PermitPrep

DC · Graduated Driver License

District of Columbia GDL Laws for Teen Drivers

Permit age, supervised driving hours, night-driving curfews, passenger limits, and cell-phone rules for teen drivers in District of Columbia. These are the rules the written test asks about — and the rules you'll have to live with for your first year on the road.

The numbers at a glance

Permit age

16

Earliest age you can apply for a learner permit in District of Columbia.

Hold time

180 days

Minimum days you must hold the permit before the next stage.

Supervised hours

40

Total behind-the-wheel hours required, with 10 at night.

Supervisor age

21+

Minimum age of the licensed adult supervising your practice.

Top highway speed

50 mph

Maximum posted limit on rural interstates in District of Columbia.

Full license at

18

18.

The four rules that show up on the test

Most state permit exams include at least one question about each of the four rules below. They're also the rules police are most likely to enforce against new drivers in your first year.

  • Night-driving curfewNo driving 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. (Sun-Thu) or 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m. (Fri-Sat) during provisional period.
  • Passenger limitNo more than 2 passengers under 21 (excluding immediate family) during the provisional period.
  • Cell phone ruleAll cell phone use banned for drivers under 18.
  • Supervised practiceYou must complete 40 hours of supervised driving (10 at night) with a licensed driver age 21 or older before taking the road test.

Why GDL laws exist

Every U.S. state has some form of Graduated Driver License (GDL) program because crash data is unambiguous: the first six months of independent driving are the most dangerous time in a driver's life. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) estimates that strong GDL laws — meaning a learner stage of at least six months, a night curfew, and a passenger limit — have cut fatal teen-driver crashes by roughly 30% in states that adopted them.

The District of Columbia permit test will ask you to recognize these rules even before you start driving on your own. Memorize the night curfew time, the supervisor age, and the passenger limit; those are the three details state DMV exams ask about most often.

How the practice questions cover GDL

About 4 to 6 of the 25-50 questions on a typical state permit exam test GDL details directly. We've sprinkled District of Columbia-specific GDL questions throughout the Traffic Laws and Safe Driving Practices drills.

Official sources

Always verify these numbers with an official source before testing — small details (especially night-curfew start times and passenger exemptions) get amended every few years.