Tennessee driving lesson · Your License & the Exams
Learner permit & the GDL ladder
A 4-minute lesson from the Tennessee course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Drivers under 18 earn a full license in steps under Tennessee's Graduated Driver License (GDL) program. Each step adds freedom only after you prove you can handle the last one. Crashes are the major cause of death for people 15 to 20, which is why the steps require supervised practice.
The four GDL steps, in order
1. Learner Permit (Class PD)
2. Intermediate Restricted License
3. Intermediate Unrestricted License
4. Regular Driver License (the first three show 'GDL' in the bottom left corner)
With a learner permit you may drive only with a licensed driver 21 or older in the front seat beside you, never between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., everyone buckled up, and no handheld device.
To move up to Intermediate Restricted you can't have 6 or more points during the 180 days before you apply. If you do, you keep the permit until your record stays under 6 points for 180 consecutive days.
A permit holder moving to Intermediate Class D doesn't retake the knowledge test unless the permit expired more than 12 months before the driving test.
For Intermediate Unrestricted you must be 17 and have held the Restricted license 1 year with no at-fault crash, fewer than 6 points and not 2 seat belt violations. No new test — just a $2 fee.
Six or more points, contributing to a crash, or a second seat belt conviction adds 90 days to the 1-year Restricted period. A second moving violation means you must finish an approved driver education class first.
At 18 — or at high school graduation or GED if sooner — you can get a regular Class D. 'Intermediate' comes off, but the 'Under 21' indicators stay. Swapping the card early costs an $8 duplicate fee.
The GDL doesn't apply to anyone 18 or older, or to anyone under 18 who has graduated or earned a GED. A 16-year-old emancipated by active military service, marriage or court order may also get a regular Class D.
Maya gets her permit the day she turns 15 and logs 50 practice hours, 10 at night. At 16 she passes the road test for Intermediate Restricted. She must keep that license a full year, so the earliest she can go Unrestricted is 17 — later if she picks up 6 points.
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 are the four steps of Tennessee's Graduated Driver License (GDL) program, in order?
How many hours of behind-the-wheel driving experience must be certified before advancing to the Intermediate Restricted License, including how many at night?
50 hours total, including 10 hours at night
25 hours total, including 5 hours at night
100 hours total, including 20 hours at night
50 hours total, all during the day
Answer: 50 hours total, including 10 hours at night
Applicants must have 50 hours of certified driving experience, including 10 hours at night, before advancing to Intermediate Restricted.