New Hampshire Learner’s Permit 2026: Why There Isn’t One

Can you drive without a New Hampshire learner’s permit?

Under New Hampshire’s Revised Statutes Annotated (RSA) 263:25 and the DMV’s page on learning to drive, you can practice without a license when:

You’re at least 15½ and carry proof of your age in the car
A licensed parent, legal guardian or certified driving instructor is with you, or another licensed, responsible adult who is 25 or older
That person sits beside you and holds a valid license for the class of vehicle you’re driving
The car isn’t a commercial vehicle
Your driving privileges aren’t suspended or revoked, here or in any other state

The adult with you is liable for any motor vehicle violation you commit while you practice.

The supervised driving log, under 18

Under 18, you finish driver’s ed and log supervised practice on top of it before you can apply for a license. For the log:

Log at least 40 hours, starting from 15½
Drive at least 10 of the 40 at night, from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise
Drive with a licensed parent or guardian, or, if neither is licensed, a licensed adult over 25 (RSA 263:19)
Have the hours certified by you and your parent or guardian, on the DMV’s Certification of Additional Supervised Driving log sheet or through the Parent’s Supervised Driving Program and its Road Ready app

See what driver’s ed includes →

Permits from other states

New Hampshire doesn’t honor or transfer driving permits from other states. A visitor with a valid license from their home state can drive here, and a visitor without one follows the same practice driving rules as everyone else.

Read about moving here →

Where the New Hampshire permit test fits

What people call the New Hampshire permit test is the DMV’s knowledge test. You take it at your license appointment, at 16 or older, after the vision test, and the road test follows.

See how the test works →Read about the road test →See the driving ages →