A 4-minute lesson from the Delaware course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Your Level One permit lasts a full 12 months of valid driving authority, in two six-month phases. The first half is fully supervised; the second lets you drive alone during the day. Breaking the rules counts as driving without a license.
Your supervisor must be a licensed parent, guardian or sponsor-approved driver at least 25 years old who has held a Class D license for at least 5 years, seated beside you in front. No one else may sit in the front seat.
The permit converts automatically to a Class D license after 12 full months of valid driving authority, if the sponsor hasn't withdrawn and your privileges aren't suspended, revoked, canceled, denied or surrendered.
Time under suspension, revocation, cancellation, denial or surrender doesn't count toward the 12 months. An equal period is added to the end, and you must undergo complete testing.
Seven months into your permit, your work shift ends at 11 p.m. You may drive straight home alone because it's direct travel from work. Stopping at a friend's party on the way would turn it into an unsupervised late-night trip—a violation that brings a 2-month suspension.
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.
During the first six months of a GDL Level One Learner's Permit, the permit holder must be
unsupervised only after 6 p.m.
supervised only on weekends
supervised only on highways
supervised at all times
Answer: supervised at all times
For the first six months after issuance, the permit holder must be supervised at all times.
Seven months into a GDL permit, a teen wants to drive home alone at 11:00 p.m. from a school activity on school property. Is this allowed?
No, all night driving requires supervision
Only if a parent calls the DMV first
Yes, direct travel to school activities is exempt
Only after the full 12-month program is complete
Answer: Yes, direct travel to school activities is exempt
An exception lets a permit holder travel without supervision during restricted hours when going directly to and from school, work, or church activities.