Connecticut driving lesson · Getting Your Connecticut License
Driver training for 16- and 17-year-olds
A 4-minute lesson from the Connecticut course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
If you are 16 or 17, Connecticut won't let you take a road test until you finish an approved training path. You can go through a driving school, a high school program, or home training with a qualified adult, and your parent must take a 2-hour class too.
All 16- and 17-year-old applicants must complete driver training through one of:
A licensed commercial driving school
A secondary school (high school) program
A home training program plus the eight-hour safe driving practices course (includes 2-hour parent training)
A parent or legal guardian of a 16- or 17-year-old with a learner's permit must complete two hours of instruction with the teen about the laws for drivers under 18 and the dangers of teen driving. It is part of the eight-hour program.
Commercial and secondary school programs consist of 30 hours of classroom instruction and at least 40 hours of behind-the-wheel, on-the-road training. The school then issues a course completion certificate (form CS-1), which you need to be eligible for the road test.
A home trainer must be at least 20 years old and have held a license for four or more years before training, with no suspension during that four-year period.
At the road test the home instructor signs a statement that the applicant has a permit and completed at least 30 hours of course study, including the 8-hour Safe Driving Practices class at a Connecticut commercial or secondary school. The course must cover all of this manual.
A home-trained student must also get at least 40 hours of behind-the-wheel, on-the-road instruction and complete the two-hour parent training class with a parent or legal guardian.
Maya, 16, gets her permit on March 1 and enrolls in a commercial driving school (30 classroom hours, 40 on-road hours). With her CS-1 certificate she can road-test after 120 days. Her friend who is home-trained without the school behind-the-wheel hours must wait 180 days.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
Which of these qualifies as an approved driver training program for a 16- or 17-year-old in Connecticut?
Any relative giving occasional rides
A licensed commercial driving school
Watching online safety videos
A single weekend refresher class
Answer: A licensed commercial driving school
Approved options are a licensed commercial driving school, secondary school program, or home training program.
A 16-year-old completes driver education through a commercial driving school. How long must they wait after getting their permit before taking the road test?
120 days
90 days
60 days
180 days
Answer: 120 days
Applicants who complete driver education through a commercial or secondary school must wait 120 days after permit issuance.
A 17-year-old is home-trained (with the required 8-hour safe driving course) instead of attending a commercial or secondary school program. How long after the permit is issued must they wait to take the road test?
120 days
60 days
90 days
180 days
Answer: 180 days
Only applicants who complete driver education through a commercial or secondary school may test at 120 days; all other applicants must wait 180 days after the permit is issued.