Tennessee · Permit testLevel II: the Intermediate Restricted License
You can apply when all of these are true:
- You’re at least 16
- You’ve held your learner permit for at least 180 days
- Your 50 supervised hours, 10 of them at night, are certified on form SF-1256, signed by a parent, legal guardian or licensed driving instructor
- By the manual, fewer than 6 points on your record in the 180 days before you apply
- You pass the road skills test
A vision screening is needed only if you’re exchanging a permit or license from another state.
Restricted license limits and exceptions
The Department’s teen page doesn’t list the Level II limits. The manual, whose information is as of July 1, 2022, gives two: no more than one passenger, and no driving from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The manual’s teen questions and answers set the exceptions. The passenger limit doesn’t apply if one passenger is 21 or older with a valid unrestricted license, or if your passengers are brothers, sisters, step-siblings, or adopted or foster children living with you, and you carry a letter from your parent allowing them on trips to and from school.
The night limit doesn’t apply in these cases:
- A parent or guardian is with you
- A licensed driver 21 or older is with you, named in writing by your parent or guardian, and you carry that note
- You’re driving to or from work, with written permission from a parent or guardian that names the workplace
- You’re driving to or from a school-sponsored event, with written permission from a parent or guardian
- You’re driving to or from hunting or fishing between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m., with a valid hunting or fishing license
Everyone in the car wears a seat belt, or rides in a child restraint under age 4, and the permit’s phone ban carries over.
What are the intermediate unrestricted license TN rules?
At 17, you can move up once all of these are true:
- You’ve held the Intermediate Restricted License for 1 year
- You haven’t accumulated more than 6 points, as the teen page and the manual’s Level III list put it. The manual’s teen questions and penalty table say 6 or more, so 6 points may add 90 days too
- You haven’t had a traffic crash that was your fault
- You don’t have 2 seat belt violations
No more tests are needed, and the passenger and night limits end. The license keeps “Intermediate” on its face.
Penalties that hold you back
The manual’s penalty table for the restricted license:
| Incident | What happens |
|---|---|
| 6 or more points | Adds 90 days to the year |
| A crash you helped cause | Adds 90 days to the year |
| A second seat belt conviction | Adds 90 days to the year |
| A second moving violation | A driver education course first |
| A forged permission letter | Back to a learner permit until 18 |
| A fatal crash you helped cause | Back to a learner permit until 18 |
If you miss the points rule on a learner permit, you keep the permit until you’ve stayed under 6 points for 180 days in a row. If the Department hears of a violation only after you’ve moved up, the penalty applies anyway.
The regular license at 18
You get a regular Class D license at 18, or earlier when you graduate from high school or get a General Educational Development (GED) certificate, whichever comes first. The word “Intermediate” comes off, but the “Under 21” markings stay. The graduated steps don’t apply at all if you’re 18 or older, or under 18 and already a graduate.
Moving to Tennessee under 18
At 15 with a permit from your old state, you get a Tennessee learner permit. Time on the old permit counts toward the 180 days if you bring a certified driving record from that state, issued within 30 days of applying and showing no violations or accidents. At 16 with a license from another state issued at least 90 days earlier, you apply for the Intermediate Restricted License.
Sources: Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security and 2 more. Checked November 2026.
- Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security: Teen and graduated driver license ↗
- Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security: Comprehensive Driver License Manual (PDF, information as of July 1, 2022) ↗
- Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security: Driver services fees ↗
Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.
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