New Mexico · Permit testWhat do you need for a New Mexico provisional license?
You and your parent or guardian complete and sign the application at a Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) field office. Bring or meet all of these:
- At least six months on your instructional permit, plus 30 days for each traffic violation you were convicted of while driving on it
- A certificate of completion from a driver education school approved by the Traffic Safety Bureau (TSB), for a course with a DWI (driving while intoxicated) component
- A driving log showing 50 hours of practice behind the wheel, 10 of them at night, signed by your parent or guardian. Any handwritten or typed record with the needed details counts
- A passed road test with MVD, or the MVD Record of Completion with your passing scores from a driving school that has an MVD contract
- No traffic violation convictions in the 90 days before you apply, and no citation still pending
If low night vision means you can’t drive after dark, you can be excused from the 10 night hours with a report from a licensed ophthalmologist or optometrist.
New Mexico provisional license restrictions
For your first 12 months on a provisional license, unless a licensed driver 21 or older is in the car:
- No driving between midnight and 5 a.m.
- No more than one passenger under 21 who isn’t in your immediate family
Exceptions to the night limit
You may drive between midnight and 5 a.m.:
- For family need, with a signed statement from your parent or guardian
- For medical need, with a signed statement
- To and from work, with a signed statement from your employer
- To and from school or a religious activity, with a signed statement from the school, the religious official or your parent or guardian
- In a medical emergency
Carry the statement with you when you drive under one of these exceptions.
Violations that add time
Since 2011, each traffic violation you’re convicted of on the permit or the provisional license adds 30 days to the time you must hold it. MVD’s list of traffic violations for these stages includes:
- Failing to obey a traffic control device or signal, or to yield
- Speeding, reckless or careless driving, or racing
- DWI or driving on drugs, or refusing a chemical test
- Homicide by vehicle, or injury to a pregnant woman by vehicle
- Not using a seat belt, or a child not in a restraint or seat belt
- Using a mobile communication device while driving
- Buying, trying to buy, having or being served alcohol
Under 21, even a .02 percent blood alcohol level can lead to a six-month license revocation, MVD warns.
Moving up to a full license
After 12 months on the provisional license, you and your parent or guardian sign the driver license application. At 18 or older, only you sign. You qualify if you:
- Followed the provisional license’s limits
- Had no traffic convictions in the last 90 days, with nothing pending
- Had no alcohol or drug offense during the provisional period
The full license fee is on the driver’s license page.
Sources: New Mexico MVD and 2 more. Checked October 2026.
- New Mexico MVD: Apply for a Learner’s Permit (Graduated Driver Licensing, 3 stages) ↗
- New Mexico MVD: Driver Procedures Manual, Chapter 4, Provisional Driver’s License ↗
- New Mexico MVD: New Mexico Driver Manual, pages 1 to 2 (PDF) ↗
Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.
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