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Kentucky · Permit test

Kentucky driver’s permit rules

You can get a learner’s permit, which Kentucky law calls an instruction permit, from 15 once you pass the KSP vision and written tests. At any age, a licensed driver 21 or older must sit beside you whenever you drive. Under 18, a Kentucky driver’s permit also comes with a midnight to 6 a.m. limit and a one-passenger rule.

  • 15Youngest age for a permit
  • 21Youngest age for your supervising driver
  • 180 daysPermit time before the road test, under 21
  • 30 daysPermit time before the road test, 21 and up
Read the permit restrictionsFree practice test

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

What are the Kentucky driver’s permit rules?

For every permit holder:

  • A licensed driver 21 or older sits in the front passenger seat whenever you drive.
  • You carry the permit whenever you drive.
  • Under 21, the alcohol limit is 0.02.

Permit holders under 18 also can’t drive between midnight and 6 a.m. without good cause, such as an emergency, school or work, and can carry only one unrelated passenger under 20, unless a driver training instructor is with them. For them, breaking these rules, a moving violation with points or a DUI adds at least 180 days before the intermediate license. Days suspended under the No Pass/No Drive law don’t count toward the 180.

Kentucky’s graduated license for teens →

How long you hold the permit

Age when you got itBefore the road test
Under 18180 days, and be 16
18 to 20180 days
21 or older30 days

If you got the permit before 18 and turn 18 first, you still hold it 180 days and finish the 4-hour graduated licensing course before your license.

The Kentucky State Police road test →

Do the permit rules change at 18?

Yes. The midnight limit and the passenger rule are for drivers under 18, so they end on your 18th birthday. The supervising driver rule doesn’t, and your holding time depends on how old you were when you got the permit, not how old you are now.

Getting the permit

Book the vision and written tests with KSP and bring your documents. On test day you check in at the Regional Office first, then test with KSP, then go back to the Regional Office for the permit. Under 18, a parent or legal guardian comes with you and signs the application. Fail the written test, and you can take it again on the next available day. You leave with a paper permit until the card arrives by mail.

Booking a Kentucky driver’s license appointment →Kentucky proof of residency and other documents →Kentucky license and permit fees →

Renewing the permit

Kentucky law, KRS 186.450, makes a car instruction permit valid for four years. The Transportation Cabinet’s price list and the Driver Manual still say three, so check the expiration date on your own card.

You can renew up to six months before it expires, online through myDrive or in person, with a vision screening. REAL ID permits are renewed in person. If a permit has been expired for more than a year, you start over with the tests.

KY driver’s license renewal and replacement →
Sources: Kentucky General Assembly · Kentucky Transportation Cabinet · Kentucky State Police and 4 more. Checked October 2026.

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

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