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✔ FLHSMV Requirements
Florida learner’s permit requirements, step by step.
Three stages, roughly eighteen months apart, and a short list of things to bring to each one. Print it, tick it off, and you will not arrive at a licensing office missing a form.
Learner’s license timeline
- 15th birthdayThe earliest you can hold a permit
- Consent formSigned by a parent or guardian
- DETS courseSix hours, online, at your own pace
- Practice testsRehearse before the real exam
- Licensing officeVision, hearing, and your permit
Age 14½
The earliest age for the DETS course. Everything at this stage is done online, at home.
- Driver Education and Traffic Safety (DETS) course Since 1 August 2025 Florida requires this 6-hour course of first-time drivers under 18 who have never held a license elsewhere. It replaced TLSAE for teens. Ours is $27.95.
- Practice Permit Tests (recommended) The Class E Knowledge Exam is 50 questions and you need 40 right to pass. Rehearsing first is the cheapest way to avoid the $10 retake fee.
- Driver’s Permit Test online Applicants under 18 may sit the Class E Knowledge Exam online with a parent or guardian proctoring, instead of taking it at an office.
18 or older? You take the 4-Hour TLSAE drug and alcohol course instead of DETS — $27.95 — and the online permit test option does not apply to you. See the packages.
Age 15
The earliest age for a learner’s permit. This is the stage with the paperwork.
- Go to a licensing office for your learner’s permit Find your local FLHSMV office or tax collector. Per FLHSMV the original Class E license is $48 and a tax collector office adds a $6.25 service fee.
- Proof of identificationBirth certificate or passport, social security number, and two proofs of residential address.
- Parent proctoring formFLHSMV form 71144 (PDF) — needed if a parent proctored your online exam.
- Parent consent formFLHSMV form 71142 (PDF) — required for every applicant under 18.
- Vision examGiven at the office, no appointment needed.
- Hearing examAlso given at the office.
- Behind-the-wheel driver training (optional)Not required by the state, but insurers often discount for it.
- Parent–teen practice driving At least 50 hours total, of which at least 10 hours must be at night. Keep a log — you certify it when you apply for the license.
While you hold a learner’s permit: you may drive during daylight hours only for the first three months, and until 10 p.m. after that. A licensed driver at least 21 years old must occupy the front passenger seat at all times.
Age 16
The earliest age for a license of your own.
- Hold the learner’s permit for at least 12 months With no traffic convictions. The 12 months ends early if you turn 18 first.
- Take the driving skills test At a licensing office. A retake is $20 per FLHSMV.
- Get your intermediate license At 16 you may not drive between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.; at 17, between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. Either way there are exceptions for driving to and from work, or with a licensed driver 21 or older.
Amounts and rules change. The state figures above are set by Florida law and county amounts vary — check flhsmv.gov for what is current before you go.
Stage 01, handled
The online part, at our price.
The 6-Hour DETS course is $27.95. Bundled with the online permit test it is $37.95, and with practice tests as well, $39.95.
The 4-Hour TLSAE course is $27.95, or $29.95 bundled with practice tests.
Whatever you pick, the number above is the number you pay us. What the licensing office charges when you apply is separate and goes to the state.
Stuck on a step?