Louisiana’s multi-level licensing process enables teens to gain the required exposure to complex driving conditions. This exposure eases your teen into driving over an extended period.
However, there are teen driving laws in the State of Louisiana that you must note before your teen gets behind the wheel of a car.
Essential amongst these laws is the need to obtain a learner’s permit, as well as the various stages that your teen must go through to advance from having no license to having a valid driver’s license.
How Can Your Teen Get A Learner's Permit In Louisiana?
Before your Louisianian teen can get a learner’s permit, they must first complete an approved 38-hour driver’s education course.
The course will generally consist of 30 hours of classroom instruction and 8 hours of behind the wheel driving training.
Your teen can take this driver’s education course ninety days before turning 15. During the classroom training, they must pass the vision test and a written exam covering local traffic laws and signs.
Once your teen turns 15, they are allowed by law to begin the required 8 hours behind the wheel training. After successfully completing the course, your teen can then apply for a learner’s permit.
As a parent or guardian, you must go along with your teen to apply for the permit. Note, you will be asked for a government-approved Identification Card. Your teen must also provide the following documents:
- An original or certified copy of the birth certificate
- A certificate of completion from a driver’s education course. The driving course must be approved by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections.
- A letter from a high school in Louisiana certifying that the teen has completed a driver’s education course. The principal or instructor should sign this letter.
- An Application and School Instruction Permit DE 1821 (R10/95).
- An official transcript from a high school in Louisiana showing that the teen was given credit for passing a driver’s education course.
- Social Security card
The learner’s permit allows your teen to drive, but only under the supervision of a licensed driver who’s at least 21 years old or a sibling that’s 18 years or older.
However, your teen, during this period, cannot transport any other passengers, except other student drivers, when an authorized supervisor is present.
What's Next After Getting A Learner's Permit In Louisiana?
At age 16, your teen, if they have held a learner’s permit for 180 days, can apply for an intermediate license. They must pass the road skills driving test before applying for this license.
As the parent or guardian, you must also certify that your teen has completed at least 50 hours of supervised drive time out of which fifteen hours was driven at night. They must also provide proof of insurance on the vehicle used for the skills driving test.
As an intermediate license holder, your teen can drive without supervision but only between the hours of 5 am and 11 pm. They are also not permitted to transport more than one non-family member passenger from 5 am to 6 pm.
However, where your teen is being supervised by an authorized license holder or sibling who’s at least 18 years old, these restrictions will not apply. It’s also important to note that teen drivers, as well as all their passengers, are required to wear seat belts.
Any teen driver who violates these restrictions and other traffic laws can be fined. They may also be prevented from advancing to the next license level for 30 to 180 days.
As a parent or guardian, you may also be held liable and convicted. You will also face a fine of $100 to $500 and up to six months in jail if you permit your unlicensed teen to violate the restrictions.
After holding an intermediate license for 12 months and fulfilling all the necessary requirements, your teen can apply for an unrestricted driver’s license.
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