MAINE DRIVERS ED ONLINE

Getting a Driver's License in Maine: The Basics

In Maine, teenagers can get a learner's permit at 15, an intermediate license at 16, and full unrestricted driving after the intermediate restrictions expire. Licensing runs through the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and Maine's system asks more supervised practice than any state in the country: 70 hours before the road test.

Here's something worth knowing up front: Maine requires anyone under 18 to complete a BMV-approved driver education course before the learner's permit, and skipping driver ed means waiting until 18 to start. DriverEdToGo's online course is not a BMV-approved Maine driver education course. It doesn't fulfill the requirement, doesn't produce the completion certificate the BMV asks for, and doesn't count toward any Maine licensing step. What our course does is build your driving foundation before that approved course begins, prepare you for the written test, and serve as a companion through those 70 hours. This page walks you through exactly how Maine's process works, and shows you where our study tools help along the way.

Here's the road ahead at a glance:

• Learner's permit: age 15, after completing a BMV-approved driver education course and passing the vision and written tests, with parental consent
• Intermediate license: age 16, after holding the permit 6 months, logging 70 supervised hours including 10 at night, and passing the road test
• Full privileges: intermediate restrictions last 270 days, and the license stays provisional, with real consequences for violations, for two years

How Maine's Graduated Licensing System Works

Step 1: Complete Approved Driver Education, Then Get Your Permit at 15

Maine puts driver education first. Teens complete a BMV-approved course, and many driver education facilities administer the written test and handle the permit paperwork right at the school. While you're enrolled but not yet finished, Maine even offers a restricted learner's permit that lets you drive with your driver education instructor only.

Course complete, you'll pass the vision and written tests, drawn from the Maine Motorist Handbook, and with your parent's written consent, the learner's permit is yours at 15. It's valid for two years.

To be clear, because it matters: DriverEdToGo's online course is not a BMV-approved Maine driver education course and cannot substitute for one. The approved course and its certificate come from Maine's approved programs. Where our course fits is underneath: the foundation you build before the approved course begins, so its classroom material and the written test land on preparation instead of first contact.

Step 2: Log Your 70 Hours

Here's Maine's signature number: 70 hours of supervised practice, including 10 at night, the highest practice-hour requirement in the country, logged and certified by a parent or guardian. And note who can supervise, because Maine's rule is unusual: a licensed driver at least 20 years old who has held a license for at least two years, seated beside you.

Seventy hours sounds daunting until you see what Maine is really asking: a full apprenticeship across seasons, and in Maine, seasons mean something. Snow, ice, fog off the coast, and long winter dusk are all part of the curriculum, with an experienced driver beside you for every mile. Permit holders also can't use a phone or wireless device behind the wheel, at all.

Step 3: Pass Your Road Test and Go Intermediate at 16

Once you're 16, your permit has 6 months on it, and your 70 hours are logged, you'll submit your paperwork to the BMV and take the road test. Pass it, and you'll have your intermediate license: unsupervised driving, within the rules below.

Step 4: Survive the 270 Days, Then Stay Clean

Maine's intermediate restrictions last a specific 270 days. Complete them cleanly and the restrictions lift, but here's the part families miss: the license remains provisional for two years, and a conviction for any moving violation during that provisional period brings a license suspension. Not points, not a warning letter. Suspension. In Maine, the road test is the beginning of proving yourself, not the end.

Maine Teen Driving Laws You Should Know

Intermediate License Restrictions

For the first 270 days with your intermediate license:

• Passengers: no passengers other than immediate family, unless a qualifying supervising driver is with you.
• Curfew: no driving between midnight and 5:00 a.m.
• Devices: no mobile phone or handheld electronic use while driving.

Violate a restriction and the consequences include suspension and restarting the restriction clock. In plain terms: family only in the car, no late nights, and the phone stays dark.

The Provisional Period Has Teeth

After the 270 days, the restrictions end but the probation doesn't: for two years, any moving violation conviction means suspension. One speeding ticket at month 14 can park a Maine teen who did everything else right. It's the state's way of saying the habits you built across 70 supervised hours are supposed to last.

The Phone Rules

Maine bans handheld phone use for all drivers, and for permit and intermediate holders the rule is stricter: no device use at all. The habit the law builds is the right one: the phone stays out of reach until the car is parked.

Maine Insurance Requirements

Maine requires more insurance than almost any state. The current minimums include:

• $50,000 for bodily injury or death to one person
• $100,000 for bodily injury or death per accident
• $25,000 for property damage
• Plus required medical payments coverage and uninsured motorist coverage

Maine's minimums are among the highest in the country, which also means the family policy deserves a review before a new teen driver joins it.

Pass Your Maine Written Test the First Time with PrepWizard

The Maine written test draws from the Maine Motorist Handbook and Study Guide, covering traffic laws, safe driving practices, and road signs, and Maine's test is known for stressing impaired-driving law especially. Plenty of smart students fail on the first try for one simple reason: they read the handbook but never practiced answering test-style questions under pressure.

PrepWizard, our online practice test platform, fixes that, and every course purchase includes a 24-hour PrepWizard trial. With PrepWizard you can:

• Practice with questions covering the traffic laws, safe driving rules, and road signs the Maine 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

A focused day 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 day before your test, and walk in having already passed it in practice.

Where the DriverEdToGo Course Fits in Maine

Let's answer the obvious question directly: no, our online driver education course is not BMV-approved. It doesn't fulfill Maine's driver education requirement, doesn't produce the completion certificate, and doesn't count toward any licensing step.

So why take it? Because Maine asks more of new drivers than any state in the country, 70 supervised hours, a 270-day restriction window, and a two-year provisional period where one violation means suspension, and all of it rewards starting prepared. 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 your approved course begins. Families use it to arrive at driver ed and the written test ready, and as a companion across the 70 hours, where the habits that survive Maine's provisional period are actually built.

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

Maine Driver's License FAQ