Driver's License in The United States - Drivers Licensing Laws

Drivers Licensing Laws

A hardship license for minors is a driver's license that is restricted to drivers between 14 and 15 years old who need to drive to and from home and school due to serious hardships, i.e. the driver's family has financial or medical problems; the driver needs to get to work or school and has no other practical way of getting to work or school. A hardship license for minors is distinct from hardship licenses granted for drivers with revoked or suspended licenses. The table below includes states that provide hardship licenses for minors.

The minimum age to obtain a full (unrestricted) driver's license in the United States varies from 14 years, three months in South Dakota to as high as 17 in New Jersey. In most states, with the exception of South Dakota, a graduated licensing law applies to newly licensed teenage drivers, going by names such as "Provisional Driver", "Junior Operator", "Probationary Driver" or "Intermediate License." These licenses restrict certain driving privileges, normally whether the new driver may carry passengers and if so how many, as well as setting a curfew for young drivers to be off the roads. Unlike in Australia and some provinces of Canada, however, graduated licensing laws do not require lowered speed limits, displaying of L and P plates, restrictions on towing a trailer or boat, or prohibitions on highway driving or operating high performance cars.

Drivers under 18 are usually required to attend a comprehensive driver's education program either at their high school or a professional driving school and take a certain number of behind the wheel lessons with a certified driving instructor before applying for a license. Some states like New York also require new adult drivers to attend some form of driver's education before applying for a license.

Unlike in Europe and Australia, Minnesota drivers who are under 16 may have others, outside the family, in the car with a licensed driver present. However, in some states all newly licensed adult drivers may be on probation for a set amount of time (usually between six months and two years), during which traffic violations carry harsher penalties or mandatory suspensions that would not normally apply to experienced drivers.

According to federal law, the minimum age to operate a commercial vehicle in interstate transit (i.e. across state lines) is 21, and as a result the minimum age to apply for an unrestricted commercial driver's license is 21.

Driving a school bus also requires a CDL, however the minimum age to drive a school bus is typically higher, usually 25. Some states issue restricted intrastate commercial driver's licenses, valid for operating commercial vehicles in that state only, to drivers aged 18 and older. Professional drivers who are aged 18–20 typically cannot be licensed to drive tractor trailers, hazardous materials, or school buses.