Georgia teen license: 1 year and 1 day on the permit, Joshua's Law, and Class D restrictions that stay in force until upgrade

Overview

What this page helps you verify

Georgia treats a teen driver's license as an intermediate Class D provisional license for 16- and 17-year-olds, not as the final Class C credential. A useful Georgia teen-license page has to separate eligibility from post-issuance restrictions: the teen must hold a Class CP permit for at least 1 year and 1 day, complete the under-18 training requirements, and pass the road skills test before issuance. After that, Georgia still imposes midnight-to-5 a.m. and passenger limits until the driver upgrades out of Class D.

Last reviewed: 2026-05-17. This page was manually upgraded against service-specific official sources, but requirements can still change quickly.

Official link

Class D

This page has been upgraded with a service-specific official source while keeping the USA.gov jurisdiction directory as the broader agency reference.

https://dds.georgia.gov/teen-drivers/how-do-i-class-d

View the USA.gov directory entry

Usually needed

Documents and information to prepare

• The Georgia License/ID/Permit Form submitted online before the DDS visit and road test appointment
• Your valid Georgia Class CP learner's permit, or a transferred out-of-state learner's permit record showing the total 1 year and 1 day hold time
• REAL ID-style documents proving identity, Georgia residency, and U.S. citizenship or lawful status, with your full Social Security number provided through the DDS form
• If you are under 18, proof of school enrollment or qualifying completion records, such as a notarized DDS-1, transcript, grade report, school ID, diploma, GED, post-secondary enrollment proof, or approved home-school records from Georgia DOE
• An ADAP or eADAP certificate of completion
• A Joshua's Law driver-education completion certificate for applicants under 18, plus the parent, guardian, or authorized instructor who will affirm the supervised-driving requirement if DDS asks for that attestation at issuance
• A parent, guardian, responsible adult, or authorized driver training instructor to sign the application for any applicant under 18
• Payment for the Class D fee and the test-day vehicle, registration, and insurance materials needed for the road skills test

Typical flow

What the process often looks like

1. Hold the Georgia Class CP learner's permit for at least 1 year and 1 day, and do not treat turning 16 or 17 alone as enough to move up.
2. Finish the under-18 training requirements during the permit period: Joshua's Law driver education, 40 hours of supervised driving with 6 at night, and ADAP or eADAP.
3. Submit the online License/ID/Permit Form, schedule the road skills test, and gather your identity, residency, school-status, and training documents.
4. Go to DDS with the required signing adult if you are under 18, pass the vision exam and applicable road skills test, take the photo, and pay the issuance fee.
5. After issuance, follow the Class D curfew and passenger rules until you upgrade to Class C instead of assuming the restrictions end automatically on your birthday.

Accuracy notes

Where people get tripped up

• Georgia's current DDS Joshua's Law page says 17-year-old Class D applicants under 18 must meet the same training requirements as 16-year-olds, even though the broader License Classes page still contains older wording implying some 17-year-olds can wait and skip driver education.
• The end of teen restrictions is tied to upgrading out of Class D, not simply to turning 18. DDS's FAQ is explicit on that point.
• Georgia's under-18 school-enrollment requirement still applies at the Class D stage and is easy to miss because many families focus only on the road test.
• DDS's public teen guidance says no supervised-driving log is required, but the adult attestation requirement still makes the 40-hour and 6-night-hour threshold a real issuance condition.

FAQ

Common questions

• Can a Georgia teen get a Class D license right at 16 without waiting on the permit period?

  No. Georgia DDS says the teen must be at least 16 and must have held the Class CP learner's permit for at least 1 year and 1 day before applying for Class D.

• Does Georgia still require Joshua's Law classes for a 17-year-old applying for a teen license?

  Current DDS Joshua's Law guidance says yes. Georgia says 17-year-olds applying for a Class D license on or after July 1, 2021 must satisfy the same requirements as a 16-year-old applicant.

• Do Georgia Class D restrictions stop automatically when I turn 18?

  No. DDS says the restrictions are tied to the Class D license itself. If you are 18 and still holding Class D, the curfew and passenger rules still apply until you upgrade to Class C.

• Do I need to keep a formal driving log for Georgia's 40 supervised hours?

  DDS says no formal log is required, but a parent, guardian, or authorized DDS-certified instructor must swear or affirm at application that the teen completed 40 hours of supervised driving, including 6 hours at night.

• What if I started with an out-of-state learner's permit?

  Georgia allows that time to count only if the out-of-state learner's permit is transferred to Georgia and the total time held still equals at least 1 year and 1 day.