Maryland Learner's Instructional Permit

By Javier Marín, Editor·Last reviewed September 2026·How we check this

Maryland calls the first stage of its graduated driver licensing system the Learner's Instructional Permit. It's the document that lets a new driver legally practice with a supervising adult in the passenger seat, and it has to be held for a minimum number of months and supervised hours before a teen can move to the provisional license.

Minimum age

Maryland teens may apply for a Learner's Instructional Permit at 15 years 9 months — but only with concurrent enrollment in a state-certified driver education program. Adult applicants 18 and older may also obtain an instructional permit, with no driver-education prerequisite, before scheduling the skills test for a full license.

Driver education requirement

For applicants under 25, Maryland requires completion of a Maryland Driver Education program comprising 30 hours of classroom instruction and 6 hours of behind-the-wheel instruction with a state-certified driving school. The applicant must be at least enrolled in the program at the time the permit is issued and must complete it before applying for the provisional license. The driving school transmits the certificate of completion electronically to the MVA.

Documents required at the branch

Completed DL-44 application (parents sign in person if the applicant is under 18).
One primary identity document — a U.S. birth certificate or passport.
Proof of the applicant's Social Security number — SSA card, W-2, or pay stub with full SSN.
Two proofs of Maryland residency in the parent's name (utility bill, lease, mortgage statement) — these establish the household residency for under-18 applicants.
Driver-education enrollment letter or certificate (under-25 applicants).
School attendance verification for applicants under 18 — Maryland requires proof of regular school attendance through age 18 to retain a permit and license.

The knowledge test

The same 25-question knowledge test used for the full Maryland driver's license is administered for the permit. Pass score is 22 of 25 (88%). Test takers who fail must wait at least 24 hours before retesting, and Maryland charges a small re-test fee for the third and later attempts. A vision screening is conducted at the same visit.

Permit-holder rules

While holding the Learner's Instructional Permit, a Maryland teen must:

Drive only with a supervising driver age 21 or older who has held a valid license for at least 3 years, seated in the front passenger seat.
Hold the permit for a minimum of 9 months before applying for the provisional license. The 9-month clock restarts in full if the applicant is convicted of any traffic violation during the permit period.
Log at least 60 hours of supervised driving practice, of which at least 10 hours must be at night, on the MVA's Practice and Skills Log. The supervising adult signs the log; the MVA accepts it at the provisional-license appointment.
Maintain a 0.00% blood alcohol concentration — Maryland's zero-tolerance rule for under-21 drivers covers any detectable amount.
Carry a working cell phone but not use it while driving — Maryland's hands-free law applies to permit holders without exception (no calls, no hands-free, no texting).

Permit fees

The Maryland instructional permit application fee is approximately $50 as part of the broader DL-44 transaction (verify on the MVA fee schedule). The permit is valid for 2 years, but the practical timeline is 9 months at minimum and typically 12-18 months for most teens before they convert to provisional.

What happens at the end of the permit period

After 9+ months of permit-holding, completion of driver education, and 60 logged supervised hours, a Maryland teen books a skills test for the provisional license. The skills test covers parallel parking, the Y-turn, controlled stops, and a short on-road segment. A passed skills test plus a clean driving record converts the permit to a provisional license — the second of Maryland's three GDL stages. See Maryland provisional license for the next-stage rules.

For the documentation rules that apply to every license type, see Maryland driver's license requirements. For the over-18 path, the same DL-44 application is used without the driver-education prerequisite.