The following changes will become effective January 1, 2027:
- If you are age 21 or older when you obtain your driver’s license and you have never held a license issued by any state, U.S. territory or foreign country, you must:
- Hold a learner's permit for a minimum of 60 days, or
- Successfully complete a state-approved driver education program while holding the permit
- If you are older than 18 and younger than 21 when you obtain your driver’s license and you have never held a license issued by any state, U.S. territory or foreign country, you must:
- Hold a learner's permit for a minimum of 90 days, and
- Successfully complete a state-approved driver education program while holding the permit
- If you are under 18 when you obtain your driver’s license, your requirements remain unchanged. You must:
- Successfully complete a state-approved driver education program
- Hold a learner's permit for at least nine months before you can receive a driver's license, and
- Have your parent or guardian sign the completion certificate to certify that you have driven at least 45 hours, 15 of which occurred after sunset, and the information submitted on the certificate is true
No. The same requirements that applied prior to January 1, 2027 will still apply to applicants under 18 years old.
If you are under age 18, you must:
- Successfully complete a state-approved driver education program
- Hold a learner's permit for at least nine months before you can receive a driver's license, and
- Have your parent or guardian sign the completion certificate to certify that you have driven at least 45 hours, 15 of which occurred after sunset, and the information submitted on the certificate is true.
Yes. If you obtain your license after January 1, 2027, you must show proof of completion of an approved driver's education program.
Additional information about driver’s education and our list of about approved driver’s education programs is available here: Link.
If you complete an approved driver education program in Virginia, the completion certificate must be submitted to DMV by the driver training school. DMV does not accept completion certificates directly from applicants.
No. If you can provide proof that you were previously licensed in another state, U.S. territory, or foreign country, you may not be required to repeat driver’s education or take the written and road skills test.
Yes, these requirements will apply to individuals who have a learner’s permit from another state.
If you are a Virginia resident and you move to Virginia from another U.S. state or territory with a valid learner’s permit, the time you held your learner's permit may be counted toward the Virginia minimum holding period.
If, while holding your out of state learner’s permit, you completed an out-of-state driver education program, the out-of-state program must provide proof you have completed at least 30 hours of classroom instruction and six hours of in-car instruction.
This legislative change is included in House Bill (HB) 1224, as adopted) § 46.2-324.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to driver's licenses; requirements for initial licensure; persons age 18 to 21. The specific wording of the change can be found at HB 1224.