Teen Drivers in Florida: Learner’s License Rules Before Adding Them to Your Policy

When a South Florida teen gets a learner’s license, parents often ask the same day whether the family car is next. Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) rules decide when and how a new driver may practice. Your auto policy decides whether that driver is listed. Here are the Florida learner’s rules, then the insurance step parents sometimes skip.

What a Florida learner’s license allows

Under s. 322.1615, Florida Statutes, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) may issue a learner’s driver license to a person who is at least 15 years old and who has passed the written exam, passed the vision and hearing exams, completed a department-approved driver education course, and met the other legal requirements.

While driving, the learner must always be accompanied by a driver who holds a valid license for that vehicle type, is at least 21 years old, and sits in the closest seat to the right of the learner (s. 322.1615(2)). That means a 19-year-old sibling in the passenger seat does not satisfy the statute.

Hours are limited too. For the first three months after the learner’s license is issued, the teen may drive only during daylight hours. After three months, the teen may drive until 10 p.m. (s. 322.1615(3)). Breaking the supervision or hour rules is treated as a moving-violation civil penalty under chapter 318 (s. 322.1615(4)).

Getting the learner’s license: age, course and consent

FLHSMV’s graduated licensing page lists the practical checklist parents use at a service center (FLHSMV GDL):

• Age 15 or older.
• If under 18, a signed and notarized Parental Consent Form (a step-parent may sign only after a legal adoption).
• Proof that the teen completed the required driver education course.
• Vision and hearing tests at a service center, plus the Class E knowledge exam (50 questions; passing score 80 percent).
• Identity, Social Security and residential-address documents from FLHSMV’s “What to Bring” list.

Course rules changed in 2025. As of August 1, 2025, a person under 18 who has never held a driver license from any other state, country or jurisdiction must complete a 6-hour Driver Education Traffic Safety (DETS) course before applying in Florida. Completions of the older TLSAE course before that date may still be used until the certificate expires; school-board Traffic Safety Classroom and DELAP courses can also meet the requirement (FLHSMV DETS FAQ; s. 322.1615(1)(c)).

From learner’s license to a Class E license

A full Class E license is not available under age 16 (s. 322.05(1)). For ages 16–17, Florida generally requires the teen to have held a learner’s license for at least 12 months with no moving traffic convictions, or to have held it for 12 months and used the traffic-school path that withholds adjudication (s. 322.05(2)). FLHSMV also states that the 12-month hold ends earlier if the driver reaches age 18 (FLHSMV GDL).

Before the Class E license is issued, a parent, legal guardian or responsible adult over 21 must certify that the teen has at least 50 hours of behind-the-wheel experience, including 10 hours at night (s. 322.05(3)). FLHSMV provides a practice log sheet and a Certification of Minor Driving Experience form for that step (FLHSMV GDL). The teen must also pass the Class E driving skills test.

If a moving conviction happens on a learner’s license, FLHSMV measures the wait for a Class E license from the conviction date (or until age 18, whichever comes first) (FLHSMV traffic laws for teens).

Nighttime limits after the full license

Even after the Class E license, under-18 drivers still face nighttime limits (s. 322.16; FLHSMV GDL):

• Under 17: after 11 p.m. and before 6 a.m., the teen must ride with a licensed driver who is at least 21, unless driving directly to or from work.
• Age 17: after 1 a.m. and before 5 a.m., the same companion rule applies, again with a to-or-from-work exception.
• Age 18: the nighttime companion rule in s. 322.16 no longer applies based on age alone (FLHSMV FAQ).

Separately, a Class E licensee age 15 through 17 who accumulates six or more points in a 12-month period is restricted to business purposes only for at least one year (s. 322.161; FLHSMV traffic laws for teens). Extra points during that restriction extend it.

Tell the insurer before the teen drives the family car

License permission and insurance permission are not the same thing. A learner’s license lets the teen practice under the rules above; it does not automatically list that teen on the family’s auto policy. Most policies expect you to disclose household drivers and new license holders before a claim asks who should have been listed.

Call your agent as soon as the learner’s license is issued — ideally before the first supervised drive in a family vehicle. Ask who must be listed, which cars the teen may use, and what changes after a Class E license. Do not wait for the road test.

Lending the car to a friend or visiting relative is a separate topic — see lending your car in Florida. For what minimum coverages leave out once a teen is on the road, see Florida minimum car insurance requirements and uninsured motorist coverage.

A short checklist for parents

1. Confirm the DETS (or qualifying school) certificate and parental consent before the service-center visit.
2. Keep a written practice log toward the 50 hours / 10 nighttime hours.
3. Obey daylight-only rules for the first three months, then the 10 p.m. learner limit, with a licensed driver 21+ always in the right-front seat.
4. Notify your auto insurer and list the teen before they drive a household car.
5. When the Class E license arrives, review the age-based nighttime limits again with the teen.

For a review of your declarations page when a new driver joins the household, visit our Florida City car insurance page, request a quote or call (305) 859-3953. We will go through who needs to be listed; the policy wording always decides coverage.