LOUISIANA DRIVERS ED ONLINE

Getting a Driver's License in Louisiana: The Basics

In Louisiana, teenagers can get a learner's permit at 15, an intermediate license at 16, and a full Class E license at 17. Licensing runs through the Office of Motor Vehicles, and Louisiana's system has a feature almost no other state shares: driver education is required for every first-time driver, at every age. Teens complete the 38-hour course, 30 hours of classroom and 8 behind the wheel, and even adults 18 and older complete at least the 14-hour Pre-Licensing course, 6 classroom hours plus the same 8 behind the wheel.

Here's something worth knowing up front: those courses come from driving schools licensed by the Louisiana OMV or from participating secondary schools, and DriverEdToGo's online course is not an OMV-licensed Louisiana driver education course. It doesn't fulfill the 38-hour requirement, the adult Pre-Licensing requirement, or any Louisiana licensing step. In fact, in Louisiana, your licensed driving school even administers the state's knowledge and road skills tests. What our course does is build your driving foundation before that process starts and prepare you for the knowledge test's 80 percent bar. This page walks you through exactly how Louisiana's system works, and shows you where our study tools help along the way.

Here's the road ahead at a glance:

• Temporary Instructional Permit (TIP): obtained from the OMV before enrolling in driver education, valid only for driving with your instructor
• Learner's permit: age 15, after completing the 38-hour driver education course and passing the vision test and knowledge test with at least 80 percent
• Intermediate license: age 16, after 180 days on the permit, 50 supervised hours including 15 at night, a clean record, and the road skills test
• Full Class E license: age 17

How Louisiana's Graduated License System Works

Step 1: Get Your TIP, Then Complete Driver Education

Louisiana sequences its start differently than most states. Before enrolling in driver education, you'll get a Temporary Instructional Permit from the OMV. The TIP does exactly one thing: it lets you drive with your licensed driving school instructor during the course. When you finish driver ed, you surrender the TIP with your completion documents, and the learner's permit takes its place.

The teen course itself is the 38-hour program: 30 hours of classroom instruction and 8 hours behind the wheel with your school's instructor. And here's the part that surprises out-of-staters: your driver education provider administers the state's knowledge test, and typically the road skills test too. The tests come to you, but the 80 percent bar doesn't move.

To be clear, because it matters: DriverEdToGo's online course is not an OMV-licensed driver education course. It can't fulfill the 38-hour requirement, the classroom hours, or the behind-the-wheel instruction, and it can't administer any Louisiana test. Where our course fits is underneath that requirement: the foundation you build before the licensed course begins, so its classroom material and its knowledge test land on preparation instead of first contact.

Step 2: Get Your Learner's Permit at 15

Driver education complete, knowledge test passed at 80 percent or better, and vision test cleared, you'll have your learner's permit at 15. With it, you drive only with a licensed parent or guardian, a licensed adult 21 or older, or a licensed sibling 18 or older, and the phone rule is total for permit holders: no cell use at all, hands-free included.

If you start at 15, you'll hold the permit at least 180 days and until your 16th birthday. Along the way, you'll log 50 hours of supervised driving, and here's Louisiana's distinctive number: 15 of those hours must be at night, one of the highest night-hour requirements in the country. A parent or guardian verifies the hours when you apply for the intermediate license.

Step 3: Get Your Intermediate License at 16

Once you're 16, your permit has 180 clean days on it, no at-fault crashes, no moving violations, and your 50 hours are verified, you can take the road skills test, scored to the same 80 percent standard. Pass it, and you'll have your intermediate license, with the word "Intermediate" printed right on it. You can now drive on your own, within the rules below.

Step 4: Full License at 17

At 17, the restrictions end and you're eligible for the full Class E license. That's the system: driver ed first for everyone, a permit with real night practice built in, an intermediate year with printed restrictions, and an 80 percent bar at every test.

Louisiana Teen Driving Laws You Should Know

Intermediate License Restrictions

With an intermediate license, until your full license:

• Curfew: no driving between 11:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., unless a licensed parent or guardian, a licensed adult 21 or older, or a licensed sibling 18 or older is with you.
• Passengers: between 6:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., no more than one passenger under 21 who isn't immediate family, unless a licensed adult 21 or older is in the vehicle.
• Seat belts: every passenger belted before the vehicle moves.

In plain terms: no late nights behind the wheel, and evening drives with one friend at most.

The Phone Rules

Louisiana's permit-holder rule is total: no cell phone use while driving, hands-free included. And drivers 17 and under are prohibited from using a phone to talk or text behind the wheel, period. The habit both rules build is the right one: the phone stays out of reach until the car is parked.

Driver Education Is for Everyone Here

Louisiana is one of the only states where turning 18 doesn't exempt you from driver education. Adults getting a first license complete the 14-hour Pre-Licensing course, 6 classroom hours plus 8 behind the wheel, or the full 38-hour course, through the same OMV-licensed schools. If you're an adult first-time driver reading this, plan for the course, and use the preparation time well.

Louisiana Insurance Requirements

Every Louisiana driver must carry liability insurance. The current minimum coverage is:

• $15,000 for bodily injury or death to one person
• $30,000 for bodily injury or death per accident
• $25,000 for property damage

Louisiana's bodily injury minimums are among the lowest in the country, and its insurance costs among the highest, so many families choose higher coverage, especially with a new teen driver on the policy.

Pass Your Louisiana Knowledge Test the First Time with PrepWizard

The Louisiana knowledge test draws from the Louisiana Driver's Guide, covering traffic laws, safe driving practices, and road signs, and you need 80 percent to pass, whether you take it through your driving school or at the OMV. Plenty of smart students fail on the first try for one simple reason: they read the guide but never practiced answering test-style questions under pressure.

PrepWizard, our online practice test platform, fixes that, and every course purchase includes a 3-day PrepWizard trial. With PrepWizard you can:

• Practice with questions covering the traffic laws, safe driving rules, and road signs the Louisiana exam tests
• Take realistic timed practice exams so the real test feels familiar
• Use Focus Mode to drill the topics you keep missing
• Track your progress as your scores improve
• Study anytime from your computer, tablet, or smartphone

Three focused days of practice tests before your exam can be the difference between passing on the first try and coming back for a second one. Time your trial for the week of your test, and walk in having already passed it in practice.

Where the DriverEdToGo Course Fits in Louisiana

Let's answer the obvious question directly: no, our online driver education course is not licensed by the Louisiana OMV. It doesn't fulfill the 38-hour teen requirement, the 14-hour adult Pre-Licensing requirement, or any Louisiana licensing step, and it can't administer the state's tests the way licensed schools do.

So why take it? Because Louisiana's licensed course is a serious commitment, 38 hours for teens, with the state's knowledge test waiting inside it, and everything lands better on a foundation. Our course teaches defensive driving techniques, hazard recognition, right-of-way rules, and safe driving habits in a self-paced online format you can start before you even pick a driving school. Families use it to arrive at driver ed prepared for the classroom and the 80 percent knowledge test, and as a companion through the 50 supervised hours, especially those 15 night hours where preparation matters most.

Think of it this way: Louisiana hands you the test dates. We help you show up ready.

Louisiana Driver's License FAQ