1. What is the minimum age to apply for a California instruction permit?

• 15 years old
• ✓ 15 1/2 years old
• 16 years old

California lets teens apply for a learner's permit starting at 15 1/2, though a provisional license can't be issued until age 16.

2. What is the minimum age for a California provisional driver's license?

• 15 1/2
• ✓ 16
• 17

A teen must be at least 16 and have held their permit long enough to qualify for a provisional license.

3. How many hours of classroom driver education must a minor complete before getting an instruction permit?

• 20 hours
• ✓ 30 hours
• 40 hours

California requires 30 hours of classroom driver education for applicants under 18, either in person or through an approved online course.

4. How many hours of professional behind-the-wheel training are required for drivers under 18?

• 3 hours
• ✓ 6 hours
• 10 hours

Minors must complete 6 hours of professional behind-the-wheel training with a licensed instructor before driving on their own.

5. Besides professional training, how many hours of supervised practice driving must a teen log with a parent, guardian, or other licensed driver 25 or older?

• 25 hours
• ✓ 50 hours
• 100 hours

California requires 50 hours of supervised practice driving beyond the professional training, logged with a qualified adult.

6. Of the required supervised practice hours, how many must be completed after dark?

• 5 hours
• ✓ 10 hours
• 15 hours

At least 10 of the 50 required supervised practice hours must take place at night, so new drivers get experience with reduced visibility.

7. How long must a teen hold an instruction permit before taking the behind-the-wheel test for a provisional license?

• 3 months
• ✓ 6 months
• 1 year

A minor must hold their instruction permit for at least 6 months before they're eligible to test for a provisional license.

8. Who must sign a minor's application for an instruction permit?

• A driving instructor
• ✓ A parent or guardian
• A DMV examiner

A parent or guardian's signature is required to approve a minor's application for a permit.

9. What does a parent or guardian agree to when signing a minor's permit application?

• Nothing, it is only a formality
• ✓ Financial responsibility for the minor's driving
• To ride along on every trip

Signing the application means the parent or guardian accepts financial responsibility connected to the teen's driving.

10. Who is allowed to supervise a teen's practice driving hours besides a parent or guardian?

• Any adult with a license
• ✓ A California-licensed driver at least 25 years old
• A sibling with a provisional license

Supervised practice hours can be logged with a parent, guardian, or any other California-licensed driver who is at least 25.

11. During the first 12 months of a provisional license, a teen generally cannot drive with passengers under what age unless supervised?

• 18
• ✓ 20
• 21

New provisional license holders can't transport passengers under 20 during their first 12 months unless a qualifying adult rides along.

12. Who can legally ride along to lift the under-20 passenger restriction?

• Any licensed adult
• ✓ A parent, guardian, or licensed driver 25 or older
• A licensed driver of any age

The passenger restriction is lifted only when a parent, guardian, or other California-licensed driver at least 25 years old is in the car.

13. Under a provisional license, driving is generally restricted between which hours?

• 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
• ✓ 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
• 12 a.m. and 5 a.m.

New provisional drivers may not drive unsupervised between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. during their first 12 months.

14. How long does the nighttime driving restriction typically last after a teen gets a provisional license?

• 6 months
• ✓ 12 months
• 24 months

The nighttime restriction applies for the first 12 months of licensure, or until the driver turns 18, whichever happens first.

15. What must a teen carry in the vehicle to legally use an exception to the passenger or nighttime restriction, such as driving to a job?

• A copy of their report card
• ✓ A signed note documenting the necessity
• Nothing, a verbal explanation is enough

Exceptions for work, school, medical, or family necessity require a signed note kept in the vehicle in case an officer asks.

16. Under California law, drivers under 18 may use a hands-free cell phone while driving.

• True, hands-free is always allowed
• ✓ False, all phone use is banned for drivers under 18
• True, but only for calls under 2 minutes

California bans any wireless phone use, including hands-free, for drivers under 18, unlike the hands-free allowance for adult drivers.

17. What is the one exception that allows a driver under 18 to use a phone while driving?

• Calling a friend for directions
• ✓ Contacting police, fire, or medical personnel in an emergency
• Using GPS navigation apps

The only carve-out to the under-18 phone ban is contacting emergency services during a genuine emergency.

18. California's zero tolerance law sets what blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit for drivers under 21?

• ✓ 0.01%
• 0.05%
• 0.08%

Drivers under 21 face a zero tolerance limit of 0.01% BAC, far stricter than the 0.08% limit for adult drivers.

19. What is the typical consequence for a driver under 21 caught with a BAC at or above the zero-tolerance limit?

• A verbal warning only
• ✓ An automatic one-year license suspension
• A mandatory jail sentence

A zero-tolerance violation triggers an automatic one-year license suspension, handled as a civil matter rather than a criminal DUI conviction.

20. True or false: a provisional license holder's passenger and nighttime restrictions end when the driver turns 18 or completes 12 months of licensure, whichever comes first.

• ✓ True
• False, they always last exactly 12 months
• False, they always end at 18

Whichever milestone arrives first, turning 18 or reaching 12 months of licensure, ends the passenger and nighttime restrictions.