Completing drivers ed in North Carolina ensure you are qualified to obtain a North Carolina driver’s license. If you are between ages 15 and 17 you must apply for a Level 1 Limited Learner’s permit and take part in a drivers ed course, which allows you to upgrade to a Level 2 Limited Provisional License and Level 2 Full Provisional License. If you are at least 18 years of age and have passed the mandatory knowledge, vision, road sign recognition, and driving tests, you can acquire a driver’s license. If you meet the same age restriction you can also apply for a learner’s permit, which allows the driver to operate a motor vehicle while accompanied by a licensed adult.

If you are at least 14 ½ years of age and are attending school to seek your high school diploma or pursuing a GED, you can enroll in a DMV approved drivers ed through the North Carolina high school system. The driver education course is made up of two parts, the classroom portion requiring 30 hours of instruction and vision test and a driving portion, which requires 6 hours behind the wheel. You will receive a Driver’s Education Certificate upon completion of the course, which automatically allows you to apply for a Level One Limited Learner’s permit.

Who needs to take drivers ed in North Carolina?

The state of North Carolina requires that all teenagers younger than 18 must complete drivers ed classes and receive a Driver’s Education Certificate, before they can apply for a Level One Learner’s permit and begin the graduated licensing process which eventually takes them towards unsupervised driving. Drivers Education is provided to all teenagers in their local high school.

Drivers ed is also beneficial to first-time adult drivers who after acquiring a learner’s permit want to master driving. There are many private DMV approved driving schools who tailor to the new adult driver wanting to successfully pass their road test in order to obtain their driver’s license.

Types of Drivers Ed Classes in North Carolina

For North Carolina’s younger drivers the experience of learning how to drive takes place in the local high school, also called teen drivers ed. For older first time drivers this takes place in many private driving schools that offer adult drivers ed. The adult drivers must have already obtained their learner’s permit before they can enroll in these classes.

What will you learn in a North Carolina drivers ed school?

Drivers education in NC in two parts. First the classroom learning and then the behind-the-wheel learning. The classroom learning consists of 30 hours including the following subjects included in the published Driver Education Program of the Department of Public Instruction of the Public Schools of North Carolina:

• Car Control
• Highway Transportation System
• Signals, Traffic Markings, and Signs
• Emotions and Driving
• Emergencies
• Driving in Adverse Conditions
• Drugs and Alcohol

The behind-the-wheel learning phase includes six hours of actual supervised driving, where you will be able to practice important driving skills and put the learning phase to work.

North Carolina Drivers Education Requirements

If you are a teenager in North Carolina and want to enroll in a drivers ed course the law requires that you be at least 14 ½ years of age and be in the process of seeking your high school diploma or GED. If you are an adult driver a learner’s permit is required before you can enroll.

Benefits of a North Carolina Driver Education Course

Drivers who take drivers ed benefit from the knowledge they receive in a classroom environment and experience they gain by applying themselves on the roadways while being supervised. This prepares them to be safe drivers and gives them a sense of confidence when taking to the roadways of North Carolina.

This is beneficial to the state and its many drivers. Additionally, whether you are a teenager or a senior citizen who is driving on their own for the first time, insurance companies provide discounts for those who can show a drivers education certificate of completion.

How to Enroll in a North Carolina Driver Ed School

If you are at least 14 ½ years of age, are attending high school in North Carolina and have a birth certificate or passport, you are provided with an opportunity to enroll in a driver education course. If you are an older person who wants to obtain a driver’s license, you can enroll in adult drivers ed in a private driving school, so long as you have acquired a learner’s permit.

North Carolina DMV Drivers Ed Certificates

In North Carolina drivers under age 18 must complete their drivers education course in order to receive their Driver’s Education Certificate. This certificate is needed for them to be able to obtain their Limited Learner’s permit, the first step of the graduated licensing process towards driving without supervision.

Drivers Ed for North Carolina Residents

The North Carolina school system provides an opportunity for all of its teenagers attending high school to take drivers ed in order to acquire a limited learner’s permit and begin the graduated licensing process. This includes transfer students arriving from other states who might have taken courses in their prior state.

North Carolina Drivers Ed vs. Traffic School

In NC drivers ed provides a foundation of driving information and knowledge to a new driver. It is intended to prepare him or her for their future driving by introducing them in both a classroom and a hands on driving environment to the many situations they may face while driving their motor vehicle. Traffic school, on the other hand, is simply an avenue for the more experienced drivers to seek dismissal of a recent traffic ticket they may have received or to comply with a court order.

North Carolina Driver Education Fees

North Carolina provides affordable drivers education to its high school students. Depending on what county and area of the state you live in, the costs normally range from $45 to $65.

Adult drivers ed is much more expensive, with the price range falling anywhere between $300 and $900. That is because the cost is predicated on which private driving school you enroll in and the number of classes you decide to take to feel ready for your road driving test.

California Privacy R. Request

California Opt-Out