Getting your first Maryland driver’s license follows Maryland’s graduated licensing system: learner’s permit, then a provisional license, then a full license. Here is the path from the beginning, with the numbers from the Maryland MVA.
1. Get your learner’s permit
You can apply once you are at least 15 years and 9 months old. At your MVA appointment you take a vision screening and a knowledge test based on the Maryland Driver’s Manual. Applicants under 18 need a parent or guardian’s consent.
2. Take an MVA-approved driver education course
Every new driver in Maryland needs driver education — at any age. The course is 30 hours of classroom instruction and 6 hours behind the wheel. You need a valid learner’s permit before the behind-the-wheel part starts. Sam’s Driving School offers the MVA 36-hour driver’s education course in Rockville.
3. Practice with a supervising driver — and log it
Your supervising driver must be at least 21, have held a license for at least three years, and sit in the front passenger seat. Keep a record of your practice:
- Under 25: 60 hours, including 10 hours at night
- 25 and older: 14 hours, including 3 hours at night
4. Hold your permit for the minimum time
- Under 18, or 18 without a high school diploma: 9 months
- 18 with a diploma, or 19–24: 3 months
- 25 and older: 45 days
- After a moving-violation conviction or probation before judgment, at any age: 9 months
5. Pass the driving skills test
Book your skills test with the MVA and bring your permit, your practice log, proof of driver education and the documents the MVA asks for. Pass it and you receive your provisional license.
Rules can change. Always confirm the current requirements on the Maryland MVA website or by calling the MVA at 410-768-7000.
Ready to start? Register for a class at Sam’s Driving School or call us at (301) 726-3030.
