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Florida, supervised driving hours

Florida supervised driving hours, and whether the log is turned in

Florida requires 50 hours of behind-the-wheel experience, of which at least 10 must be at night, from license applicants who are 16 or 17, under s. 322.05(3) of the Florida Statutes; there is no supervised hours requirement at all for applicants aged 18 or over. The hours are certified on FLHSMV form HSMV 71143 by a parent, legal guardian or other responsible adult 21 or older, notarized or signed in front of a driver license examiner. Neither the statute nor the form asks the signer to hold a license, and the signer need not have ridden along on every trip: the statute has them certify that they, or another licensed driver 21 or older, accompanied the applicant. On the question everyone actually asks, the signed form is what FLHSMV names for the counter, not a completed log sheet. Checked in September 2026.

Source: Florida Statutes s. 322.05(3); FLHSMV form HSMV 71143 and teen licensing requirements, checked September 25, 2026.

Which FL test do you needFL
EExam simulatorFull FLHSMV format: 50 questions, 40 to pass, every answer keyed to a statute.1Warm up runA shorter 20 question run pulled from across the FL bank, for a first look before the full sitting.SSigns and lane markingsSigns, signals and lane markings on their own: 61 questions, the group that costs the most points.LState statute questionsThe 30 rules that belong to Florida alone, each carrying the statute number it was drafted against.
Every Florida test and ruleNo account needed

Do I log the 50 hours before the learner's license, or after?

After. Section 322.05(3) is a condition on issuing a license to someone at least 16 and under 18, not on the learner's license at 15. A parent, a guardian, or another responsible adult who qualifies under s. 322.09 must certify that he or she, or another licensed driver 21 or older, accompanied the applicant for at least 50 hours behind the wheel, at least 10 of them at night. FLHSMV's teen page lists that certification under the requirements for the driver license at 16, next to holding the learner's license 12 months or reaching 18. Its checklist for getting the learner's license mentions no hours. The page's GDL table does put the 50 hours on the learner's license row, as driving done while you hold it.

The hours Florida actually writes down
50
Minimum hours for a 16 or 17 year old applicant
s. 322.05(3), F.S.; FLHSMV teen licensing page
10
Minimum of those 50 hours at night
s. 322.05(3), F.S.
21
Minimum age of the licensed driver on your right
s. 322.1615(2), F.S.
12
Months to hold the learner's license, or until age 18
s. 322.05(2), F.S.; FLHSMV teen licensing page
How the 50 hours split
Night (minimum)10 hours
s. 322.05(3), F.S.
Any legal time, including extra night40 hours
the rest of the 50
Florida sets a 10 hour night floor inside a 50 hour total. Extra night hours still count toward the 50. There is no separate daylight quota.

Who can sit in the passenger seat while I count an hour?

A licensed driver who is at least 21 and sits in the closest seat to the right of the driver, at all times. That is s. 322.1615(2). The person who signs HSMV 71143 does not have to be that driver on every trip: s. 322.05(3) lets the parent, guardian, or other responsible adult certify that he or she, or another licensed driver 21 or older, did the accompanying.

What has to be true of the accompanying driver
  • Holds a valid license for the vehicle

    s. 322.1615(2)(a): a valid license to operate the type of vehicle being driven.

  • Is at least 21

    s. 322.1615(2)(b). A 19-year-old sibling with a full Class E license does not qualify, for the trip or for the 50 hours.

  • Sits in the closest seat to the right

    s. 322.1615(2)(c). An adult in the back seat does not meet the rule.

  • Rides along for every counted hour

    s. 322.05(3) counts hours in which the applicant was accompanied behind the wheel. Simulator and classroom time are not mentioned in the statute or on HSMV 71143.

Accompaniment is s. 322.1615(2). The 50 hour certification is s. 322.05(3). Both require a licensed driver 21 or older. Only the learner's license rule names the right-hand seat.

When can I legally log the 10 night hours?

Not in the first 3 months, and never after 10 p.m. Section 322.1615(3) limits a learner to daylight hours, except that 3 months after issuance the holder may drive until 10 p.m. Under s. 322.1615(4), breaking either limit carries the civil penalty for a moving violation, so night driving in the first 3 months is a ticketable violation, not a head start on the 10 hours.

The clock around Florida's 50 hours
  1. Age 15
    Learner's license possible

    s. 322.1615(1). Pass the knowledge exam and the vision and hearing test, and complete a department-approved driver education course. No hours are due yet.

  2. First 3 months
    Daylight only

    s. 322.1615(3). You can log daylight hours with a licensed driver 21 or older on your right. You cannot log night hours yet.

  3. After 3 months
    Until 10 p.m.

    Still accompanied. Night hours have to fall after sunset and before 10 p.m.

  4. Age 16
    Earliest Class E, once the 12 months and 50 hours are done

    s. 322.05(1) to (3). Bring HSMV 71143. After that, s. 322.16(2) requires a licensed driver 21 or older with you from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. unless the trip is straight to or from work.

  5. Age 18
    The 50 hour rule no longer applies

    s. 322.05(3) applies only under 18. FLHSMV: hold the learner's license 12 months or reach 18, whichever comes first.

ss. 322.05, 322.16 and 322.1615, F.S., and the FLHSMV teen table. Night hours cannot start until the 3 month daylight-only window ends.

Neither s. 322.05(3) nor the teen page defines night. The closest statutory clock is s. 316.217(1)(a), which requires headlights from sunset to sunrise, including twilight. Combined with the 10 p.m. learner limit, that leaves the stretch from sunset to 10 p.m., and only after month 3. Section 316.217(1)(b) also requires headlights in any rain, smoke, or fog, but FLHSMV does not say daytime driving in those conditions counts as night.

A two-lane road bridge over a waterway in Miami, Florida, under a dusk sky
A two-lane road bridge over a waterway in Miami, Florida, under a dusk skyPhoto: Jose Fereira Villafranca, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Do I hand in a log sheet, or only a signed form?

A signed form. On HSMV 71143 (Rev 01/11), Certification of Driving Experience of a Minor, the adult swears that the named minor "has driven a minimum of 50 hours during the past 12 months, of which 10 hours of driving were at night per Section 322.05(3), Florida Statutes." Its instructions say one parent, legal guardian, or other responsible adult 21 or older signs, and that the signature is notarized or witnessed by an examiner. The form asks for no drive dates, trip details, or attached log.

FLHSMV's teen page links a practice log sheet, the 2017 Learner's License Driving Log, for tracking the time. The teen FAQ says under-18 applicants need the signed and notarized certification at the service center. Neither page says a clerk collects the log. One timing detail is on the form, not in the statute: s. 322.05(3) asks for a total of at least 50 hours, while 71143 certifies 50 hours "during the past 12 months." If you apply long after the 12 month hold ends, hours driven more than 12 months before the signing date fall outside what the form states.

Worked example

Devon, born June 1, 2011, Tampa

  1. 1Devon Walsh turns 15 on June 1, 2026 and is issued a learner's license on June 2, 2026. Through September 2, 2026 he may drive only in daylight, with his mother Elena, 43 and holding a Florida Class E license, in the right front seat.
  2. 2His first logged drive is on June 10, 2026. By September 1 he has 28 daylight hours, mostly after school. None of it is night driving, and none of it goes on the log as night.
  3. 3From September 3, 2026 he may drive until 10 p.m., and he starts evening sessions after sunset. By April 1, 2027 the log shows 42 daylight hours and 8 night hours: 50 in total, but 2 night hours short of the 10.
  4. 4He turns 16 on June 1, 2027. On June 3 and June 5, 2027, after sunset and before 10 p.m., Elena rides along for 1 hour each evening. Night total: 10. Grand total: 52.
  5. 5On June 8, 2027, 12 months and 6 days after issuance and with no moving traffic convictions, Elena signs HSMV 71143 in front of a Hillsborough County notary. Every logged hour falls between June 10, 2026 and June 5, 2027, inside the 12 months the form describes. Devon then takes the Class E driving skills test.

Outcome. The 50 hours were not due when he got his learner's license. They were due at the Class E application at 16. The 2 missing night hours could not have been driven from June through August 2026, when he was limited to daylight. Had his first drive been on June 2, 2026, the hours from that first week would have fallen outside the form's 12 months on June 8, 2027.

What if I turn 18 before I finish the 50 hours?

Then Florida stops asking for them. Section 322.05(3) applies only to a person who is at least 16 and under 18. The 12 month hold in s. 322.05(2) has the same age limits. FLHSMV's teen table says to hold the learner's license 12 months or until the 18th birthday, whichever comes first.

Hours and holds, by age at the Class E application
RuleApplying at 16 or 17Applying at 18 or over
50 hours, 10 at nightRequired. Certified on HSMV 71143 by a parent, guardian, or responsible adult 21 or older.Not required. s. 322.05(3) does not reach this applicant.
12 month learner's holdRequired, with no moving traffic convictions, or 12 months plus traffic school with adjudication withheld (s. 322.05(2)).Not required. FLHSMV: 12 months or age 18, whichever comes first.
Adult in the right front seatRequired on every learner trip, including the 50 hours (s. 322.1615(2)).Not once a full Class E is issued. Anyone who still holds only a learner's license at 18 remains under s. 322.1615(2) until it is replaced.
Night limits after the Class E is issuedUnder 17: 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. unless driving directly to or from work or with a licensed driver 21 or older (s. 322.16(2)). At 17: 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. on the same terms (s. 322.16(3)).No age-based night limit in s. 322.16(2) or (3).

ss. 322.05, 322.16 and 322.1615, F.S., and HSMV 71143. The 18-and-over column reflects the absence of those under-18 subsections, not a separate adult hours program.

A moving conviction while you hold the learner's license does not erase hours already driven under any published FLHSMV rule, but it delays the Class E. Section 322.05(2) requires 12 months with no moving traffic convictions, or 12 months plus a traffic school election with adjudication withheld. FLHSMV's teen traffic-laws page says a conviction extends the hold to one year from the conviction date or until age 18, whichever comes first. Because 71143 certifies hours from the past 12 months, a long delay can push early hours outside the form's window.

FLHSMV does not publish a weekly pace, a daily cap, a rule letting a driving school course replace any of the 50 hours, or a pass rate for 16-year-old applicants. Keep the log accurate enough that the adult can sign 71143 truthfully. The form is what the office takes.

What does FLHSMV not publish on this?

Whether a clerk also collects the practice log. FLHSMV's teen page links a log sheet for tracking the hours, but neither that page nor the teen FAQ says the log is handed over, so this page stops at the signed form.

More questions about this in Florida

Can a 19-year-old skip Florida's 50 supervised hours?

Yes. Section 322.05(3) of the Florida Statutes applies only to a person who is at least 16 and under 18, and FLHSMV lists the Certification of Minor Driving Experience only among its teen requirements. At 18 or over, Florida publishes no 50 hour rule for a Class E license. The 12 month learner's hold also ends at 18, whichever comes first.

Can a driving instructor sign Florida's 50 hour form instead of a parent?

HSMV 71143 is signed by a parent, legal guardian, or other responsible adult 21 or older, and s. 322.05(3) ties that adult to s. 322.09. The statute lets that adult certify that he or she, or another licensed driver 21 or older, accompanied the applicant, so an instructor who is 21 or older and licensed can be the person in the right front seat. FLHSMV does not say an instructor can sign 71143 in place of the parent, guardian, or s. 322.09 responsible adult.

Does a moving ticket erase Florida hours you already logged?

Florida publishes no rule that a ticket wipes out the 50 hours. A moving conviction delays the Class E license instead. Section 322.05(2) requires 12 months with no moving traffic convictions, or 12 months plus traffic school with adjudication withheld, and FLHSMV's teen traffic-laws page says a conviction extends the hold to one year from the conviction date or until age 18, whichever comes first.

What counts as night for Florida's 10 night hours?

Neither s. 322.05(3) nor FLHSMV's teen page defines night for those 10 hours. The closest statutory clock is s. 316.217, which requires headlights from sunset to sunrise, including twilight. A learner may not drive after 10 p.m. and may drive only in daylight for the first 3 months (s. 322.1615(3)), so legal night practice is after sunset and before 10 p.m., starting in month 4.

Do you have to hand Florida's driving log to the clerk?

FLHSMV publishes a Learner's License Driving Log and tells families to use it to track time. The document the teen page and teen FAQ name for the counter is HSMV 71143, the Certification of Driving Experience of a Minor, signed by a parent, guardian, or responsible adult 21 or older and notarized or witnessed by an examiner. Whether a clerk also collects the log is not stated.

Sources

Other questions about Florida

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Written by Vikas. Checked against the source above on September 25, 2026. FLHSMV does not run this site and does not endorse it.