more beside you.

The road test comes no sooner than day 30. The law (W. Va. Code 17B-2-5) gives it six months, which lines up with the permit page's 180 days; the fee table's 90 days is the odd one out. Still read the expiration date printed on yours.