How to Get Your Alabama Learner License (Permit)

Step by step

1. Gather your documents

   Bring originals or copies certified by the issuing agency (no white-out, erasures or missing details) proving:

   • Your identity: two documents, one with a photo, or three without a photo (one from the primary list)
   • Your date of birth (a certified birth certificate for every 15-year-old)
   • Your Social Security number
   • Your school enrollment or graduation (form DL-1-93, under 19)

   (Alabama Driver Manual, p. 6–8)

2. Pass the vision screening

   If you need glasses or contacts to see well enough, the license will say you must wear them while driving. (Alabama Driver Manual, p. 11)

3. Pass the knowledge test

   Questions on Alabama traffic laws, road signs and safe driving from the Alabama Driver Manual. There is a fee for each test. (Alabama Driver Manual, p. 11)

4. Get your learner license

   You receive a Class D license with a "Y" restriction, valid for four years, after paying the license fee. (Alabama Driver Manual, p. 9, 11)

Fees and the full list of accepted documents change from time to time, so check them on the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), Driver License Division website before you go.

Rules while you have a learner license

• At 15, drive only with a licensed driver aged 21 or older, or a licensed or certified driving instructor, in the seat beside you. (Alabama Driver Manual, p. 9)
• From 16, any licensed driver may sit beside you. (Alabama Driver Manual, p. 9)
• Carry your learner license whenever you drive and show it to an officer who asks. (Alabama Driver Manual, p. 16)
• Everyone in the car wears a safety belt, whatever their age. (Alabama Driver Manual, p. 30)