Your Wyoming Learner's Permit: Documents, Tests and Rules

Before you apply: who is eligible

W.S. 31-7-110 allows anyone 15 or older to apply for an instruction permit, and WYDOT makes clear it is not only for teenagers; an adult learner holds the same permit. Some drivers ed programs want students to have a permit before they enroll, so apply early in the year your teen turns 15.

Each permit is for a particular class of vehicle and runs for a year. You may renew it without limit, which is handy for a student who would rather take a long, unhurried run at practice before the intermediate stage.

What to bring to the exam office

WYDOT's document sheet is the checklist. Identity takes one certified original. Accepted examples include a valid U.S. passport, a state certified birth certificate (hospital birth certificates are not accepted), a certificate of citizenship or naturalization, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, a permanent resident card, or a valid foreign passport that carries a U.S. visa.

Residence takes two documents that show a physical address and are no more than about 30 to 45 days old, for example pay stubs, insurance papers, bank statements or utility bills. If the applicant is a minor, those can be in the parent's or guardian's name. Proof of the Social Security number, such as a W-2 or the card, is recommended but not required.

• One certified original identity document
• Two current proofs of Wyoming residence
• Social Security card, a W-2 or a statement with the full number
• A name change document if your name is different
• A parent or guardian, in person, to sign for a minor

At the counter: the written test

Testing is automated. The questions are drawn from the Class C manual and fall into three groups: identifying signs by shape, color and symbol; reading signals and pavement markings; and multiple choice on traffic law, crash prevention and vehicle equipment. Seat belt questions are always included.

Everything is in English. An interpreter may help with a non commercial written test, and anyone who finds reading hard can have the station's phone system read the questions aloud, as long as they ask when the test is set up. Two tries at the same test are allowed in one day, so a first fail may not cost you a second trip.

At the counter: the vision screening

The standard in the manual: 20/40 or better looking with both eyes, and a combined horizontal field of 120 degrees or more. Pass with glasses or contacts and your permit will require them behind the wheel.

If the screening turns up a problem, WYDOT will want its Vision Evaluation form filled in by an eye specialist before issuing a permit. When you already suspect your vision is borderline, see the specialist before your visit.

Once you are driving: the permit rules

The supervisor has to be 18 or older, licensed for the kind of vehicle you are in, capable of taking over, and in the seat right beside you. An older brother asleep in the back seat does not count.

The learner's permit has no curfew and no passenger cap; those arrive with the intermediate permit. Keep the permit with you every time you drive. A ticket you get at this stage goes on your record the same way it would for any driver.

The hardship permit for 14 and 15 year olds

Ranch country is the reason this permit exists: plenty of Wyoming families live a long way from school and work. A 14 or 15 year old may qualify in four ways. Home is more than 5 miles from school. The teen holds a job more than 5 miles from home and works 10 or more hours weekly. A parent's business needs the teen behind the wheel. Or the Highway Patrol accepts some other extreme inconvenience, which its rules limit to getting to long term medical treatment.

Form FSDL-708 is a packet. In it you explain the hardship, list each licensed driver in the household with the reason that person cannot drive the child, and attach the verification forms for school, work, business and insurance. Have it notarized, then mail it to Restricted License Investigations at the Wyoming Highway Patrol, 5300 Bishop Blvd., Cheyenne, WY 82009-3340. Allow up to six weeks for an answer.

Approval is good for 30 days, so get to the exam office quickly. You will hold the restricted permit, which lasts 60 days, for at least 10 days before taking the skills test for the RC license. Under both, driving is allowed only between 5 a.m. and 8 p.m. and no farther than 50 miles from home. Either one is suspended by a moving violation conviction, and the RC license runs out 30 days after the 16th birthday. For questions, call the Highway Patrol on 307-777-4314.

Arriving with a permit from another state

Wyoming law lets a comparable permit from another jurisdiction satisfy the instruction permit step. WYDOT takes it from you at the intermediate permit visit. The 50 certified hours still apply, as does Wyoming's skills test or an approved certificate.

Moving in at 15? Call Driver Services, 307-777-4800, and ask whether to convert your permit right away or keep driving on it for now. Take proof of your new Wyoming address to every visit.