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Maryland driving lesson · Getting Your License

Applying & the Graduated Licensing System

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

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Read time
3 minutes
Course unit
Getting Your License
Checkpoint questions
5
Source pages
9

Maryland's regular license for cars, pickup trucks and vans is the noncommercial Class C license. First-time drivers earn it in stages so they build experience before driving with full privileges.

Noncommercial (Class C) license

The license that lets you drive regular vehicles like cars, pickup trucks, and vans.

Handbook p. 9 ↗

Know the rule

To start, make an appointment to visit any MVA branch.

Handbook p. 9 ↗

When you apply, bring:

  • A document proving your age that includes your full name (e.g., birth certificate or passport)
  • Proof of lawful status, if you were born outside the United States
  • Your Social Security Number, or proof that you are not eligible for one
  • Two documents that prove you live in Maryland
Handbook p. 9 ↗

Know the rule

Bring original documents or copies certified by the agency that issued them. The MVA will not accept photocopies, notarized copies, or documents with changed or erased information.

Handbook p. 9 ↗

Rookie Driver/Graduated Driver Licensing System (GLS)

The process you go through to get a noncommercial license if you have never had a driver's license. It applies to people of all ages.

Handbook p. 9 ↗

The three GLS stages

The three GLS stages
StageWhat it means
1. Learner's Instructional PermitPractice with a supervising driver
2. Provisional LicenseDrive without supervision, with restrictions
3. Driver's LicenseThe last stage: you have "graduated"
Handbook p. 9 ↗

Put it into practice

A 30-year-old who has never held a license asks if the GLS applies to her. It does: the GLS covers every eligible first-time applicant, not just teens, so she starts with a Learner's Instructional Permit.

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.

What is Maryland's Graduated Licensing System commonly called?
  1. Rookie Driver/Graduated Licensing
  2. The New Driver Certification Program
  3. The Provisional Skills Program
  4. The Young Driver Safety Plan

Answer: Rookie Driver/Graduated Licensing

Maryland calls its graduated licensing process the Rookie Driver/Graduated Licensing System (GLS).

Handbook p. 9 ↗
What is the correct order of steps in Maryland's Graduated Licensing System?
  1. Provisional License, then Learner's Permit, then Driver's License
  2. Learner's Permit, then Provisional, then Driver's License
  3. Driver's License, then Provisional License
  4. Learner's Permit, then Driver's License directly

Answer: Learner's Permit, then Provisional, then Driver's License

New drivers progress from a Learner's Instructional Permit to a Provisional License, and finally to a full Driver's License.

Handbook p. 9 ↗
What kind of vehicles can you drive with a noncommercial Class C driver's license?
  1. Only motorcycles
  2. Only vehicles under 3,000 pounds
  3. Cars, pickup trucks, and vans
  4. Commercial tractor-trailers

Answer: Cars, pickup trucks, and vans

A Class C license is the noncommercial license that covers cars, pickup trucks, and vans.

Handbook p. 9 ↗
Maryland's Graduated Licensing System applies only to first-time applicants under age 18.
  1. True
  2. False

Answer: False

False. The GLS process applies to anyone who has never had a driver's license before, and to people of all ages who are eligible to apply.

Handbook p. 9 ↗
How many documents proving that you live in Maryland must you bring when you apply for a license?
  1. One
  2. Three
  3. Two
  4. Four

Answer: Two

Applicants bring two documents that prove Maryland residency, as originals or copies certified by the issuing agency.

Handbook p. 9 ↗
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