roadwise.Open study app

Indiana driving lesson · Getting Your Credential

Probationary license rules

A 3-minute lesson from the Indiana course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.

Study this lesson in the app Back to the course
Read time
3 minutes
Course unit
Getting Your Credential
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
14, 15

Until you turn 21, your license is probationary. During the first 180 days, strict passenger and night-driving limits apply. Drivers under 18 keep some curfew limits after that.

Under 18: your 50 supervised hours may be driven with

  • A licensed driver 25+ related to you by blood, marriage, or legal status
  • Your spouse, 21+, with valid driving privileges
  • A licensed driver training school instructor working under a school's direction
  • A certified driver rehabilitation specialist recognized by the BMV
Handbook p. 14 ↗
21 years and 30 days

Age at which a probationary license expires

Handbook p. 14 ↗

Know the rule

You may not renew a probationary license until you are 21 years and one day old.

Handbook p. 14 ↗

Know the rule

For the first 180 days you may not carry passengers unless the front passenger seat holds a licensed driver 25+, your licensed spouse 21+, or a licensed driver training instructor.

Handbook p. 14 ↗

Know the rule

Exception: in the first 180 days you may drive your child, stepchild, sibling, step- or half-sibling, or spouse without another adult along.

Handbook p. 15 ↗

Probationary driving-hour limits

Probationary driving-hour limits
WhenYou may not drive
First 180 daysBetween 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
After 180 days, under 18: Sun–ThuAfter 11 p.m.
After 180 days, under 18: Mon–FriBefore 5 a.m.
After 180 days, under 18: Sat & SunBetween 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.
Handbook p. 15 ↗

The hour limits don't apply if you are:

  • Going to, at, or returning from lawful employment
  • Going to, at, or returning from a school-sanctioned activity
  • Going to, at, or returning from a religious event
  • With a licensed driver 25+, or your licensed spouse 21+
Handbook p. 15 ↗

Know the rule

Indiana bans texting and typing on a phone or device while driving. The license section (p.15) says any device use is banned except a 911 call, while pp.16 and 50 allow hands-free or voice-operated use; the safest rule is don't use the phone at all.

Handbook p. 15 ↗

The BMV must suspend a juvenile's driving privileges when the school reports:

  • An expulsion, exclusion, or second or subsequent suspension in one school year
  • The juvenile is a habitual truant
  • The juvenile has withdrawn from school
Handbook p. 15 ↗

Know the rule

If you renew after turning 21, you receive an unrestricted license and the probationary restrictions end.

Handbook p. 15 ↗

Put it into practice

You're 17 and have had your license eight months. At 12:30 a.m. on a Saturday you're driving home from a friend's house. That's legal, because the weekend limit starts at 1 a.m. At 1:15 a.m. it would be a violation unless you were coming from work, school, or a religious event, or had a qualifying adult with you.

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.

A probationary driver's license is valid until the holder reaches what age?
  1. 21 years and 30 days
  2. 21 years and one day
  3. 18 years and 30 days
  4. 21 years and 90 days

Answer: 21 years and 30 days

A probationary license is valid until you are 21 years and 30 days of age; you may renew it once you are 21 years and one day old.

Handbook p. 14 ↗
For the first 180 days after getting a probationary license, when may you not drive?
  1. Between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
  2. Between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
  3. Between midnight and 4 a.m.
  4. Between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.

Answer: Between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.

For the first 180 days after obtaining your probationary driver's license, you may not drive between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.

Handbook p. 15 ↗
After the first 180 days, a probationary driver under 18 may not drive Sunday through Thursday after what time?
  1. 10 p.m.
  2. Midnight
  3. 11 p.m.
  4. 9 p.m.

Answer: 11 p.m.

After 180 days, probationary drivers under 18 may not drive Sunday through Thursday after 11 p.m.

Handbook p. 15 ↗
During the first 180 days of a probationary license, who may ride along so you can carry other passengers?
  1. Any friend who happens to have a license
  2. A sibling who also holds a learner's permit
  3. Anyone at least 18 years old, licensed or not
  4. A licensed driver at least 25 years old

Answer: A licensed driver at least 25 years old

A licensed individual with valid driving privileges who is 25 or older may be seated in the front passenger seat to allow other passengers.

Handbook p. 14 ↗
Which passengers may a probationary driver carry during the first 180 days without another accompanying adult?
  1. Child, stepchild, sibling, step- or half-sibling, or spouse
  2. Any classmate who also happens to have a valid driver's license
  3. A neighbor's child who rides the same school bus
  4. Any coworker from an after-school part-time job

Answer: Child, stepchild, sibling, step- or half-sibling, or spouse

You may drive with your child, stepchild, sibling, step or half-sibling, or spouse without another accompanying individual.

Handbook p. 15 ↗
What happens to a probationary license when the holder turns 21 and renews it?
  1. It remains probationary until age 25
  2. It keeps the night-driving limits
  3. It becomes an unrestricted driver's license
  4. It requires a new driving skills exam

Answer: It becomes an unrestricted driver's license

When you renew your probationary license after turning 21, you receive an unrestricted driver's license.

Handbook p. 15 ↗
Take the lesson checkpoint in the app

More in Getting Your Credential

All Indiana lessons