Licensing, insurance and the law
You are 17 and applying for your first driver's license. How much supervised practice driving do you need, and with whom?
- At least 50 hours with a California-licensed driver who is 25 or older, 10 of them at night. Correct answer
- At least 50 hours with your parent or guardian, 10 of them at night.
- At least six months of practice, with no set number of hours.
Why
Two numbers travel together here: 50 hours of practice, of which 10 must be at night. The supervising driver has to be California-licensed and at least 25 years old. A parent or guardian normally fits that description, but so does anyone else who meets it, so the answer that narrows the requirement to a parent adds a condition the handbook does not. Six months is real, and it is a separate requirement rather than a substitute for the hours: before you can schedule the behind-the-wheel drive test you must have carried a California instruction permit, or one from another state, for six months at least, or else turned 18. Under 18 you also have to be at least 16 and to prove you finished both driver education and driver training.
Where this comes from
California Driver's Handbook, June 2025 edition. The correct answer is At least 50 hours with a California-licensed driver who is 25 or older, 10 of them at night.
The rule behind this one
License, points and insurance in California goes through the whole topic, with the page of the California Driver's Handbook behind every rule.
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