How to Get Your Temps in Ohio 2026: Age, Fee and TIPIC Rules

What age can you get your permit in Ohio?

At 15 years and six months, you can take the vision screening and the knowledge test, which is the first step to a TIPIC. Under 18, you then hold the TIPIC for at least six months before you can get your license.

A temporary resident aged 21 or older holds it for at least 14 days. Temporary residents are people who aren’t U.S. citizens or permanent residents but have legal presence in the country.

See how the test works →

Getting your temps, step by step

After the test, the steps are:

Pass the knowledge test and the vision screening. If you tested online, the deputy registrar does the vision screening when you buy the TIPIC.
Within 60 days, go to a deputy registrar license agency. After 60 days, you start over with both tests.
Bring documents that prove your full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number (if assigned), Ohio residency, and citizenship or legal presence.
Under 18, bring a parent or guardian with a driver’s license or ID card to co-sign the application.
Pay the fee. If you have an Ohio ID card, it’s canceled when the TIPIC is issued, because you may hold only one Ohio license or ID card at a time.

The Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) also accepts another responsible person as co-signer, if they take on the co-signer’s liability.

A federally compliant card needs two documents that prove your Ohio street address; the license page explains the two card types.

See the license card types →

Ohio temporary permit laws by age

Who may sit in the front passenger seat depends on how old you are:

Under 16: a parent, guardian or licensed driving instructor
16 and 17: any licensed driver aged 21 or older, except from midnight to 6 a.m., when it must be a parent, guardian or custodian with a valid driver’s license
18 and older: a licensed driver aged 21 or older

For midnight to 6 a.m. at 16 and 17, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) teen licensing page also allows a licensed driver 21 or older named on a notarized form BMV 2438. The Digest lists more people who may sit with a driver under 16, such as a custodian.

Ohio learner’s permit restrictions at every age

Whatever your age, on a TIPIC:

Carry the TIPIC whenever you drive
The adult beside you must not be intoxicated
You and every passenger wear safety belts
No mobile electronic devices while driving
No more people in the car than there are safety belts

Practice hours on your temps

Under 21, you finish driver education and log 50 hours of driving, at least 10 of them at night, before the driving test. The driver’s ed page explains the course and the BMV 5791 Fifty-Hour Affidavit you bring to your test.

See the 50-hour affidavit →Book the driving test →

How much is it to get your temps in Ohio?

The BMV’s fee list, last updated September 30, 2025, shows these permit fees, each with the deputy registrar fee included:

Item	Fee
Operator TIPIC (car)	$26.50
Operator TIPIC, after a lapsed license	$29.50
Motorcycle or moped TIPIC	$25.50
Commercial (CDL) permit	$31.50

The lapsed-license fee is for a license that expired more than six months and less than two years before. A 100% documented disabled veteran pays nothing for the operator, motorcycle, moped or commercial permit. The fee list shows no separate charge for the knowledge test.

Sources: Ohio Department of Public Safety · Ohio BMV and 1 more. Checked November 2026.

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

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