How to Get a Driver's License in Pennsylvania (Step by Step)

Step 1: Physical exam and form DL-180

You must have a learner's permit before you drive a motor vehicle in Pennsylvania, and you cannot apply for one before your 16th birthday. The same first step applies to adults who have never been licensed and to drivers whose out-of-state license expired more than 6 months ago.

Start with a physical exam. Your health care provider completes the back of the Non-Commercial Learner's Permit Application (DL-180). The exam can be done no earlier than 6 months before your 16th birthday, and the form is valid for 1 year from the exam date. Do not mail the form; bring it to a PennDOT Driver License Center.

Step 2: Documents, eye screening and the knowledge test

At the Driver License Center, bring:

• the completed DL-180
• if you are under 18, the consent form DL-180TD, signed by a parent, guardian, person in loco parentis or spouse who is 18 or older
• original proof of date of birth and identity (photocopies are not accepted); if your name has changed, original documents such as a marriage certificate or court order
• your signed Social Security card
• if you are 18 or older, 2 proofs of residency, such as current utility bills, a W-2 form, tax records, a lease or mortgage documents
• the fee, paid by debit or credit card, check or money order

Your vision is tested at the center unless your health care provider or optometrist has already tested it, so bring your glasses or contact lenses. Then you take the knowledge test on signs, laws, driving rules and safe practices from the Pennsylvania Driver's Manual:

• Format: 18 multiple-choice questions.
• Passing score: 15 correct answers.
• Languages: on request, written and audio versions in 30 languages, including Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian and Mandarin.
• If you fail: you may retake the test the following business day.

When you pass, the examiner gives you a learner's permit. It is valid for 1 year from the issue date.

Step 3: Practice with your permit

With a learner's permit you may drive only with a licensed driver who is at least 21, or with a licensed parent, guardian, person in loco parentis or spouse who is 18 or older. The supervising driver must sit in the front seat.

If you are under 18, before the road test you must:

• wait at least 6 months from the date your permit was issued
• complete at least 65 hours of behind-the-wheel practice, including at least 10 hours of nighttime driving and 5 hours of bad-weather driving
• have a parent or guardian sign the certification form DL-180C for those 65 hours

Adults 18 and older

On its Get a Driver's License page, PennDOT lists the 65 practice hours and the 6-month waiting period under driving practice for drivers under 18 only. Adults still go through the same main steps: the DL-180 physical, 2 proofs of residency, the eye screening, the knowledge test, driving only with a qualified supervising driver, and the road test.

Step 4: Schedule and take the road test

You need an appointment. Schedule the road test online with PennDOT's driver's test scheduling service or by calling 717-412-5300. Drivers under 18 may schedule their skills test up to 6 months in advance.

Bring originals (photocopies are not accepted):

• your valid learner's permit
• forms DL-180C and DL-180TD, if you are under 18
• the original valid insurance card for the vehicle
• the original valid registration card (a bill of sale is not accepted)
• the valid driver's license of the person who came with you

Retakes: you have 3 attempts on each learner's permit. After a failed test, drivers over 18 must wait at least 1 day and drivers under 18 must wait 7 days. After the third failure, you must reapply to extend your permit.

Junior license rules (under 18)

If you pass the road test before you turn 18, you get a junior driver's license with these limits:

• No driving between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., unless a parent, guardian, person in loco parentis or spouse who is 18 or older is with you. There are exceptions for work, volunteer fire company duty and public or charitable service; you must carry a notarized affidavit or certificate of authorization with your license.
• No more passengers than there are seat belts in the vehicle.
• In the first 6 months, no more than 1 passenger under 18 who is not an immediate family member, unless a parent or guardian is in the vehicle. After 6 months the limit rises to 3, but not if you were partly or fully responsible for a crash or were convicted of a driving violation.
• Drivers and passengers under 18 must wear a properly fastened seat belt.

The junior license automatically becomes a regular license when you turn 18. You can get a regular license earlier, after holding the junior license for 1 year, if you have passed a driver training course approved by the PA Department of Education, have had no crash you were responsible for and no Vehicle Code convictions in the past year, and have parental consent. You apply with form DL-59.

New residents: the 60-day rule

If you move to Pennsylvania with a non-commercial driver's license from another state, you must get a Pennsylvania driver's license within 60 days (for a CDL, within 30 days).

• Fill out form DL-180R and pass a vision test.
• Bring proof of identity, proof of residency and your Social Security card.
• Surrender your out-of-state license. If it is valid or expired for 6 months or less, you do not need a knowledge test.
• If it expired more than 6 months ago, you must get a Pennsylvania learner's permit and take the knowledge and skills tests.
• Out-of-state learner's permits cannot be transferred.

For documents and other questions immigrants often have, see our guide on driver's licenses for immigrants.