How to Get a Driver’s Permit in TN 2026: Steps and Rules

What are the steps to get a driver’s permit in TN?

The Department’s steps are the same at any age:

Apply online and upload your documents
Visit a Driver Services Center with the originals
Pass the vision screening
Pass the knowledge test there, unless you passed it online at 15 to 17

Under 18, if your last name is different from your parent’s, bring proof of guardianship too: a certified birth certificate listing the parents, a certified custody order or a certified final adoption decree.

Documents for the visit →The test online at home →

What are the TN permit rules?

The manual and the Department’s teen page set these limits:

Drive only with a licensed driver 21 or older sitting in the front seat beside you
Under 18, no driving from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
You and every passenger wear a safety belt
No hand-held phone or device while you drive. The manual says permit holders can’t use a cell phone at all while driving

The manual gives the penalty for breaking the phone rule: a Class C misdemeanor, a $50 fine, 6 points on a minor’s driving record and a 90-day delay before you can get an Intermediate Restricted License.

Who signs for a permit under 18?

An adult signs the minor/teenage affidavit and cancellation form, which makes them responsible for your driving, money included. The manual lists who can sign: a parent, foster parent or step-parent living at your address, a legal guardian, or a grandparent, who brings a notarized statement from the parent, step-parent or guardian allowing it. If the adult can’t come to the center, they can sign the form ahead of time before a notary public.

With no parent or guardian, the teen page says a responsible party may sign instead by providing SR22 proof of insurance for you until you turn 18.

Proof of school attendance

Under 18, you show that you’re in school or have graduated, in one of these ways:

Graduated: your original high school diploma or General Educational Development (GED) certificate
In a Tennessee school: form SF1010, the Certificate of Compulsory School Attendance, which is good for 30 days from the school official’s signature
In school outside Tennessee, or at a private or church school without the form: a letter on school letterhead from the principal or headmaster saying you aren’t truant
Home schooled: a letter from your local director of schools confirming the notice of intent to home school, and form SF-1193 signed by your parent or guardian

Grade cards and transcripts aren’t accepted. Over the summer, a form signed in the last 30 days of the school year is accepted until 30 days after the following school year starts. If you drop out at 15 or older, the school tells the Department, which suspends your driving privilege.

What comes after the permit

Under 18, the level after the permit is the Intermediate Restricted License at 16, once your permit time, supervised hours and road test are done. At 18 or older, the step after the permit is the road skills test for a regular license.

Intermediate license steps →Road test rules →

Sources: Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security and 2 more. Checked November 2026.

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

Explore