State service guide

Indiana teen license: 180-day permit hold, two-stage curfew rules, and probationary-until-21 status

Indiana's teen license is a probationary driver's license, not a full unrestricted credential. The practical Indiana rules are the 180-day learner's-permit hold, the 50-hour supervised log with 10 nighttime hours even for driver-education students, the under-18 age split tied to driver education, and the restriction phase that starts with the first 180 days after issuance and then changes again until age 18.

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License type If you get licensed before age 21, Indiana issues a probationary driver's license
Age floor 16 years, 90 days with driver education or 16 years, 270 days without it
Permit and log Hold the learner's permit 180 days and complete 50 supervised hours including 10 at night
First 180 days No driving 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. and no passengers without a qualifying accompanying adult, subject to listed exceptions

Overview

What this page helps you verify

A strong Indiana teen-license page should frame the credential as a probationary license for younger drivers, then separate three different layers that are easy to blur together: qualifying for the license, surviving the first 180 days after issuance, and understanding what remains probationary until age 21. Indiana also keeps driver education from becoming a shortcut; it can lower the age threshold and sometimes affect where the driving test happens, but it does not remove the 50-hour supervised-driving log for applicants 18 or younger.

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

Usually needed

Documents and information to prepare

  • A valid Indiana learner's permit that has been held for 180 days
  • A signed Log of Supervised Driving showing at least 50 hours of practice, including 10 hours of nighttime driving
  • Proof of successful completion of driver education if you are qualifying under the earlier age threshold or using the driver-education testing path
  • If you are under 18, a parent, legal guardian, or other qualifying adult prepared to sign the agreement of financial liability at the branch
  • Identification documents for the adult signing financial liability, because the BMV says that signer must prove identity and age

Typical flow

What the process often looks like

  1. Hold the Indiana learner's permit for 180 days and make sure you are old enough for the teen-license path that matches your driver-education status.
  2. Complete the 50-hour supervised-driving log, including at least 10 nighttime hours, even if you finished driver education.
  3. Take the driving test through an approved driver training school or at a BMV branch, and expect a knowledge test too if you already have points on your driver record.
  4. Apply for the probationary license at a branch with the permit, signed driving log, driver-education proof if applicable, and the financial-liability signer if you are under 18.
  5. After issuance, treat the license as restricted immediately: the first 180 days have one set of limits, and additional time-of-day limits continue until age 18.

Qualification

Indiana's teen license starts as a probationary license with both age and permit-hold gates

Indiana does not let teens jump from age eligibility straight to a license appointment.

  • To obtain a probationary driver's license, Indiana says you must have held a learner's permit for 180 days.
  • If you successfully completed driver education, the under-18 minimum age is 16 years and 90 days.
  • Without successful completion of driver education, the under-18 minimum age is 16 years and 270 days.
  • If you obtain the license while younger than 21, Indiana classifies it as a probationary license.

Log and testing

Driver education can change the age threshold and testing path, but it does not erase the 50-hour log

This is one of the easiest Indiana teen-license rules to oversimplify.

  • Indiana's driver-education FAQ says all new drivers age 18 or younger must complete the 50-hour driving log even if they completed driver education.
  • The log must include 10 hours of nighttime driving.
  • The probationary-license page says you must present the signed Log of Supervised Driving when applying.
  • Indiana says licensed driver training schools can administer the driving skills test to individuals age 16 and over with a valid learner's permit, but the BMV branch still handles the test if the provider cannot administer it or if the student received a failing grade of 79 percent or below in classroom or behind-the-wheel training.
  • The BMV also says a knowledge test is required if you have any points on your driver record.

Restricted first stage

Indiana uses two different restriction periods after the teen license is issued

The first 180 days are stricter than the period that follows.

  • For the first 180 days after issuance, Indiana says you may not drive between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
  • For the first 180 days, you may not drive with passengers unless a licensed instructor, a licensed driver age 25 or older, or a spouse age 21 or older is seated in the front passenger seat.
  • Indiana allows a teen to transport a child, stepchild, sibling, step- or half sibling, or spouse during the hours otherwise allowed by law without another accompanying individual.
  • After the first 180 days, and until age 18, Indiana shifts to a different curfew: 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, after 11 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday, and before 5 a.m. on Monday through Friday.
  • Indiana lists exceptions that allow driving at otherwise prohibited times when traveling to or from work, a school-sanctioned activity, or a religious event, or when accompanied in the front seat by a qualifying adult.

Probationary status

The teen restrictions ease before the probationary label goes away

Indiana's teen-driving limits and Indiana's probationary-license status are related, but not identical.

  • Indiana says probationary-driver telecommunication rules prohibit using any type of telecommunication device while driving except to make emergency 911 calls.
  • A probationary driver's license expires 30 days after the driver's 21st birthday.
  • Indiana says a probationary license cannot be renewed until after the 21st birthday.
  • The probationary-license page also says these drivers do not qualify for court diversion programs.

Accuracy notes

Where people get tripped up

  • Indiana teen-license content should call the credential a probationary driver's license rather than implying a teen receives an unrestricted license after the road test.
  • Driver education changes the minimum age and may change where the driving test happens, but it does not remove the 50-hour supervised-driving log for applicants 18 or younger.
  • Indiana uses two separate post-issuance time-of-day rule sets: one for the first 180 days and another that lasts until age 18.
  • The under-18 restrictions and the under-21 probationary status are not the same thing and should not be collapsed into one sentence.

FAQ

Common questions

  • Does Indiana driver education waive the 50-hour practice log for a teen license?

    No. Indiana's driver-education guidance says all new drivers age 18 or younger still must complete the 50-hour log, including 10 nighttime hours, even if they completed driver education.

  • Can I drive friends right after getting an Indiana teen license?

    Usually no for the first 180 days. Indiana says you may not drive with passengers during that period unless a qualifying adult or licensed instructor is in the front seat, though there is an exception for transporting certain close family members or a spouse during allowed hours.

  • When do Indiana's teen driving-hour restrictions change?

    They change after the first 180 days of licensing. Indiana first bars driving from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., then switches to a narrower weekend-and-late-night curfew until the teen turns 18.

Sources

Official references used for this page

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