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Delaware · Permit test

Drivers ed in Delaware

Under 18, you can’t get a Delaware license without drivers ed. The course has to be approved by the Delaware Department of Education, and Delaware law describes it as a driver education course in a public or private high school. Your certified driver education teacher gives you the written and road tests, so you don’t take them at the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Delaware drivers ed ends with a Delaware Driver Education Certificate, the blue and white certificate you bring to the DMV for your Level One Learner’s Permit.

  • 6 monthsTime the certificate replaces DMV tests
  • 4 monthsLife of a driver education learner’s permit
  • Department of EducationApproves Delaware driver ed courses
Read the parent’s driving guide (PDF)

Updated October 2026 · Written from official sources, listed at the bottom of this page

Do you need drivers ed in Delaware?

Yes, if you’re under 18, or under 22 and receiving special education services under an active Individualized Education Program (IEP). The DMV can’t license anyone under 18 who hasn’t completed a Department of Education approved course. At 18 or older, the graduated driver license (GDL) program is optional, and you can take the tests at the DMV without a course.

The DMV’s pages don’t give the course hours or prices. Your high school or the Department of Education can tell you.

How Delaware driver education tests you

Delaware law (21 Del. C. §2713) has driver education teachers certified by the Department of Education give the written and road skills tests to their students. When you pass, your teacher issues the certificate, and the DMV accepts it in place of its own written and road tests. Let it expire and you take the full set of DMV tests.

Students with a physical or mental disability who need specialized evaluation, training or equipment are identified by the driver education teacher and tested by the DMV.

The driver education learner’s permit

While you’re in the course, the DMV may issue a driver education learner’s permit once you’re 16 and it gets notice that you’re enrolled and have finished the course’s minimum hours of driving and in-car observation. It’s for supervised practice before the road skills test. You drive only with a licensed parent or guardian beside you, or, if your parents aren’t licensed, a licensed driver at least 25 who has held a Class D license for at least 5 years, and nobody else sits in front.

The full license fee is paid when you apply, and it’s lost if you don’t pass the tests while the permit lasts.

Taking a course outside Delaware

If you passed driver ed in another state, the Department of Education must approve it before the DMV accepts it. The July 2026 manual says to send your out-of-state certificate to the Department of Education, Attn: Education Associate Driver Education and Private School Services, Collette Education Resource Center, 35 Commerce Way, Suite 1, Dover, Delaware 19904. The phone number is 302-857-3320.

Moving to Delaware under 18 →

After the course: practice with a parent

Once you have your Level One Learner’s Permit, the practice moves to your family. The DMV’s Parent’s Supervised Driving Program guide splits driving into core skills for a parent to teach, and it has a printable supervised driving log and a sign-off form to return to your driver ed teacher. It also points to the free RoadReady app for logging drives.

The Delaware Office of Highway Safety runs an online GDL Parent Orientation Program for parents and sponsors, on what the GDL law asks of them and how to teach a new driver.

Delaware learner’s permits and the GDL rules →GDL Parent Orientation Program (Office of Highway Safety) ↗
Sources: Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles · Delaware General Assembly and 4 more. Checked October 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

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