Driver Education Requirements (Under 18 years old)
Each student must take a 30-hour driver education class. By state law, students are NOT allowed to miss classroom instruction except for good cause as determined by the instructor (may include a death in the family or an injury), and there must be documentation to support this. No more than four hours of classroom instruction may be missed. The class time cannot be made up, but the student will have to make up any quiz or test that was missed and will be given an assignment that is equivalent to the material missed. If more than four hours or two classes are missed, the student cannot continue the course and will be documented as "incomplete" on our state paperwork. They will have six months to complete driver ed or will have to take the entire class over.
Each student is required to have 10 hours of in-car driving lessons and a minimum of 6 hours of observation at a state-approved driving school.
Each student must complete the state-required driving log which consists of 40 hours of practice; at least 10 of those must be nighttime hours. At 15 1/2 students may legally practice driving only in the state of NH if accompanied by a licensed driver in the front passenger seat who is at least 25 years of age. The student must have on their person a copy of their birth certificate or passport.
New Hampshire Youth Operator License Requirements
- Be 16 years of age.
- Complete an approved driver education class.
- Accumulate 40 hours of behind-the-wheel driving experience. (10 of the 40 hours must be at night.)
- Receive no moving traffic violations resulting in a conviction for the six months prior to the date of application for this license, including seat belt violations and juvenile alcohol.
- Pass a driving skills test.
- Pass a computer-based knowledge test.
- Pay the required fees.
New Hampshire Youth Operator License Restrictions
If a student is under 18, for the first six months of holding the youth operator license, the student may drive but with the following restrictions:
- From 1 AM to 4 AM, students are not allowed to drive for any reason.
- For the first six months, students may drive with one unrelated passenger under the age of 25 unless accompanied by a licensed, responsible adult who is at least 25 years of age.
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If you are under the age of 21 years old and are convicted of a motor vehicle violation, your license will be suspended for the following time periods:
- 20 days for the first offense.
- 45 days for the second offense.
- 90 days for the third or subsequent offense.
Note: If you get two or more speeding tickets as a youth operator driver in the first two years of having the license, you be required to obtain an SR-22 Insurance policy for three years from the date of your second hearing.
If you have questions about the New Hampshire Youth Operator License, check out the New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles website, or call (603) 227-4075.
